SUMMARY NC is not Pro-Baby enough to reduce abortion rates

·      Sadly, in 2023 more abortions than ever in NC – In 42,954 abortions were performed in NC, up 7% over 2022

·      Some Improvement – While still almost 1 out of 5 babies are aborted, the number of NC mothers having abortions dropped from 19.1% in 2022 to 18.4% in 2023.

Out of State Abortions – NC is an Abortion destination state

·      Out of State Abortions Surge Higher – There was a 41% increase in abortions performed on mothers not from NC in 2023, vs a 5% decrease for NC resident mothers.    

·      70%¹ of Out of State Abortions are from GA and SC - Mothers wanting abortions are coming from more baby friendly states to NC, a less baby friendly state, to have their abortions.

·      NC is #2 in US¹ – At 36%, NC had the 2^nd highest rate for out of state abortions.

Abortion Pills – The New Battle

·      Abortion Pills used in 70% of abortions – Abortion pills account for almost 70% of all abortions in NC Mothers in 2023.  That number is likely even higher, if the number of self-managed abortions was known.

·      Missing Abortions in NCDHHS Count – Abortion pills purchased online from out of state/overseas providers, are not included in the 2023 NC abortion statistics. Almost anyone can order abortion pills online, even minors in states who do not allow any abortions!

Demographics – Sadly, Margaret Sanger / Planned Parenthood eugenics plan is working.

·      Older White Women Aborting More – White women ages 30-34 abort their pregnancies the least at 6%, but that percentage increases to more than 20% at 45+.  Likely doctors are telling older while women to abort their babies because of potential complications.

·      African American “Genocide?” – Abortionists kill 34% of all African American babies in NC, and the rate has risen from 26% in 2018 to 34% in 2023.

¹ Guttmacher - https://www.guttmacher.org/monthly-abortion-provision-study

² #WeCount  https://societyfp.org/research/wecount/wecount-december-2024-data/

All other data is from NCDHHS -  https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/vital/pregnancies/2023/

Abortion Rates in NC

·      In 2023, there were a total of 42,954 total abortions. This is an increase of 7.3% or 2,917 over 2022.

·      The percentage of child baring women having an abortion dipped from 1.4% to 1.3% but is still significantly higher than 2017-2020.

·      The percentage of women who chose to terminate their pregnancy was 18.4% in 2023.

·      Both Guttmacher and #WeCount both estimate a significant rise in the number of abortions to be reported in 2024. However, official NC data will likely not be available until Fall 2026.

·       Guttmacher - https://www.guttmacher.org/monthly-abortion-provision-study

·       #WeCount  https://societyfp.org/research/wecount/wecount-december-2024-data/

•       All other data is from NCDHHS -  https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/vital/pregnancies/2023/

•       Abortion Rate % - Percentage of NC resident women, of childbearing age, that had an abortion.

•       Abortion Fraction % - Percentage of pregnant NC resident women that had an abortion.

•       Total NC – Total Number of abortions in NC, including out of state abortions. (See subsequent tables for breakouts)

·      The largest quantity of abortions happened in metropolitan areas where people travel to abortion clinics.

NC - AN ABORTION DESTINATION STATE

Tragically, abortion numbers have been increasing over the years. This is certainly due to a steadily growing population in North Carolina, but it has also been affected by various states’ legislation making North Carolina an abortion destination state. Note: out-of-state women having abortions in North Carolina continues to rise, comprising 36.80% of all abortion performed in NC.

·      Over 70% of the out of state mothers, seeking abortions in NC, are from SC & Georgia. Both states protect babies after 6 weeks of pregnancy.

      Data From Gutttmacher - https://www.guttmacher.org/monthly-abortion-provision-study 

·      Mothers from other states seeking to have abortions in NC started to surge in 2022.

·      From 2022 – 2024 most states in the region enacted laws protecting babies earlier than North Carolina’s 12-week protection, creating an influx of women from these states.

