Key Facts on Abortion in the United States

Most of the information about people who receive abortions comes from CDC data. In 2022the most recent year CDC data are available, women across a range of age groups, socioeconomic status, and racial and ethnic backgrounds obtained abortions, but the majority were obtained by women who were in their twenties, low-income, and women of color.

• Women in their twenties accounted for more than half (57%) of abortions. Nearly one-third (31%) were among women in their thirties and a small share were among women in their 40s (4%) and teens (9%).
• Information on the race and ethnicity of people who obtain abortions is particularly limited, but based on available data, more than half of abortions were among women of color in 2022. Black women comprised 40% of abortion recipients, 32% were provided to White women, 21% to Hispanic women, and 7% were among women of other races/ethnicities. Additionally, White, Black, and American Indian and Alaska Native women are disproportionately represented among women ages 18-49 in states with laws banning or restricting the provision of abortion compared to states that provide broader access to abortion. Many women who sought abortions have children. Approximately six in 10 (59%) abortion patients in 2022 had at least one previous birth.

The vast majority (93%) of abortions occur during the first trimester of pregnancy according to data available from before the Dobbs decision.

Before the 2022 ruling in Dobbs, there was a federal constitutional right to abortion before the pregnancy is considered to be viable, that is, can survive outside of a pregnant person’s uterus. Viability is generally considered around 24 weeks of pregnancy. Most abortions, though, occur well before the point of fetal viability. When people have abortions later in pregnancy, it is often because the fetus is not viable and the pregnancy may endanger the pregnant person’s life.

Data from 2022 found that four in ten (40%) abortions occurred by six weeks of gestation, another four in ten (39%) occurred between seven and nine weeks, and 14% at 10-13 weeks. Just 7% of abortions occurred after the first trimester (Figure 5).