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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Have abortions declined sharply in the US over the last two decades?

By Esther Tsvayg
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YES

The number of abortions performed in the U.S. has sharply declined since 1998. In 2016, 623,471 were reported to the Centers for Disease Control, down by about half from the levels prevailing through the 80s and the early and mid-90s. (Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit, compiles estimates based on its own surveys, yielding higher totals but similar trends.)

The number of legal abortions more than doubled after the procedure was declared legal in all 50 states by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade in 1973. In 1972, 586,760 legal abortions were reported to the CDC. By 1980, 1.3 million legal abortions were reported.

Another measure, the ratio of abortions to live births, has also declined. In 1973, there were 19.6 abortions per 100 births; the ratio rose to the mid-30s by 1980 and remained there until the late 1990s. In 2016, there were 18.6, lower than in the year Roe v. Wade was decided.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control: Abortion surveillance, 2016
Wikipedia: Abortion statistics in the US
Guttmacher Institute: Abortion rate in US, 1973-2016
Statista: Legal abortions per 100 live births in the US, 1973-2016
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.