Abortion Reporting Requirements
Laws and policies on abortion have been changing rapidly across the United States since the US Supreme Court overturned the federal constitutional right to abortion in late June in Dobbs v. Jackson. As a result, some information here may be out of date. Our team is working diligently to update this resource. Thank you for your patience.
For the last four decades, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has partnered with the states to collect aggregate statistics on abortions in the United States. States are not required to submit abortion data to the CDC, but the overwhelming majority do. To collect individual-level data, most state vital statistics agencies have designed a form that abortion providers use for reporting to the state. Typically, the form requires:
- identification of the facility at which the abortion was performed and the physician performing the procedure;
- patient’s demographic characteristics (e.g., age, race, ethnicity, marital status and number of previous live births);
- gestational age; and
- abortion procedure used.
After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the abortion drug mifepristone in 2000, most states adjusted their forms to include questions about medication (nonsurgical) abortion. More recently, states have reconfigured their systems so that reporting is increasingly being done via the Internet.
- 46 states and the District of Columbia require hospitals, facilities and physicians providing abortions to submit regular and confidential reports to the state.
- 8 states require providers to indicate the method of payment, such as insurance or self-pay, for the procedure.
- 28 states require providers to report postabortion complications.
- 16 states require providers to give some information about the patient's reason for seeking the procedure.
- 11 states ask whether the abortion was performed because of a threat to the patient's health or life.
- 8 states ask whether the abortion was performed because of rape or incest.
- 15 states ask whether the abortion was performed because of a diagnosed fetal abnormality.
- 9 states ask whether the abortion was performed for other reasons (e.g. the patient's economic or familial circumstances).
- 6 states require providers to report whether the fetus was viable.
- 14 states require providers to indicate if the state mandates for abortion counseling and parental involvement were satisfied.
- 9 states require providers to report whether state-mandated counseling was provided.
- 14 states require providers to report whether state requirements for parental involvement were met.
State Requirements for Abortion Reporting |
||||||||||
STATE |
REPORTING REQUIRED |
METHOD OF PAYMENT |
COMPLICATIONS |
REASONS FOR PROCEDURE |
FETUS VIABLE |
MET STATE REQUIREMENT FOR: |
||||
Patient's Health/Life |
Rape/Incest |
Fetal Abnormality |
Other* |
Mandated Counseling |
Parental Involvement |
|||||
Alabama |
X† |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
Alaska |
X |
X |
|
|
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
Arizona |
X |
|
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
‡ |
|
X |
Arkansas |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
Colorado |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Connecticut |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Delaware |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dist. of Columbia |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Florida |
X† |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
X |
Georgia |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
X |
X |
Hawaii |
X† |
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
Idaho |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
X |
X |
Illinois |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
Indiana |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
X‡ |
|
X |
Iowa |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kansas |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
‡ |
|
X |
Kentucky |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Louisiana |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
X |
X |
Maine |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Massachusetts |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
‡ |
|
|
Michigan |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
Minnesota |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
Mississippi |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Missouri |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
Montana |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
X‡ |
|
|
Nebraska |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
Nevada |
X† |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Hampshire |
Ω |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Jersey |
Ω |
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
New Mexico |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New York |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
|
|
|
North Carolina |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
North Dakota |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
Ohio |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oklahoma |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X‡ |
X |
X |
Oregon |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pennsylvania |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
‡ |
|
|
Rhode Island |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South Carolina |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
X |
South Dakota |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
Tennessee |
X† |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Texas |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
‡ |
|
X |
Utah |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Vermont |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Virginia |
X |
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
Washington |
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
West Virginia |
X |
|
|
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
X |
Wisconsin |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
Wyoming |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
46 + DC |
8 |
28 |
11 |
8 |
15 |
9 |
6 |
9 |
14 |
▼ Enforcement permanently enjoined by a court order; policy not in effect. |