The number of babies born in the United States declined in 2025 while the number of babies killed in abortions has hit record highs.
Provisional figures released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 3,606,400 babies were born in 2025, a 1% decrease from 3,628,934 births in 2024. The general fertility rate fell 1% to 53.1 births per 1,000 women and girls ages 15-44, continuing a decline that began in 2007.
Births to teenagers dropped sharply. The rate for girls ages 15-17 fell 11% to 4.7 per 1,000, while the rate for ages 18-19 declined 7% to 21.9 per 1,000.
Births rose modestly among women ages 35 and older.
At the same time, abortions reached high numbers nationwide.
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The Guttmacher Institute estimated 1,126,000 abortions occurred in 2025, virtually unchanged from 2024. Pro-life analyst Michael New noted that “the trend [of] rising abortion numbers continues.”
Planned Parenthood reported killing a record 434,450 babies in abortions in its 2024-2025 fiscal year, an 8% increase from 402,230 the previous year. The organization ends more than 1,190 unborn lives each day.
Pro-life leaders expressed alarm at the contrast between declining births and sustained high abortion figures.
“Planned Parenthood’s reign of death and destruction increased in 2025,” said Hugh Brown, vice president of American Life League. “And despite its cries that our tax dollars were taken from it, the organization actually received a record amount of government funding last year.”
American Life League President Judie Brown added: “Hidden beneath the glass and the numbers is the actual truth that Planned Parenthood detests families as God designs them. It works tirelessly to market evil and promote it under the guise of ‘healthcare.’”
New pointed out that while some states enforcing pro-life heartbeat laws saw abortion declines, those reductions were offset by increases in telehealth abortions in other areas. He called stopping telehealth abortions “a top priority for pro-lifers.”
The figures come more than three years after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision returned abortion policy to the states. Pro-life advocates continue to push for stronger protections for unborn children as the nation grapples with falling fertility rates.
