2024 Abortion Statistics Report

2024 Ohio Abortion Statistics Report

This is an initial analysis of the 2024 Ohio abortion statistics report from Greater Columbus Right to Life. Each year the Ohio Department of Health provides information on the previous year’s abortion statistics as required by Ohio law. We review that report and publish it to our friends and supporters in a way that we think will be helpful. Note that this document may be updated by GCRTL due to additional review and analysis or because of unintentional errors in reporting or calculating information. While we make every effort to provide accurate data, on occasion we make mistakes. If you think there is an error or if you have any questions, please contact our office. If you would like a member of the GCRTL team to come talk to your organization or church about this report or the status of Ohio’s abortion climate in a post Article 1, