Number of abortions in Ohio slightly dropped in 2024, state data finds

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The number of abortions performed in Ohio did not increase in the wake of the implementation of a reproductive rights amendment, state data shows. 

Ohio law requires physicians to report certain medical and demographic information about abortion patients to the state Department of Health, which then compiles this data into annual reports. Physicians do not report patients’ names. 

The department released its latest report covering 2024 on Wednesday, which revealed Ohio physicians completed a total of 21,829 abortions last year — a drop of less than 1% compared with 2023. 

Ohio voters approved an amendment in November 2023 that enshrined the right to abortion before fetal viability – and after if the mother faces a health risk – in the state’s constitution. Fetal viability, or the point at which a fetus can survive outside the uterus, is generally considered to be between 22-24 weeks gestation but is determined by an individual’s doctor. The measure took effect 30 days after the election, on Dec. 7, 2023, making 2024 the first full year it was in effect. 

Before the amendment’s implementation, Ohio’s abortion law was often in a state of flux. The state enacted a ban after six weeks of pregnancy in 2019, but it was largely unenforced due to court challenges. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the six-week ban went into effect from June 24 through Sept. 14, before it was once again blocked by a court. With that law on hold, abortion was legal in Ohio through 21 weeks of gestation when the amendment went into effect. 

“Given that Ohio has some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country and we have radical judges pushing this agenda, these numbers are encouraging,” Carrie Snyder, executive director of Ohio Right to Life, said of the report. “We aren’t satisfied with the loss of any innocent pre-born child, and our efforts to protect them will continue.”

While the overall number of abortions remained largely unchanged in 2024, Ohio did see more out-of-state residents receiving abortions for the third year in a row. Last year, 3,133 out-of-state residents underwent the procedure, making up about 14% of all abortions performed in Ohio. This marks an increase from 2,771 out-of-state residents in 2023 (12.6% of all abortions), 1,287 in 2022 (7%) and 1,097 in 2021 (5%). 

“I am glad that those people could come to Ohio for the care they needed, but they should have been able to get the care much closer to home,” said Kellie Copeland, executive director of Abortion Forward. “No one should be forced to cross state lines for health care.” 

The majority of abortions, or 64.6%, were performed at less than nine weeks of gestation. The state reported 0.7% of abortions, or 146, were performed after 21 weeks. 

A small portion of abortion patients, 0.4% or 97 individuals, underwent the procedure out of medical necessity. Conditions that resulted in a medically necessary abortion included hemorrhage, diabetes, premature rupture of membranes and cardiac disease. The rest of the patients, 99.6%, did not undergo the procedure due to medical necessity, according to the report. 

Data shows that the majority of abortion patients were between 20 and 29 years old (55.7%), followed by 30 to 39 (32.6%), 18 to 19 (5.9%), over 40 (3.2%) and under 18 (2.6%). When race was reported, 48.9% of patients were Black, 42.4% were white, 5.1% were multiracial, 3.3% were Asian or Pacific Islander and 0.3% were American Indian. 

The report found 83.4% had never been married, while 10.4% were married, 3.8% were divorced, 2.2% were separated and 0.2% were widowed. It further stated 36.5% of patients did not have any children, while 25.3% had one, 37% had two or more and 1.2% did not report if they had children or not. 

A law expanding Ohio’s abortion reporting requirements recently went into effect. The state will soon create a public, electronic dashboard that will update monthly and contain similar data to what is included in the annual reports. The dashboard will supplement the annual reports, rather than replace them. 

Dashboard data will be posted on the 15th of each month starting in October, according to Ohio Department of Health press secretary Ken Gordon. The new law will also require annual abortion reports going forward to be published in March rather than October, making the data released in the reports more current.