Florida state data shows sharp drop in abortions in 2024

Abortions in Florida declined precipitously in 2024 compared to recent years, according to state data compiled by the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).

A total of 60,755 unborn babies were aborted in Florida last year, including 3,754 whose mothers were from out of state, according to AHCA’s 2024 “By County” report. The total number of abortions in 2024 reflects a 28% decrease from 2023, when 84,052 unborn babies were killed in abortions. Out-of-state abortions also decreased by 51% in 2024, compared to 7,736 in 2023.

Abortion clinics and doctors who perform abortions in other medical settings are required by state law to provide monthly reports to the AHCA. The AHCA reports therefore do not include abortions performed outside of the formal health care system, meaning the total number of abortions occurring in Florida could be much higher.

Abortion pill rings operating in states with protective laws and internationally have been exponentially more active since the Supreme Court’s reversal. Roe v. Wade and returned the issue of abortion to individual states in June 2022. Medication abortions notably accounted for 63 percent of all abortions in the United States in 2023, up from 53 percent in 2020, according to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute .

The sharp decline in recorded abortions in 2024 could likely be attributed to the state’s six-week restriction on abortion, which took effect May 1. The six-week restriction in Florida iincludes exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking up to 15 weeks of pregnancy; preserve the life of the mother; or a fatal fetal abnormality during a pregnancy that has not entered the third trimester.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) sign the six-week Heartbeat bill in April 2023, but it failed to take effect until the state Supreme Court ruled on Florida’s previous 15-week abortion limit. The 15-week limit came into effect in July 2022 after the Dobbs decision. and was allowed to remain in place during the litigation, thereby replacing the pre-Dobbs law authorizing abortion up to the third trimester of pregnancy.

Florida appeared to become an “abortion destination state” while the 15-week restriction was in effect because all neighboring states to the south had adopted near-total limits on abortion or six-week restrictions. AHCA data confirms that Florida saw thousands more women come from out of state for abortions in 2023 and 2022 compared to previous years, as well as a greater number of abortions in the together and more abortions in the second trimester. In 2022, 6,708 abortions were performed on out-of-state patients, compared to 4,873 in 2021 and 3,988 in 2020.

The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute released data revealing that one in three abortions in the South and one in 12 in the United States took place in Florida in 2023. Guttmacher also reported a higher number of women coming from out of state to obtain an abortion. abortions in Florida, bringing that number to more than 9,000.

ACHA data includes information about the trimester and reasons why the woman decided to have an abortion. In 2024, there was 57,655 first trimester abortions and 3,097 second trimester abortions. According to state data, three babies were aborted during the third trimester, one due to a serious genetic abnormality and two due to fatal fetal abnormalities.

The recorded reason for the majority of first trimester (42,613) and second trimester (2,014) abortions in Florida is listed as “elective.” The second most important reason is “due to social and economic reasons,” with 12,679 babies aborted in the first trimester and 594 in the second trimester for these reasons.

Nearly 1,300 abortions were performed due to the mother’s emotional or psychological health; 825 were due to health reasons of the mother not endangering her life; 303 were due to fetal malformations, malformations or genetic anomalies; and 121 were due to the mother’s physical condition, which was life-threatening, according to the data.

Approximately 202 abortions were performed due to fatal fetal abnormality, including 16 during the first trimester and 184 during the second trimester.

Seven abortions were due to incest, two were due to a human trafficking victim and 100 abortions were due to rape, with 85 percent in the first trimester and 15 in the second trimester, according to the state report.

The AHCA also reports infants born alive during abortions, although the state report does not specify whether the babies survived or ultimately perished.

In 2024, 4 babies were born alive during abortions, compared to 14 in 2023 and 16 in 2022. In 2021, the state reported 4 babies born alive during abortions, 7 in 2020 and 3 in 2019.

Florida’s six-week restriction faced another challenge in 2024, when pro-abortion activists attempted to use a ballot measure called Amendment 4 to amend the state constitution to enshrine the right to abortion. abortion throughout pregnancy, with a few exceptions. The amendment would have reversed the state’s current six-week restriction and, once again, made it an abortion destination for neighboring states.

In November 2024, Florida was one of ten states to place an abortion measure on the ballot. However, Florida became the first state to reject a pro-abortion amendment since the Supreme Court struck down the amendment. Deer. Overall, three of the ten states that put abortion on the ballot in November rejected the amendments, including Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota.

In Florida, proposed constitutional amendments must gain 60 percent support to pass. Amendment 4 narrowly failed, with 57 percent voting for and 43 percent voting against. Many other states require only a simple majority for constitutional amendments — a lower threshold, which has allowed abortion measures to pass in more conservative states like Missouri.

Katherine Hamilton is a politics reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on @thekat_hamilton.