Abortion Incidence

•Approximately 862,320 abortions occurred in the United States in 2017. The resulting abortion rate of 13.5 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age (15–44) represents an 8% decrease from the 2014 rate of 14.6.[1]

•In 2017, 3,760 abortions were provided in Iowa, though not all abortions that occurred in Iowa were provided to state residents: Some patients may have traveled from other states, and some Iowa residents may have traveled to another state for an abortion. There was a a 15% decline in the abortion rate in Iowa between 2014 and 2017, from 7.5 to 6.3 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Abortions in Iowa represent 0.4% of all abortions in the United States.[1]

Where Patients Obtain Abortions

•In 2017, there were 1,587 facilities providing abortion in the United States, representing a 5% decrease from the 1,671 facilities in 2014. Sixteen percent of facilities in 2017 were abortion clinics (i.e., clinics where more than half of all patient visits were for abortion), 35% were nonspecialized clinics, 33% were hospitals and 16% were private physicians' offices. Sixty percent of all abortions were provided at abortion clinics, 35% at nonspecialized clinics, 3% at hospitals and 1% at physicians' offices.[1]

•There were 9 facilities providing abortion in Iowa in 2017, and 8 of those were clinics. These numbers represent a 33% decline in clinics from 2014, when there were 13 abortion-providing facilities overall, of which 12 were clinics.[1]

•In 2017, 89% of U.S. counties had no clinics providing abortions. Some 38% of reproductive-age women lived in those counties and would have had to travel elsewhere to obtain an abortion.[1] Of patients who had an abortion in 2014, one-third had to travel more than 25 miles one way to reach a facility.[2]

•In 2017, some 93% of Iowa counties had no clinics that provided abortions, and 58% of Iowa women lived in those counties.[1]

Restrictions on Abortion

In Iowa, the following restrictions on abortion were in effect as of June 28, 2022:

• A patient must receive state-directed counseling that includes information designed to discourage the patient from having an abortion, and then wait 24 hours before the procedure is provided. Counseling must be provided in person and must take place before the waiting period begins, thereby necessitating two trips to the facility.
• The parent of a minor must be notified before an abortion is provided.
• Public funding is available for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape, incest or fetal anomaly. The governor must approve each Medicaid-funded abortion.
• A patient must undergo an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion; the provider must offer the patient the option to view the image.
• An abortion may be performed at 20 or more weeks postfertilization (22 weeks after the last menstrual period) only in cases of life or severely compromised physical health. This law is based on the assertion, which is inconsistent with scientific evidence and has been rejected by the medical community, that a fetus can feel pain at that point in pregnancy.