The number of U.S. abortions rose annually from 2017 to 2020, led by a spike in chemical abortions, according to a recent study confirming the reversal of a decades-long decline.
Nationwide, 807 clinics conducted 930,160 abortions in 2020, up 8% from 863,320 procedures in 808 clinics in 2017, the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute reported.
The abortion rate increased by 7% from 13.5 to 14.4 abortions for every 1,000 women aged 15-44 over that same period, the group’s study found.
The number and rate of abortions had previously declined annually for 37 years, beginning in 1980 — from 1,553,890 and 29.