Data Shows About 2% of Babies Survive the Abortion Pill

Public debate on abortion often centers on a single moment, while the events before and after, including long-term consequences, receive little-to-no attention. To address this gap, I presented the Abortion Survivors Network’s research at the 55th Annual National Right to Life Conference June 10^th in Arlington, Virginia.

In my presentation, “Survivors. Stories. Strength,” I discussed a rarely addressed topic: the continuum of abortion procedures that do not go as intended. This includes failed abortions resulting in live births; incomplete abortions; reversed abortions through progesterone; and abortion pill failures. The urgency of the last category is more important than ever, as medication abortion — the “abortion pill” — now accounts for roughly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States and growing (Guttmacher Institute, 2023).

Medication abortion has its own failure rates: 1 to 3 percent when mifepristone and misoprostol are used within 49 days, increasing to 3 to 5 percent at 50 to 56 days, and up to 4 to 10 percent when misoprostol is used alone (Dal Pizzol et al., 2006).

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The data reveals trends that policy has largely overlooked. Canadian research indicates that 0.21 percent of surgical abortions result in a live birth, which would equate to an estimated 1,734 born-alive survivors annually in the United States (Abortion Survivors Network, 2024). This figure likely underestimates the total, as it includes only surgical procedures.

A Quebec cohort study found that 11.2 percent of second-trimester abortions resulted in a live birth, with survival rates reaching 21.7 percent when the infant is between 20 and 24 weeks gestation (Quebec Cohort Study, ACOG, 2024).

The proportion of born-alive survivors in the United States has increased steadily, from 4.1 percent between 1989 and 2000, to 10.2 percent from 2001 to 2010, and 20.8 percent between 2011 and 2021 (Abortion Survivors Network, 2024). Despite this, only ten states require reporting on these cases. The CDC ended its born-alive surveillance after 2014, and there is no federal criminal penalty for failing to provide care to a surviving infant (Ohden, 2024).

This lack of visibility has significant consequences for all involved.

Abortion survivors may face lifelong physical effects, such as limb loss, cerebral palsy, and organ damage, as well as psychological challenges including identity crises, severe depression, or spiritual distress. Mothers who experience an unintended live birth are rarely prepared. In every Abortion Survivors Network case involving an unborn baby near viability, women were not informed that live birth was possible. Families, fathers, and medical providers also experience unresolved trauma that current clinical protocols and policies do not address (Ohden, 2024).

For these reasons, the Born Alive Blueprint is essential. This policy framework draws on over two decades of direct engagement with survivors and their families.

It identifies six pillars for survivor-informed reform: accurate statutory definitions, comprehensive reporting, funded services for survivors and mothers, integrated data infrastructure, proportional enforcement, and cultural reframing. Survivors and mothers should be active participants, not passive subjects, in all supportive policies (Ohden, 2024).

The Abortion Survivors Network is the only organization worldwide dedicated to this population. This is not a point of pride, but rather underscores how overlooked these individuals have been. Legislation focused solely on live birth does not address the broader continuum of experiences. This issue goes beyond partisan lines and is fundamentally a matter of human concern.

To learn more or connect with the Abortion Survivors Network, visit abortionsurvivors.org.

References

Abortion Survivors Network. (2024). Born-alive abortion survivor data and estimates. https://abortionsurvivors.org

Dal Pizzol, T. S., Schüler-Faccini, L., Mengue, S. S., & Fischer, M. I. (2006). Misoprostol use and congenital anomalies. Reproductive Toxicology, 22(3), 420–424.

Guttmacher Institute. (2023). Medication abortion now accounts for the majority of all U.S. abortions. https://www.guttmacher.org

Ohden, M. (2024). Born alive, beyond the moment. Abortion Survivors Network.

Quebec Cohort Study. (2024). Live birth outcomes following second-trimester abortion. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

LifeNews Note: Melissa Ohden, who survived a saline abortion in 1977, is founder and CEO of the Abortion Survivors Network and author of “You Carried Me: A Daughter’s Memoir.” This appeared in The Hill and is reposted with the author’s permission.