Abortion Reporting: Hawaii (2022)

Hawaii abortion reporting is delayed, but 2022 abortion statistics are available in the latest national report from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Statistics and Changes in Hawaii Abortions, 2021-2022

The report does not include information on Hawaii’s Planned Parenthood abortion market share.

Abortion Totals and Trends

The most recent year for which Hawaii has published its full vital statistics report with the state’s abortion data is 2009. Since then, Hawaii has made annual totals available but has not published any state reports with detailed demographic information. However, Hawaii has shared this data with the CDC, and Hawaii’s abortion statistics published in the most recent CDC report have been used in this summary. In the beginning sections of this report, Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) summarizes the information that Hawaii provided to the CDC. The data published by the CDC does not include the total number of abortions obtained by Hawaii residents out of state or the number of self-managed abortions on women outside of the healthcare system. It is also unlikely that the report contains the number of mail-order abortion drugs obtained by Hawaii residents prescribed by licensed abortion providers in other states.   In a separate section of this report, CLI will describe data provided by the Guttmacher Institute’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study that details the number of abortions performed in the state in 2023 as well as the number of nonresident women who traveled to Hawaii to obtain abortions in 2023 and their states of residence. Guttmacher’s abortion estimates include the number of abortions obtained at brick-and-mortar facilities and those provided via telehealth and virtual providers in the United States.

CDC Summary

According to the CDC report, there were 1,970 abortions reported in Hawaii in 2022, a decrease of 11% from 2021 when there were 2,214 reported abortions. Drug-induced abortions in Hawaii also decreased in 2022, falling 20% from 2021 when 1,241 drug-induced abortions were reported (Fig. 1). The CDC reported that Hawaii’s 2022 abortion rate was 7.5 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, a decrease of 10% from 2021 when CLI estimated that Hawaii’s abortion rate was 8.4 (Fig. 2).¹

Ninety-seven percent of the abortions reported in Hawaii were performed on resident women, while 2% were performed on nonresident women. Because of data suppression rules, the states of residence of women who traveled to Hawaii to get an abortion were suppressed.

Nine percent of the abortions were performed on girls aged 15 to 19. Twenty-eight percent were performed on women ages 20 to 24, and 27% on women ages 25 to 29. Thirty-one percent of the abortions were performed on women in their thirties. The CDC suppresses small numbers to protect confidentiality, and the number of abortions on girls ages 14 and under and women ages 40 and over were suppressed.

Over half the abortions, 53%, were performed on women with no previous live births. Sixteen percent were performed on women with one prior live birth and 28% on women with two or more prior live births. Fifty-nine percent of the abortions were performed on women who had never had an abortion before. Twenty-three percent were performed on women with one prior abortion and 15% on women with more than one. Previous live births and abortions, if any, were not reported for 66 and 48 abortions, respectively.

Thirty-three percent of the abortions reported in Hawaii occurred at six weeks of gestation or earlier. Forty-four percent were performed between seven and nine weeks, and 14% were performed between 10 and 13 weeks of gestation. Four percent occurred from 14 to 15 weeks, 2% between 16 and 17 weeks, and 1% between 18 and 20 weeks of gestation. Two percent (33 abortions) were performed at 21 weeks of gestation or later. The number of abortions performed at zero weeks of gestation or earlier through nine weeks of gestation decreased by 14% from 2021, but the number of abortions performed at 10 weeks of gestation and later increased by 3%. Specifically, the number of abortions performed at 21 weeks of gestation or later increased by 57% from 2021 to 2022.

In 2022, half of Hawaii abortions were drug-induced and nearly half (49%) were surgical. There were zero intrauterine instillation abortions and zero hysterectomy/hysterotomy abortions. The type of procedure was suppressed or not reported for 21 abortions.

As a part of its 2022 surveillance report, the CDC publishes cross-tabulated information on the number of abortions by states of residence and occurrence for each state that provides occurrence data to the CDC. In 2022, there were 1,932 abortions performed on Hawaii residents in and outside of the state. Of those 1,932 abortions, 1,913 were performed on Hawaii residents in Hawaii meaning that 19 Hawaii residents traveled out of state to obtain abortions. However, because of data suppression rules, the CDC did not detail the states, or the number of abortions obtained in those states that Hawaii women traveled to or as mentioned previously, the states of residence of the 45 nonresidents who obtained abortions in Hawaii in 2022.

2023 Guttmacher Data²

In 2023, Guttmacher estimated that 3,980 abortions occurred in Hawaii. Also in 2023, an estimated 140 abortions were obtained by women from Washington state who traveled to Hawaii to get an abortion. The 140 abortions are included within Guttmacher’s total estimate of 3,980 abortions occurring in the state.

Abortion Provider Breakdown in Hawaii³

Legislative Changes

As CLI has previously summarized, the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade did not lead to any changes in the availability of abortion under Hawaii law: abortion remains legal before viability for any reason and broadly available after viability, as the health exception is not defined.

State Ranking

In 2024, CLI published a paper reevaluating abortion reporting across the country, and Hawaii fell near the bottom at 45^th. To improve its reporting, Hawaii could publish all its abortion data on a faster schedule and publish its own annual report as well as include information on the complications that stem from abortions performed in the state and more demographic information.

1. National rates were calculated by the Guttmacher Institute. Hawaii rates were calculated by CLI using the following formula: (total number of abortions performed in Hawaii ÷ number of resident women ages 15-44 [based on most recent population estimates]) x 1,000. Rates may differ slightly from previous CLI articles due to revised population estimates. Population estimates were obtained from the CDC WONDER database. Estimates for 2005-2009 are intercensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Estimates for 2010-2019 are Vintage 2020 postcensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Estimates for 2020-2022 are Vintage 2022 postcensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Estimates were produced by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics.
2. The Guttmacher Institute notes that their monthly abortion totals by states are estimates and that each state’s estimate is within a range of uncertainty. Guttmacher also notes that their estimates do not reflect abortions obtained by women in pro-life states under shield laws in effect in pro-abortion states.
3. Provider totals do not include hospitals or physician offices not listed in databases that compile abortion provider locations in different states, but do include Planned Parenthood locations, independent abortion centers, and hospitals/doctor’s offices included in databases like Abortion Finder and Ineedana. This information is updated as of January 8, 2025.

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