In years past, Kansas’ Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) released its annual abortion report in July. In 2024, the Department announced that it would no longer produce separate abortion reports but would include the state’s abortion data in its annual vital statistics reports that are published in late fall of each year. As such, Kansas’ 2023 abortion data was included in the state’s 2023 vital statistics report published in December 2024. The report shows that abortions increased astronomically from 2022 to 2023. The data published by the state does not include the total number of abortions obtained by Kansas residents out of state or the number of self-managed abortions on women outside of the healthcare system. Furthermore, this report does not include the number of mail-order abortion drugs obtained by Kansas residents prescribed by licensed abortion providers in other states.
Statistics and Changes in Kansas Abortions, 2022-2023
The report does not include information on Planned Parenthood’s Kansas abortion market share.
Abortion Totals and Trends
There were 19,467 abortions reported in Kansas in 2023 (19,466 reported in-state occurrences, and one reported out-of-state occurrence), a steep increase of 58% from 2022 and a 148% increase from 2021 to 2023. Kansas’ 2023 abortion total was the highest total the state ever reported since it started doing so in 1976. Drug-induced abortions increased significantly, rising by 78% from the previous year, making up a majority (67%) of all Kansas abortions in 2023. Kansas’ abortion rate rose by 58%, from 21.6 to 34.1 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age (Fig. 2).1 As of January 2025, 26 states have released 2023 abortion statistics, with 14 states showing that abortions had increased from the previous year.
The KDHE noted in an email response to Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) that Kansas does not include abortions performed via licensed telehealth providers in the state. However, inexplicably, the abortion total released by KDHE (19,466) is higher than Guttmacher’s 2023 estimated abortion total in Kansas (19,250) which does include telehealth abortions in its estimate.
State Report Summary
The astronomical increase in the number of total abortions and drug-induced abortions was driven by an influx of women from other states obtaining abortions in Kansas. Kansas has consistently reported a large number of abortions obtained by women from other states, but nonresident abortions increased significantly in 2023 (by 78%) from 2022 and by 286% from 2021. Seventy-eight percent of the abortions performed in Kansas were on nonresident women or women from other countries, compared to 68% in 2022. Only 22% of Kansas abortions (including one on a Kansas woman who traveled out of state for her abortion) were on Kansas residents.
Nine percent of Kansas abortions were performed on girls under the age of 20. Thirty-two percent were performed on women ages 20 to 24 and 28% on women ages 25 to 29. Twenty-eight percent of Kansas abortions were obtained by women in their thirties (18% on women ages 30 to 34 and 10% on women ages 35 to 39), and 3% on women ages 40 and older. Maternal age was unknown for three abortions.
One third of the abortions were performed on non-Hispanic white women. Just over a quarter (26%) were obtained by non-Hispanic black women, and 4% were obtained by Asian or Pacific Islander women. One percent were performed on Native American women, and 5% on other non-Hispanic women. Thirty percent of Kansas abortions were performed on Hispanic women of any race. Race was not reported for 1% of abortions performed in Kansas in 2023. CLI estimates that Kansas’ black abortion rate of 144.2 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 was the highest in the nation for 2023 and 2022. It was nine times the Kansas non-Hispanic white abortion rate of 15.8.
Eighty-four percent of Kansas abortions were performed on unmarried women, compared to only 14% on married women. Three percent were performed on women of unknown marital status. Sixty-eight percent of the women had been pregnant before: 18% of the abortions were performed on women with one prior pregnancy, and 49% on women with two or more previous pregnancies. Twenty-one percent of the abortions were performed on women with one previous abortion, and 9% on women with more than one. Eighteen percent of the abortions were obtained by women who had previously suffered at least one miscarriage, and 58% were performed on women with one or more living children. In contrast, 32% of Kansas abortions were performed on women with no previous pregnancies, 70% on women with no previous abortions, 42% on women with no living children, and 82% on women with no prior miscarriages.
In 2023, 67% of Kansas abortions were drug-induced; all but one of these were induced with mifepristone, while the remaining one was induced using methotrexate. Thirty percent of the abortions were conducted via suction curettage, and 3% were dilation and evacuation procedures. There were 27 digoxin induction abortions and six sharp curettage abortions. There were four abortions performed via an unknown method.
