Abortion Reporting: Maine (2023)

Maine’s 2023 abortion report was published in October 2024. The report indicates that abortions increased from 2022 to 2023. Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) is summarizing the information in the abortion report published by the state. This data does not include the total number of abortions obtained by Maine residents out of state or the number of self-managed abortions performed by women outside of the healthcare system. In a separate section, CLI will describe data provided by the Guttmacher Institute’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study that details the number of women who traveled to Maine to obtain abortions and their states of residence as well as the number of abortions obtained by Maine women in other states.

Statistics and Changes in Maine Abortions, 2022-2023

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

Abortion Totals and Trends

There were 2,502 abortions reported in Maine in 2023, up 12.5% from the 2,225 reported in 2022 and the highest total since 2008, when 2,623 abortions were reported. Drug-induced abortions increased as well, by 25.2%, from 1,408 in 2022 to 1,763 in 2023 (Fig. 1). The Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) estimates that Maine’s abortion rate in 2023 was 10.3 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, an increase of 12.5% from 2022’s abortion rate of 9.1 (Fig. 2).¹ As of November 2024, 21 states have reported 2023 data and 9 have shown an increase in abortions from 2022.

State Report Summary

Ninety-five percent of abortions reported in Maine in 2023 were performed on Maine residents, and 5% on non-residents. New Hampshire had the greatest number of women (85) obtain abortions in Maine, followed by Massachusetts (15) and Texas (seven). Five women from Florida also obtained abortions in Maine. Unlike other states with little to no abortion restrictions, Maine’s increase in abortions from 2022 to 2023 was not significantly caused by an increase in nonresidents traveling to Maine to obtain an abortion. Rather, the number of Maine women who obtained abortions in 2023 was the main cause of Maine’s increase in total abortions in 2023.

Nine percent of the abortions were performed on girls under the age of 20, including 3% on girls under the age of 18. Fifty-three percent were performed on women in their twenties, with 26% on women ages 20 to 24 and 27% on women ages 25 to 29. Thirty-three percent of Maine abortions were performed on women in their thirties, and 4% on women aged 40 or older. Age was not reported for three abortions.

As a result of the passage of H.P. 1044 into law in July 2023, the state stopped reporting several categories of demographic data as it relates to abortion. Consequently, Maine’s 2023 abortion data does not contain information on the number of abortions by race, marital status, or previous pregnancy history.

In 2023, drug-induced abortions made up 70% of the abortions reported in Maine. Twenty-four percent of the abortions were performed using suction curettage and 6% using a dilation and evacuation procedure. Three abortions were performed via sharp curettage and the method was unknown for eight abortions. The number of drug-induced abortions increased significantly from 2022 to 2023 while the number of suction curettage abortions decreased significantly.

Seventy-five percent of the abortions were performed earlier than nine weeks of gestation, 13% between nine and 10 weeks, and 5% between 11 and 12 weeks. Four percent occurred from 13 to 15 weeks, dropping to 3% from 16 to 19 weeks. Twenty-nine abortions were reported at 20 weeks of gestation or later and one was reported at an unknown gestational age. The number of abortions performed at 20 weeks or later more than quadrupled from 2022 when six abortions were performed at 20 weeks or later.

Abortion Provider Breakdown in Maine²

Guttmacher Data³

In 2023, Guttmacher estimated that 2,410 abortions occurred in Maine while the state reported 2,502 occurred in the state. Guttmacher does not provide estimates for the number of women who traveled to Maine to obtain abortions or the number of Maine women who traveled to other states to obtain abortions.

State Ranking

In 2024, CLI published a paper reevaluating states’ abortion reporting across the country, with Maine ranked at 35^th best. As CLI has previously recommended, Maine could expand and strengthen the reporting requirements eliminated by H.P. 1044 and also require the reporting of complications caused by abortion, as many other states do.

1. National rates were calculated by the Guttmacher Institute. Maine rates were calculated by CLI using the following formula: (total number of abortions performed in Maine ÷ 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. Rates for 2023 were calculated using the Vintage 2022 postcensal estimates because 2023 population estimates have not yet been released by the CDC.
2. This information is updated as of November 27, 2024.
3. 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. Lastly, Guttmacher notes that their estimates do not reflect self-managed abortions or those obtained by women in pro-life states under shield laws.

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