Tessa Cox

Existing research on postabortion emergency room visits is sparse and limited by methods which underestimate the incidence of adverse events following abortion. Postabortion emergency room (ER) use since Food and Drug Administration approval of chemical abortion in 2000 can identify trends in the relative morbidity burden of chemical versus surgical procedures.

In 2020, there were 1,171 abortions reported in North Dakota, up four percent from the previous year. Chemical abortions reached a record high, surging by 106 percent from 360 in 2019 to 743 in 2020.

There were 9,202 abortions reported in Connecticut in 2019, down nearly one percent from the previous year. However, chemical abortions jumped 14 percent between 2018 and 2019, making up 50 percent of the total in 2019.

There were 1,206 abortions reported in Alaska in 2020, down five percent from the previous year and the lowest annual total since Alaska began publishing abortion statistics in 2003. At the same time, chemical abortions jumped by 46 percent, an increase of 142 chemical abortions from the previous year.

Louisiana’s 2019 abortion report was published online in March 2021. The report shows that abortions increased slightly from 2018.

Georgia released its 2020 abortion statistics in its online vital statistics database in July 2021. Georgia resident abortions increased from the previous year.

As of September 1, 2021, there were 39 states that had released abortion statistics for 2019. Seventeen states reported a decline in abortions from 2018, while 21 states reported that abortions increased. One state, Wyoming, published its first abortion report for the latter half of 2019.

Oklahoma’s 2020 abortion report was published by the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) in June 2021. The report shows that abortions declined from the previous year.

Florida publishes preliminary abortion totals on the website of the Agency for Health Care Administration and was one of the first states to release 2020 abortion statistics. Its full report was provided to the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) in May 2021.

The Mississippi State Department of Health provided 2019 abortion statistics to the Charlotte Lozier Institute in May 2021, showing that abortions increased from 2018.