·      The chart and table below clearly show the link between changes in baby protections and the increase of out-of-state mothers seeking abortion in NC.

Estimated Data From Guttmacher - https://www.guttmacher.org/monthly-abortion-provision-study  All Other Data:  https://www.cdc.gov/reproductive-health/data-statistics/abortion-surveillance-findings-reports.html

·      Since NC passed the 12-week protection for babies in Jul-2023, we have seen women seek abortions in other states, especially in VA where there is very little protection for babies.

* Estimated Data From Guttmacher - https://www.guttmacher.org/monthly-abortion-provision-study 

All Other Data:  https://www.cdc.gov/reproductive-health/data-statistics/abortion-surveillance-findings-reports.html

CHEMICAL OR “MEDICAL” ABORTIONS

 Chemical or ‘medical’ abortions have been rising dramatically. These so-called ‘medical’ abortions are the two-pill regime of the chemicals, mifepristone and misoprostol.

·      In 2023, they composed greater than 68.9% of all abortions according to the North Carolina Division of Public Health (NCDPH) vital statistics.

·      According to #WeCount, there is estimated to be a very steep rise in the number of “virtual-only” abortion.

* #WeCount  https://societyfp.org/research/wecount/wecount-december-2024-data/

 The rise in remote chemical abortions is cause for great concern as the chemical abortions, apart from killing the unborn child, have serious consequences on the woman’s body and have a much higher complication rate than surgical abortion. In fact, there is a reported 20% complication rate with the abortion pill (1 in 5 women), involving excessive bleeding, retained body parts, incomplete abortion and other complications requiring emergency room visits.  (See report on the next page for details)

DANGERS of “MEDICAL” ABORTIONS

The Charlotte Lozier Institute reports, “Studies have found that chemical abortion has four times the complication rate of surgical abortion, and these risks only increase with advanced pregnancy and lack of medical supervision.” ³

A recent report published this year summarizes the dangers of chemical abortions. The summary is listed below with a link to the full report

Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC) – “The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event” (April 28, 2025)

1. Key Methodology & Findings

Source: EPPC report itself

• The EPPC report analyzes an “all-payer insurance claims database” covering 865,727 prescriptions of Mifepristone (chemical abortion pill) issued to 692,873 women between 2017–2023. Ethics & Public Policy Center+2Ethics & Public Policy Center+2

• Their headline finding: 10.93 % of women had a “serious adverse event” (SAE) such as sepsis, infection, hemorrhage, within 45 days of the prescription. Ethics & Public Policy Center+1

• They assert this rate is at least 22 times higher than the < 0.5 % SAE rate indicated on the FDA-approved drug label. Ethics & Public Policy Center+1

• On “failure” (i.e., needing a second abortion attempt within 45 days): they report 5.26 % of women underwent a second abortion attempt (using mifepristone again) within that window. Ethics & Public Policy Center+1

• When combining adverse events + repeated abortion attempts (and adjusting for overlap), the EPPC claims ~13.51 % (~1 in 7) of women experienced either an SAE or repeat abortion attempt within 45 days. Ethics & Public Policy Center+1

• The report emphasizes that their dataset:

  • Is “28 times as many” women as the clinical trials supporting FDA approval. Ethics & Public Policy Center

  • Is drawn from “real-world” practice (vs clinical-trial conditions) and includes more recent women (2017-2023) in the U.S. context. Ethics & Public Policy Center

• Based upon their findings, the report urges that the FDA (1) reinstate prior stricter safety protocols (e.g., physician oversight) and (2) reconsider the approval of mifepristone altogether

Full study can be found here: 25-04-The-Abortion-Pill-Harms-Women.pdf

ABORTION BY ETHNICITY & AGE

•                Older White Women Aborting More – White women ages 30-34 abort their pregnancies the least at 6%, but that percentage increases to more than 20% at 45+.  Likely doctors are telling older while women to abort their babies because of potential complications.

