Abortion Reporting: Virginia (2022)

Virginia’s 2022 abortion facility statistics were provided to the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) upon request in June 2024. However, Virginia’s full 2022 state abortion report has not been published online. Consequently, the data in this analysis are based on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s 2022 abortion surveillance report, which includes aggregate data from the Virginia Department of Health. This data does not include the number of mail order abortion drugs prescribed by licensed abortion providers in Virginia or other states to Virginia residents 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 Virginia to obtain abortions and their states of residence, as well as the number of abortions obtained by Virginia women in other states. 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.

Statistics and Changes in Virginia Abortions, 2021-2022

CDC Report

In 2022, there were 16,722 abortions reported in Virginia, up 4% from the previous year. According to the CDC, 57% of these were drug-induced abortions, a 5% increase from 2021 (Fig. 1). CLI estimates that Virginia’s abortion rate was 9.7 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age, an increase of 3% from the state’s rate in 2021 (Fig. 2).¹

In 2022, 85% of the abortions reported in Virginia were performed on state residents (14,268 abortions), while 15% were performed on women from other states. Of the latter 15%, a majority were performed on women from Maryland (649 abortions). The number of non-resident abortions that occurred in Virginia increased by 72% from 2021 to 2022. Unlike 2021, the CDC reported that women from Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas obtained abortions in Virginia in 2022. Furthermore, of the non-resident abortions, those performed on D.C. residents increased by 37%, those on North Carolina residents by 21%, and those on West Virginia residents by 137%.

Additionally, it was reported that a total of 15,600 Virginia residents obtained abortions in and out of the state. Of those 15,600 residents, 1,332 traveled out of state to obtain an abortion. Of those 1,332 women, 789 obtained abortions in D.C., 419 in North Carolina, 55 in Tennessee, and the remainder in deidentified states.

In 2022, a majority of the abortions reported by Virginia to the CDC were performed on women in their twenties, with 27% on women ages 20 to 24 and 29% on women ages 25 to 29. Thirty-three percent were performed on women in their thirties, and 4% were on women aged 40 or older. Seven percent of the abortions were on girls under the age of 20. Age was not reported for three women.

Non-Hispanic black women composed the largest racial group undergoing abortions in the commonwealth in 2022 at 32% of the total. Twenty-seven percent were on non-Hispanic women of other races and 21% were on non-Hispanic white women. Seven percent of abortions were obtained by women of unknown race. CLI estimates that Virginia’s black abortion rate in 2022 (15.3 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44), was more than four times the white abortion rate of 3.6. Ninety-three percent of the abortions were performed on unmarried women, compared to 7% on married women.

Twenty-nine percent of Virginia’s 2022 abortions were performed on women with no previous abortions, unlike in 2021 when 43% of abortions were performed on those with no previous abortions. Twenty-seven percent were performed on women with one prior abortion, and 44% were performed on women with two or more prior abortions. Twenty-nine percent of the abortions were obtained by women with no previous live births, compared to 27% performed on women with one previous live birth and 44% on women with two or more previous live births. Whether the identical numbers of women who received abortions in 2022 in Virginia by previous live births and previous abortions was a mistake or accurate is unknown.

Forty-nine percent of the abortions reported in Virginia occurred at six weeks of gestation or earlier. Thirty-five percent were performed between seven and nine weeks, and 11% occurred between 10 and 13 weeks. Two percent were performed between 14 and 15 weeks and 1% each between 16-17 weeks, 18-20 weeks, and 21 weeks or later. The gestational age was not reported for one abortion. From 2021 to 2022, the number of abortions performed at six weeks or earlier decreased by 14% while the number of abortions performed at seven weeks and later increased by 30%. The number of abortions performed at 21 weeks or later increased by 118% from 2021 to 2022. To see the breakdown of abortions by gestational ages in Virginia between 2021 and 2022, please see the following table:

Forty-two percent of the abortions were performed using surgical procedures. Drug-induced abortions made up 57% of the abortions occurring in the state. There were 10 intrauterine instillation abortions performed in the state and the number of hysterectomy/hysterotomy abortions was suppressed. Fifty-one abortions were performed using an unknown method.

