Iowa Abortions Drop 35% as Heartbeat Law Save Babies

Iowa’s 2024 vital statistics report, which includes the state’s abortion statistics, was published online by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) in March 2026. The report shows that total abortions, as well as drug-induced abortions, decreased from 2023 to 2024.

The data doesn’t include the number of abortions obtained by Iowa residents out of state or the number of self-managed abortions on women outside of the healthcare system. The report also does not contain the total number of mail-order abortion drugs obtained by Iowa residents prescribed by licensed prescribers in other states. In a separate section, CLI will describe data provided by the Guttmacher Institute’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study that details the number of abortions occurring in the state in 2024 as estimated by Guttmacher’s sample survey and mathematical models. CLI will also describe Guttmacher’s estimated number of abortions obtained by Iowa women in other states. Guttmacher’s abortion estimates include the number of abortions obtained at brick-and-mortar facilities and those provided via telehealth and virtual providers in the United States.

HELP LIFENEWS SAVE BABIES FROM ABORTION! Please help LifeNews.com with a donation!

Iowa’s statute code defines abortion as “the termination of a human pregnancy with the intent other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus” (Iowa Code §146E.1). In Iowa, abortion is prohibited after a fetal heartbeat is detected (typically at or around six weeks of gestation) except in cases where a mother’s life or physical health is endangered by a continued pregnancy or in cases of rape, incest, or a “lethal” fetal anomaly (Iowa Code §146E.1-2).

Statistics and Changes in Iowa Abortions, 2023-2024

The report does not include information on Planned Parenthood’s Iowa abortion market share.

Abortion Totals and Trends

There were 1,792 abortions reported in Iowa in 2024, down 35% from 2023. Drug-induced abortions decreased by 25% but still composed 81% of the total in 2024 (Fig. 1). CLI estimates that Iowa’s abortion rate decreased by 36% to 2.9 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 (Fig. 2).¹ As of April 2026, 28 states have released 2024 abortion reports, with 12 showing decreases in abortion totals from the previous year.

State Report Summary

Ninety-six percent of Iowa abortions were performed on resident women, while 4% were obtained by nonresidents. The number of nonresident women obtaining abortions in Iowa decreased from 2023, when 11% of Iowa abortions were obtained by nonresidents, and from 2022, when 19% of the state’s total abortions were performed on nonresidents. Eleven percent of the abortions were performed on girls younger than 20, including 3% on girls under the age of 18 and 8% on girls between the ages of 18 and 19. Thirty percent of Iowa abortions were performed on women ages 20 to 24, and 26% on women ages 25 to 29. Thirty percent of Iowa abortions were performed on women in their thirties, and 3% on women ages 40 and older. One abortion was performed on a woman of an unknown age.

A majority of Iowa abortions, 59%, were obtained by white women. Twenty-four percent were performed on African American women, and 4% on Asian women. One percent of the abortions were performed on Native American women, and six abortions were performed on Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander women, while 3% were performed on women of multiple races and 10% on women of other or unknown races. CLI estimates that Iowa’s black abortion rate was 12.2 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, more than six times the white abortion rate of 2.0.

Forty-seven percent of Iowa abortions were performed on women who had completed at least some college, and 50% were performed on women with nine to 12 years of school as their highest level of education. Two percent of the abortions were obtained by women with fewer than nine years of education, while education status was not reported for 24 abortions. Eighty-six percent of Iowa abortions were performed on unmarried women, while 14% were performed on married women. Marital status was not reported for five abortions.

A large majority of Iowa abortions were drug-induced (81%). Nineteen percent were surgical, and zero were performed using some other means. Ninety-four percent of the abortions reported in Iowa occurred at or before 13 weeks of gestation. Five percent of the abortions were performed between 14 and 28 weeks of gestation. Zero abortions were reported at 29 weeks or later. The month of May had the most abortions (236), while December had the fewest (53). Iowa’s monthly abortion totals decreased significantly starting in August 2024 because the state’s heartbeat law went into effect on July 29, 2024. Before the heartbeat law went into effect, Iowa’s law prohibited abortion after 21 weeks of gestation.

