Over 38 Million Abortions
in U.S.
since 1973
There have been more than 38 million abortions in the twenty six years since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized unrestricted abortion on January 22, 1973.
Except when noted, the following statistics are based on research published by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, special research affiliate of Planned Parenthood Federation of America--the nation's largest provider and promoter of abortion. Estimates for 1997 and 1998 are based on trends from previous years.
In the past, AGI has estimated a possible 3-6% rate of underreporting. The following uses the lower figure.
Year Annual Number of Abortions
1973 744,600
1974 898,600
1975 1,034,200
1976 1,179,300
1977 1,316,700
1978 1,409,600
1979 1,497,700
1980 1,553,900
1981 1,577,300
1982 1,573,900
1983 1,575,000
1984 1,577,200
1985 1,588,600
1986 1,574,000
1987 1,559,100
1988 1,590,800
1989 1,566,900
1990 1,608,600
1991 1,556,500
1992 1,528,900
1993 1,500,000
1994 1,431,000
1995 1,363,690
1996 1,365,730
1997 1,365,730 Estimate
1998 1,365,730 Estimate
Total abortions since 1973 -- 38,010,378
(Based on numbers and estimates reported by the Alan Guttmacher Institute 1973-1996,with NRLC
estimates of 1,365,730 for 1997 and 1998. AGI estimates a possible 3% underreporting rate,
which is factored into the total.)Source for statistics for 1973 through 1992: Stanley K. Henshaw, et al.,"Abortions Services in the United States, 1991 and 1992," Family Planning Perspectives, vol.26, no.3 (May/June 1994), p.101.