Sixty-eight percent of Kansas abortions were performed before nine weeks of gestation. Twenty-three percent occurred between nine and 12 weeks, while 6% were performed between 13 and 16 weeks and 3% between 17 and 21 weeks. Zero abortions were performed at 22 weeks or later. Kansas limits abortion at 20 weeks post-fertilization, approximately 22 weeks of gestation, except in cases where a mother’s life or physical health is seriously endangered by a continued pregnancy.2
Of the abortions performed in Kansas, ultrasounds were reported to have been used to determine the gestational age in 60% of the cases, while sonogram was used in 38% of cases. Last menstrual period calculations were used in 3% of the abortions.
Kansas requires medical professionals to file a report when they encounter a patient who is a victim of abuse or neglect. In 2023, 27 abortion reporting forms indicated that a report of abuse or neglect had been filed. In 1,671 cases, it was unknown whether a report had been filed regarding potential abuse or neglect of a patient.
Nonresident Abortions
Of the nonresident abortions performed in Kansas (15,111 in total), 50% were obtained by Texas women. Texas resident abortions increased 155% from 2,978 in 2022 to 7,606 in 2023 and comprised 39% of all Kansas abortions. Missouri residents comprised 20% of the nonresident total and 16% of the state’s total. Oklahoma women comprised 22% of the resident total and 17% of the state total. Lastly, Arkansas women made up 5% of the nonresident total and the number of abortions obtained by Arkansas women increased 80% from 2022 to 2023. The number of Louisiana women who obtained abortions in Kansas increased by 136% from 2022 to 2023. One potential reason for the influx of nonresident women obtaining abortions in Kansas is that Kansas limits abortion after 21 weeks but states that border Kansas (Missouri, Oklahoma, and Nebraska) or are in relative near proximity to Kansas (Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana) prohibit abortion – except for Nebraska, which limits abortion after 12 weeks.
Breakdown of Abortion Providers in Kansas
Last year, CLI reported that a new Planned Parenthood abortion center had opened in Kansas City, Kansas four days after the Dobbs decision. The Wyandotte Planned Parenthood center offers the abortion pill up to 12 weeks of gestation and surgical abortion up to 21 weeks. However, that center no longer offers surgical abortions. Relatedly, in August 2024, a new Planned Parenthood center opened in Pittsburg, Kansas. This center offers abortion drugs through 11 weeks of gestation and surgical abortion through 13 weeks. A Planned Parenthood official even noted that the center opened in Pittsburg because of Pittsburg’s accessibility to nonresident women from Missouri and other states that prohibit abortion. To see a more detailed breakdown of abortion providers in Kansas, see the following table:3
| # of brick-and-mortar locations | 7 |
| # of independent centers | 3 |
| # of Planned Parenthood centers | 4 |
| # of hospitals/doctors’ offices that perform abortions | 0 |
| # of abortion drug providers | 7 |
| # of abortion drug-only providers | 2 |
| # of surgical and abortion drug providers | 5 |
| # of online mail-order abortion drug companies licensed in the state | 5 |
| # of brick-and-mortar locations that also mail abortion drugs | 0 |
| Latest gestational age that a center performs a surgical abortion | Through 21 weeks |
State Ranking
In 2024, CLI published a paper reevaluating abortion reporting in the states across the country, with Kansas tied for fourth place. Now that babies who have survived abortions have been afforded greater protections under Kansas law, the state could improve its reporting by noting whether any babies are born alive during abortions and, if so, what happens to the babies. Lastly, Kansas could report complications data related to any post-abortion complications that Kansas medical professionals treat on Kansas residents and nonresidents.
- National rates were calculated by Guttmacher Institute. Kansas rates were calculated by CLI using the following formula: (total number of abortions performed in Kansas ÷ 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 CDC WONDER. 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. Rates for 2023 were calculated using the Vintage 2022 postcensal estimates because 2023 population estimates have not yet been released by the CDC.
- It is important to note that the cases described as exceptions to the state’s abortion law are not the same as elective abortions. They are descriptions of medical care allowed under the state’s law to save the life or physical health of the mother. The state law differentiates these medical procedures from an elective abortion which, when performed, has the sole intent of causing the death of an unborn baby.
- 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 up to date as of January 9, 2025.
