Abortion Surveillance - United States, 2022

Area of Science:

• Public Health Surveillance
• Reproductive Health Statistics
• Demographic Analysis of Abortion

Background:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducts abortion surveillance to monitor legal induced abortions and related deaths in the U.S.
• This surveillance is crucial for understanding trends and informing public health strategies related to reproductive health services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions in the United States for 2022.
• To assess trends in abortion rates and ratios from 2013 to 2022.
• To analyze abortion-related deaths and gestational age at the time of abortion.

Main Methods:

• Abortion data were collected from 48 reporting areas (states, District of Columbia, New York City) for 2022.
• Data from 47 reporting areas with continuous reporting from 2013-2022 were used for trend analysis.
• Abortion rates and ratios were calculated using U.S. Census and natality data; abortion-related deaths were assessed via the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS).

Main Results:

• In 2022, 613,383 abortions were reported. Among 47 reporting areas, the abortion rate was 11.2 per 1,000 women (15-44 years), and the ratio was 199 per 1,000 live births.
• From 2021 to 2022, total abortions decreased by 2%, rates by 3%, and ratios by 2%. From 2013 to 2022, abortions decreased by 5%, rates by 10%, and ratios increased by 1%.
• Women in their 20s accounted for over half of abortions. Most abortions (78.6%) occurred at ≤9 weeks' gestation, with early medication abortion being the most common method (53.3% of all abortions).

Conclusions:

• Overall decreases in reported abortions and rates were observed from 2013-2022, with a slight increase in the abortion ratio.
• Abortion surveillance data can inform programs aimed at improving access to contraceptive services and reducing unintended pregnancies.
• In 2021, five deaths were associated with complications from legal induced abortions.