Breakdown of Abortion Providers in Iowa²

These abortion provider totals are current as of April 1, 2026. This breakdown does not reflect the breakdown of providers available in Iowa during the period that Iowa’s vital statistics report covers (2024).

Guttmacher Data³

In 2024, Guttmacher estimated that 3,940 abortions occurred in Iowa, while the state reported 1,792. Guttmacher also estimated that of the 3,940 abortions performed in the state, 180 were obtained by nonresidents or those of unknown residence who traveled to Iowa, while the state reported 74. Neither the state nor Guttmacher specified the states from which women traveled.

Additionally, Guttmacher estimated that 1,370 Iowa residents traveled out of state to obtain an abortion. The breakdown of where those women traveled is as follows:

• 560 in Illinois
• 490 in Minnesota
• 320 in Nebraska

As one can see, the discrepancy in abortions reported by the state and estimated by Guttmacher (a difference of 2,148 abortions) is not a result of a significant discrepancy in nonresident abortions performed in Iowa. The discrepancy is primarily a result of significantly different resident abortion totals reported by the state and those estimated by Guttmacher. To see this discrepancy in the occurrence of abortions as influenced by underreported resident abortions by the state, as well as a discrepancy in total resident abortions, see below.

Additional context for the underreporting of resident abortions occurring in Iowa by the state is provided by the Society of Family Planning (SFP). The IDPH told CLI in an email correspondence that they do not collect or include telehealth abortion totals in their reporting. However, SFP estimated that of the 3,720 abortions estimated to have occurred in Iowa in 2024, 1,980 were performed in brick-and-mortar facilities, and 1,740 were performed via telehealth and obtained via mail-order.⁴ The difference (1,928 abortions) in total abortions as reported by the state (1,792) and SFP (3,720) can almost be completely explained by the inclusion of telehealth abortion totals (1,740) by SFP and the exclusion of such data by the state. The state also undercounted abortions performed at brick-and-mortar facilities in Iowa compared to SFP’s estimate, but the exclusion of telehealth abortions in the state’s total is almost completely responsible for the discrepancy between the two reporting entities.

State Ranking

In 2024, CLI published a paper reevaluating states’ abortion reporting across the country, with Iowa tied for 27^th best. To improve its reporting, Iowa could report gestational age with more specificity instead of grouping together 14 weeks into one range, as CLI has previously recommended. Additionally, Iowa could collect and report abortion complication data, particularly from emergency rooms and other urgent care settings.

1. National rates were calculated by Guttmacher Institute. Iowa rates were calculated by CLI using the following formula: (total number of abortions performed in Iowa÷ number of resident women ages 15-44 [based on most recent population estimates]) x 1,000. Rates may differ slightly from previous CLI articles due to revised population estimates. Population estimates were obtained using the CDC WONDER database. Estimates for 2005-2009 are intercensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Estimates for 2010-2019 are Vintage 2020 postcensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Estimates for 2020-2024 are Vintage 2024 postcensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Estimates were produced by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics.
2. Provider totals do not include hospitals or physician offices not listed in databases that compile abortion provider locations in different states, but do include Planned Parenthood locations, independent abortion centers, and hospitals/doctors’ offices included in databases like Abortion Finder and Ineedana. This information is up to date as of April 1, 2026.
3. The Guttmacher Institute notes that their monthly abortion totals by state are estimates and that each state’s estimate is within a range of uncertainty. Guttmacher also notes that their estimates do not reflect abortions obtained by women in states with total abortion bans under shield laws in effect in pro-abortion states. Guttmacher’s travel and residence data can be found in the CSV folder here (State_Abortion_Travel_2024.csv). This information is updated as of April 1, 2026.
4. #WeCount’s data can be found here by downloading the “Report data tables [.xlsx]” document. The #WeCount report specifies that the numbers included in their tables for abortions performed under shield laws only represent the number of women to whom abortion drugs were sent, not the number of drug-induced abortions that resulted from the mailed drugs. However, because #WeCount’s data is the only source of data that delineates the number of abortions by mode of provision (in-person, telehealth/mail order, and/or abortion drugs obtained under shield laws), their data is the best available. This information is updated as of April 1, 2026.

LifeNews Note:  The authors are researchers for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, where this article originally appeared.