The Guttmacher Institute today released new data showing that in 2024 there were 1,038,100 clinician-provided abortions in US states without total abortion bans, an increase of less than 1% from 2023. In addition to offering state and national abortion estimates from January 2023 through January 2025, the latest round of data from the Monthly Abortion Provision Study also includes new estimates of the number of people traveling across state lines to obtain an abortion in 2024.
An in-depth look at these findings is available in an accompanying policy analysis.
2024 national- and state-level abortion incidence data
Despite the numerous barriers that abortion seekers in the United States faced in 2024, the number of abortions in states without total bans remained steady from the previous year. Despite the relative stability at the national level, the data show important variability of provision at the state level.
For example, Florida and South Carolina, two states with recent six-week bans, saw particularly sharp declines in the number of abortions provided. In contrast, Wisconsin, Arizona, California, Kansas, Ohio and Virginia all saw substantial increases. For additional details on these findings, please refer to the accompanying policy analysis.
"Despite the Dobbs decision overturning the federal right to abortion in June 2022, Guttmacher data continue to show an increase in the number of clinician-provided abortions as compared to 2020.” says Isaac Maddow-Zimet, Guttmacher Institute data scientist and Monthly Abortion Provision Study project lead. “While these data cannot capture the obstacles that many abortion seekers faced or those who were unable to access care, the findings do underscore the determination and dedication of abortion patients, providers, advocates and support organizations.”
Out-of-state travel for abortion care in 2024
In 2024, approximately 155,000 people crossed state lines for an abortion, representing 15% of all abortions provided in states without total bans. This is a slight decline from 2023, when more than 169,000 people traveled across state lines for an abortion (16% of abortions in those states) but is still close to double the number who did so in 2020.
The states with the highest number of abortions provided to out-of-state residents in 2024 were the same four as in 2023:
- Illinois: 35,000 abortions, representing 39% of all abortions provided in the state
- North Carolina: 16,700 abortions (36% of abortions in the state)
- Kansas: 16,100 abortions (71% of abortions in the state)
- New Mexico: 12,800 abortions (69% of abortions in the state)
“The latest abortion travel data are a clear reminder that the impact of a state’s abortion policies extends far beyond its borders,” says Kimya Forouzan, Guttmacher Institute principal state policy advisor. “For instance, the substantial increase in out-of-state abortion patients in Virginia can likely be attributed to Florida’s six-week ban that went into effect in May 2024. Despite being hundreds of miles away, Virginia is the second-closest state for Florida residents to seek an abortion after six weeks’ gestation and the closest without a mandatory waiting period. This patchwork approach to abortion legality has only exacerbated inequity in abortion access across the country.”
Increase in share of abortions provided by online-only clinics
The share of abortions in states without total bans that were provided via online-only clinics rose to 14% in 2024 from 10% in 2023 (an increase of around 40,000 abortions). Nationally, the share of abortions provided via online-only clinics is almost certainly higher than this, as the 14% does not include shield law provision into states with total abortion bans. Recent estimates from the Society for Family Planning’s #WeCount study document that 34,500 medication abortions were provided via shield laws to states with total bans in the first half of 2024.
About the Study
The Monthly Abortion Provision Study estimates the number of clinician-provided abortions that take place each month in each US state without a total ban. It collects data on procedural and medication abortions provided at brick-and-mortar health facilities (such as clinics or doctor’s offices), as well as medication abortions provided via telehealth and virtual providers in the United States. Abortions are counted as having been provided in the state in which a patient had a procedure or where pills were dispensed.
Estimates are generated by a statistical model that combines data collected from monthly samples of providers with historical data on the caseload of every provider in the United States; as more data are collected each month, estimates for past months become more precise. In addition to median estimates for each month, we provide a range (uncertainty interval) that describes the precision of the estimates: A bigger range means that the estimate is more uncertain for a specific state and month, while a smaller range indicates that the estimate is more precise.
About the Guttmacher Institute
The Guttmacher Institute is a leading research and policy organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. The Institute has a long history of tracking abortion incidence in the United States and globally. Every three years since 1974, the Guttmacher Institute has conducted the Abortion Provider Census of all known facilities providing abortion in the United States to collect information about service provision, including total number of abortions.