•                African American “Genocide?” – Abortionists abort 34% of all African American babies, accounting for 48% of all abortions in NC. And the rate has risen from 26% in 2018 to 34% in 2023.

Other Abortion Demographics

There was no material change in the demographics of “Number of Children”, “Number of Previous Abortions” or “Weeks of Gestation”, or “Age Group” as compared to previous years.

NATIONAL STATISTICS

“New findings from the Guttmacher Institute (the research arm of Planned Parenthood) show that an estimated 1,050,660 abortions occurred in 2024, the second full calendar year after the US Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs overturned Roe v. Wade. This represents a rate of 15.9 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age,* and is a 11% increase since 2020 It is also the highest number and rate measured in the United States in over a decade.”

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

Of great concern are the number of abortions being provided by states that have shield laws.  These shield laws permit abortion pills to be prescribed to nearly anyone nationwide, including states where local doctors cannot legally prescribe them. (See Chart below from #WeCount)

* Some states refuse to report abortion data to the CDC, so totals are underreported. CA,MD, and NH continue to not report any data to the CDC

** https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2022/guttmacher-institute-releases-2020-abortion-provider-census-important-data-us and https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1363/psrh.12215 (Accessed 06/15/2024)

The CDC is slow in reporting national totals for abortions, and often they are incomplete because some states refuse to submit their data.

Interestingly, the Guttmacher Institute reports that 63% of the total of 1,035,360 abortions were (chemical) in the United States in 2023.

It is possible that pro-abortion sources like to report higher abortions when there are more laws that protect human life, and lower abortions when laws favor abortion, for the purpose of making pro-life legislation appear ineffective.

How are Abortions Performed?

The method of abortion used depends in part upon the age of the child. The number of total abortions performed at various weeks of gestation is provided, in the chart on the right.

Suction Curettage was the second most common reported abortion procedure in 2023, accounting for 28.9% of all reported resident abortion procedures. Suction curettage procedure involves dilating a woman’s cervix, inserting a flexible tube into her uterine cavity, and suctioning out the unborn baby’s tissue and the placenta using an electric vacuum pump.

Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) was the third most common reported abortion procedure for North Carolina residents. In 2023 however, they reported none done by this method. During the D&E procedure, an abortionist dilates a woman’s cervix and inserts sharp instruments, as well as suction devices and forceps, which are then used to cut up and extract her unborn baby, piece by piece.

Medical (Nonsurgical) Abortions are more accurately called chemical abortions by pro-lifers because of the chemicals ingested by the mother kill the unborn child. This type of abortion was the most common reported abortion procedure reported for North Carolina residents in 2023 at 68.9%.  This procedure involves administering the woman drugs orally, intravenously, or intravaginally to first deprive the developing child of nutrients and then to induce premature labor. Medical abortions typically take place within the first trimester.

In 2.1% of cases, other abortion methods were used, or the type of abortion procedure was unknown.   

It is suspected with the ease of access to the abortion pill and the availability from out-of-state sources through tele-med & mail-order that the total number of abortions in North Carolina with Mifeprex (mifepristone-abortion pill) now may well be over 68.9%

References

 1.    NCDHHS: DPH: NC SCHS: Statistics and Reports: Reported Pregnancies 2023

2.    https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/vital/pregnancies/2021/Table7-2012-2021-AbortionCharacteristics.pdf

3.    https://lozierinstitute.org/abortion-drug-facts/#risk-to-women.

4.    https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/vital/pregnancies/2022/.

5.    [1] https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/vital/pregnancies/2012/abortioncharacteristics.pdf

6.    Guttmacher Institute Releases Full-Year US Abortion Data for 2024 | Guttmacher Institute

7.    What the data says about abortion in the U.S. | Pew Research Center

8.    Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2022 | MMWR

9.    Monthly Abortion Provision Study | Guttmacher Institute

10. NCDHHS - North Carolina Abortion Data

11. Society of Family Planning: #WeCount report, April 2022 to December 2024

12. WeCount-Report-9-December-2024-data.pdf

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