Virginia’s 2022 Facility Report

Separate from the statistics contained in the CDC surveillance report, the Virginia Department of Health provided CLI, in June 2024, with the number of abortions occurring at each facility in the state in 2022. In 2022, 98% of the abortions reported in Virginia were performed in abortion centers, while the remainder were reported by hospitals (2%). Planned Parenthood’s abortion centers performed 27% of the abortions, compared to 33% in 2021 and 37% in 2020. Independent abortion centers performed 71% of the abortions that occurred in the state. Falls Church Healthcare Center in Falls Church, Virginia was the highest-volume center, accounting for 1,610 abortions, 11% of the total reported in the commonwealth to the CDC.

As previously noted, after the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, an abortion center in Bristol, Tennessee closed its doors and moved across state lines to Bristol, Virginia. The 2022 facility report noted that 30 abortions were performed at this location. Additionally, in the summer of 2022 another abortion center opened in Virginia in Richmond City. That location was reported to have performed 20 abortions in 2022. In 2024, Dandelion Health opened a location in Richmond, Virginia and now provides surgical and drug-induced abortions through 11 weeks of gestation. Lastly, a new Whole Woman’s Health location opened in Petersburg, Virginia in August 2024. This location performs surgical abortions through 15 weeks and provides abortion drugs through 10 weeks of gestation.

Discrepancy in 2022 Abortion Occurrence Totals Amongst Facility Report and CDC Data

While Virginia reported to the CDC that 16,722 abortions occurred in the state in 2022, the facility report provided to CLI recorded that 14,427 abortions occurred in the state in 2022. The discrepancy between the two sources cannot be explained by one and not the other including telehealth abortions, as both reports expressly noted that Virginia’s totals did not include mail-order abortions performed by providers not physically located in the state. Mail-order abortions provided by brick-and-mortar facilities physically located in the state should be included in both reports.  When CLI requested the most up to date facility report, the state sent CLI the report after it had submitted its data to the CDC and noted that the facility report was a point in time report. However, they did not provide a definitive explanation as to why the discrepancy was so large.

2023 Guttmacher Data²

In 2023, Guttmacher estimated that 34,630 abortions occurred in Virginia. Also in 2023, an estimated 1,250 Virginia women traveled to Maryland and obtained abortions while 300 Virginia women traveled to North Carolina and obtained abortions. Guttmacher additionally estimated that 5,690 of the 34,370 abortions performed in the state in 2023 were performed on nonresidents. To see the number of abortions obtained in Virginia by women from various states, see the following table:

One potential reason for the significant number of nonresidents obtaining abortions in Virginia in 2023 is that nearly all the states listed above have more restrictive gestational laws compared to Virginia. Virginia has an ineffective 26-week (third trimester) limit that has such broad health exceptions abortion is broadly legal throughout pregnancy.

Breakdown of Abortion Providers in Virginia³

State Ranking

In 2024, CLI published a paper reevaluating abortion reporting requirements across the country, with Virginia ranking as tied for 38^th place. Virginia could improve its reporting by compiling and publishing abortion data on a regular schedule, releasing reports that reflect data from the previous year, and ensuring that corrections are made when necessary. It is also critical that Virginia’s occurrence totals are identical across different reporting sources such as the state’s annual facility report, and the data provided by the state to the CDC. Lastly, Virginia could collect and report information on complications caused by abortion.

1. National rates were calculated by the Guttmacher Institute. Virginia rates were calculated by CLI using the following formula: (total number of abortions performed in Virginia ÷ 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. This information is updated as of January 9, 2025.
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 9, 2025.
4. Virginia’s drug-induced abortion values for 2017-2022 are from the CDC’s national abortion surveillance reports from those respective years. Virginia’s total abortion values for 2005-2020 are from the state’s facility reports, but the state’s total abortion values for 2021 and 2022 are from the CDC’s annual abortion surveillance reports for those respective years.

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