Fact Sheet: Abortions at or after 15 Weeks in the United States

Originally published September 2022, updated January 12, 2023, and again on December 19, 2024

Although historically many doctors believed that unborn babies could not feel pain until the third trimester or even well after birth, the modern scientific literature shows that unborn babies can feel pain by 15 weeks gestation, and possibly as early as 12 weeks.^[1] The majority of abortions occur in the first trimester, but a substantial number are performed at 15 weeks or later on unborn babies who are capable of experiencing pain. Due to significant limitations with U.S. abortion data,^[2] the precise number of abortions after 15 weeks is unknown, but available data suggests that tens of thousands of abortions on unborn babies who feel pain are performed at 15 weeks or later each year.

How many abortions take place in the U.S. at 15 weeks of gestation or later?

2022 abortion data from the states and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that approximately 6% of all reported abortions take place at or after 15 weeks of gestation. When applied to the Guttmacher Institute’s most recent estimate of 1,032,150 abortions nationwide in 2023,^[3] this is approximately 61,900 abortions at 15 weeks or later each year.

In the United States, abortion data is woefully incomplete.^[4] Since states are not currently required to report abortion statistics to the CDC, not all states do, and data quality varies. For example, some of the highest abortion-volume states (California, New Jersey, and Maryland) do not report any abortion data to the CDC. Furthermore, high abortion-volume states such as New York do not report data on gestational age to the CDC even though they report abortion totals.^[5]

To produce a national estimate of abortions at 15 weeks or later, Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) used data from the most recent abortion surveillance report from the CDC (2022).^[6] Because CDC reports abortions occurring between 14–15 weeks as one lump sum, CLI reviewed state data from states that report abortions by individual week of gestation to determine that on average, 47% of abortions in the 14–15 week range occurred at 15 weeks in these states in 2022. ^[7] CLI then multiplied the CDC’s 14–15-week abortion total by 47% to estimate the number occurring at 15 weeks. CLI determined that of all abortions for which gestational age was reported to the CDC, approximately 6% occurred at 15 weeks of gestation or later. CLI applied that 6% to the most recent estimate from the Guttmacher Institute of total abortions in 2023.

Because CDC data from 2022 was used, the full-year impact of state pro-life laws enacted following the Dobbs decision on June 24, 2022, is not reflected here. However, Guttmacher’s estimated total number of abortions performed in the United States in 2023 does reflect a full year of legal changes post-Dobbs. Drug-induced abortions have been rapidly increasing in the U.S., which may impact the percentage of abortions performed after 15 weeks, since abortion drugs are most commonly used in the first trimester. Their increased use may drive up the number of first trimester abortions. However, the availability of late-term abortion has also been expanding as new abortion centers open and states change their abortion policies,^[8] which will likely increase the number of abortions performed at 15 weeks and later.

Reasons for Abortions After 15 Weeks

Research on women’s reasons for obtaining second trimester abortions is limited, but available research shows that many abortions that happen after the first trimester are performed for reasons similar to abortions earlier in pregnancy, not because of medical emergency situations.^[9] One study of the experiences of almost 400 women found that over half of the women obtaining second-trimester abortions would have had an earlier abortion except for delays in recognizing the pregnancy.^[10] Additionally, women undergoing second-trimester abortions took more time to decide to have an abortion and book the appointment. Another study of just over 1,200 women found that the most frequent reasons for delays in obtaining an abortion were taking a long time to arrange for the abortion, difficulty in deciding on abortion, and delays in recognizing the pregnancy.^[11]

Availability of 15+ Week Abortion Centers

The latest review by CLI shows that there are 275 abortion centers in the country who perform abortions at or after 15 weeks.^[12] See the following table for the number of these abortion facilities in each state.

The poor quality of U.S. abortion data means that the exact number of abortions performed at or after 15 weeks cannot be known. However, the best available data indicates that the total is likely at least 60,000, and at least 275 abortion centers around the country perform abortions at 15 weeks or later.  Abortions on unborn babies who are capable of feeling pain is a gruesome problem that is likely to worsen in the states that allow late-term abortion, potentially driving up the late-term abortion total at the national level.

[1] “Fact Sheet: Science of Fetal Pain,” Charlotte Lozier Institute (Sep. 13, 2022),  https://lozierinstitute.org/fact-sheet-science-of-fetal-pain/; “Prenatal Stress and Pain,” Voyage of Life, Charlotte Lozier Institute https://lozierinstitute.org/dive-deeper/prenatal-stress-and-pain/

[2] Mia Steupert, “The State of Abortion Reporting in 2024 America: Still Striving Toward a Better National Standard,” Charlotte Lozier Institute (June 26, 2024), https://lozierinstitute.org/the-state-of-abortion-reporting-in-2024-america-still-striving-toward-a-better-national-standard/

[3] “Monthly Abortion Provision Study,” Guttmacher Institute. Accessed December 12, 2024, https://www.guttmacher.org/monthly-abortion-provision-study

[4] Steupert.

[5] Steupert.

[6] Ramer S, Nguyen AT, Hollier LM, Rodenhizer J, Warner L, Whiteman MK. Abortion Surveillance – United States, 2022. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2024;73(7):1-28. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss7307a1

[7] Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, and North Dakota. While Florida reports its gestational age data by individual weeks, it is unclear whether data for 2022 was reported using gestational age or post-fertilization age, which differ by two weeks.

[8] “Pro-abortion laws,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, https://sbaprolife.org/lifesavinglaws#pro-abortion-laws. Regarding late-term abortion centers, see for example, one in Albuquerque, New Mexico which opened in late 2024 and performs abortion through 32 weeks and 6 days of gestation. Similarly, an abortion center in Maryland opened in fall of 2022. This center performs abortions through 33 weeks gestation.

[9] See Charlotte Lozier Institute, “Questions and Answers on Late-Term Abortion,” https://lozierinstitute.org/questions-and-answers-on-late-term-abortion/

[10] Drey EA et al. Risk factors associated with presenting for abortion in the second trimester. Obstet Gynecol. 2006;107(1):128–135. See https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/psrh/2006/second-trimester-abortion-logistics-and-lack-symptoms-are-factors

[11] Finer LB, Frohwirth LF, Dauphinee LA, Singh S, Moore AM. Timing of steps and reasons for delays in obtaining abortions in the United States. Contraception. 2006;74(4):334-344. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2006.04.010

[12] This estimate comes from the database Ineedana.com, which catalogs abortion providers in each state. Ineedana is a point-in-time database that is subject to updates. This estimate is up to date as of December 12, 2024. “Abortion centers” is used here to refer to facilities included in that database: Planned Parenthood centers, independent abortion centers, and hospitals/doctors that the database picks up. It does not include every doctor’s office/hospital that performs elective abortions.