WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Guttmacher Institute began publishing monthly abortion estimates based on provider samples after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. This decision ended the federal constitutional right to abortion.

The institute previously collected abortion data by directly surveying clinics, hospitals, and physicians' offices across the nation. The organization has conducted national surveys of abortion providers approximately every three years, completing 19 such surveys since 1973. Its monthly provider samples are not directly comparable to its previous annual national tallies.

In 2020, the institute recorded a national total of 930,160 abortions across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It recorded 916,460 abortions nationwide in 2019 and 885,800 in 2018.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also collects abortion data, which it gathers through voluntary submissions from state central health agencies. CDC abortion surveillance reports include separate figures for New York City and the District of Columbia. The CDC has not received abortion data from California since the mid-1990s.

Both the CDC and Guttmacher abortion totals include only legal, induced abortions performed at clinical facilities or involving medication dispensed by certified providers. Official abortion tracking figures do not account for abortion medication obtained outside of clinical settings.

A January 2026 survey indicated that 60% of U.S. adults said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. In the same survey, 38% of U.S. adults stated that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.