West Virginia’s 2025 abortion statistics by quarter were published throughout 2024 and into early 2026, showing that five fewer abortions occurred in the Mountain State in 2025 compared to 2024.
The information in the abortion report published by the state will be summarized below. The data published by the state does not include the total number of abortions obtained by West Virginia residents out of state or the number of self-managed abortions on women outside of the healthcare system. In a separate section, CLI will describe data provided by both the Guttmacher Institute’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study (MAPS) and the Society of Family Planning’s (SFP) #WeCount project detailing the number of mail-order abortions obtained by West Virginia residents from out of state prescribers. In the past, the MAPS published estimates on the annual number of states’ residents who traveled out of state to obtain an abortion. However, 2025 estimates on out-of-state travel totals have not been released. 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.
West Virginia’s statute code defines abortion as “the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device with intent to terminate the pregnancy of a patient known to be pregnant and with intent to cause the death and expulsion or removal of an embryo or a fetus” (W.V.C. §16-2R-2). In West Virginia, abortion is prohibited except in limited cases where the fetus is nonviable or a maternal medical emergency exists where a mother’s life or physical health is threatened by a continued pregnancy. The law’s other exception includes abortions in the case of sexual assault and/or incest if it occurred within eight weeks of pregnancy for adults and 14 weeks of pregnancy for a minor (W.V.C. §16-2R-3).
Abortion Totals and Trends
In 2025, there were 22 abortions reported in West Virginia, a decrease of five abortions from the previous year. There was a decrease of two drug-induced abortions from 20 in 2024 to 18 in 2025 (Fig.1). CLI estimates that West Virginia’s 2025 abortion rate was 0.1 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, the same as it was in 2024 (Fig. 2).1 As of July 2026, 11 states have released 2025 abortion statistics.
State Report Summary
In 2025, 91% of abortions performed in West Virginia were on state residents, 5% were performed on women from other states, and another 5% were performed on women whose residence was unknown. Two abortions were performed on girls ages 15 to 19 and six were performed on women ages 20 to 24. Eight abortions were performed on women ages 25 to 29 while six were performed on women in their thirties.
In 2025, six abortions were performed at eight weeks of gestation or earlier and another six were performed between 13 and 15 weeks of gestation. Two were performed between 16 and 19 weeks of gestation while five were performed at 20 weeks of gestation or later. Three abortions were performed at unknown gestational ages. Eighty-two percent of West Virginia abortions were drug-induced, while 9% were performed using dilation and curettage and another 9% using dilation and evacuation procedures. Eleven of the 22 abortions performed in West Virginia in 2025 were paid for via private insurance, while nine were paid for using Medicaid. Two abortions were paid for though other forms of insurance.
All 22 abortions performed in the state in 2025 were performed because of exceptions to the state’s life-at-conception law. The state does not report the “reasons” for abortion data in a mutually exclusive manner, so CLI has broken down the reasons in percentages to make it easier to understand. Because more than one reason can be given per abortion, the percentages add up to more than 100%. Seventy-seven percent of abortions were performed because the fetus was non-medically viable, while 41% listed ectopic pregnancy as a reason.2 Unlike in the state’s 2023, 2024, and Q1-Q3 2025 quarterly reports, the 2025 Q4 report didn’t list the specific conditions that made the fetus non-medically viable. For quarters one through three, some examples of the listed conditions include anencephaly, bilateral renal agenesis, and exencephaly.
Guttmacher and #WeCount Data3
Guttmacher estimated that 780 abortions occurred in West Virginia, versus the state’s reported total of 22. Guttmacher’s estimate includes only mail-order abortions obtained by West Virginia’s residents, in West Virginia, from out-of-state prescribers. SFP’s #WeCount project publishes their own estimates that break down states’ abortion totals by mode of provision. In 2025, #WeCount estimated that 870 abortions occurred in Indiana. SFP estimated that 20 abortions were obtained in-person, while 850 abortions were obtained via mail-order abortion drugs.3 Due to the extreme similarity in the state’s brick-and-mortar abortion total (22) and #WeCount’s in-person total (20), the discrepancy between the state’s reported total and #WeCount’s (and Guttmacher’s) estimate is likely from the state’s exclusion of mail-order abortion totals.
State Ranking
In CLI’s 2024 reevaluation of states’ abortion reporting requirements, West Virginia ranked 15th amongst the 50 states, D.C., and NYC. To further improve its reporting, West Virginia could collect and report data on complications caused by abortions, as many other states do.
- National rates were calculated by the Guttmacher Institute. West Virginia rates were calculated by CLI using the following formula: (total number of abortions performed in West 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 2020-2025 are Vintage 2024 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 2025 were calculated using the Vintage 2024 postcensal estimates because 2025 population estimates have not yet been released by the CDC.
- While the West Virginia report includes ectopic pregnancy as a reason for abortion, treatment of ectopic pregnancy is not the same as an induced abortion. See https://lozierinstitute.org/fact-sheet-medical-indications-for-separating-a-mother-and-her-unborn-child/.
- The Guttmacher Institute notes that their monthly abortion totals by state are estimates and that each state’s estimate is within a range of uncertainty. Guttmacher’s data can be found in the CSV folder here(Summary_Table_Annual_2023_2024_2025). This information is updated as of July 17, 2026. #WeCount’s data can be found here by downloading the “Report data tables [.xlsx]” document. The #WeCount report specifies that the numbers included in their tables for abortions performed under shield laws only represent the number of women to whom abortion drugs were sent, not the number of drug-induced abortions that resulted from the mailed drugs. However, because #WeCount’s data is the only source of data that delineates the number of abortions by mode of provision (in-person, telehealth/mail order, and/or abortion drugs obtained under shield laws), their data is the best available. This information is updated as of July 17, 2026.
