Today, the Guttmacher Institute released abortion estimates for the year 2025. The news is not particularly good for pro-lifers.
Overall, the Guttmacher Institute found that 1,126,000 abortions were performed in 2025. This represents a very slight increase of less than two-tenths of 1 percent since 2024. That said, this new data is further evidence that the increase in the U.S. abortion rate that began in 2017 has continued through the Dobbs decision.
This new data contains some important information for pro-lifers. The Guttmacher data found that in states with abortion bans, 62,000 women obtained abortions in other states in 2025. This represents a 16 percent decline from 2024. However, this decrease in interstate travel was more than offset by an increase in telehealth abortions. Indeed, the number of telehealth abortions obtained by women in abortion-ban states increased by over 26 percent in 2025.
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The Guttmacher information also adds to an impressive body of data that state public policy decisions play a large role in state abortion rates. Florida started enforcing a Heartbeat Law in 2024. Not surprisingly, the number of abortions performed in the Sunshine State fell by more than 25 percent between 2023 and 2025. Iowa’s experience was similar. Iowa also started enforcing a Heartbeat Law in 2024 and saw abortions fall more than 24 percent between 2023 and 2025.
While Florida and Iowa have recently started to enforce protective pro-life laws, other states have made their abortion policies more permissive. Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 in November 2024 which placed legal abortion in the state’s constitution. Between 2024 and 2025, abortions increased by 48 percent in the Show-Me State. Similarly, North Dakota’s life at conception law was struck down by a judge in 2024. Unsurprisingly, abortions performed in North Dakota increased by over 32 percent in 2025.
Overall, this new Guttmacher report provides further evidence that stopping telehealth abortions needs to be a top priority for pro-lifers. Multiple analyses of state-level birth data have shown that recently enacted pro-life laws have saved thousands of lives. However, data from Guttmacher and other organizations show that these pro-life laws are being undermined by the large and growing number of telehealth abortions. Sadly, the lack of action taken by Trump administration FDA on telehealth abortions has been detrimental to the health of women and fatal to countless preborn children.
LifeNews Note: Michael J. New is an assistant professor at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America and is an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_J_New
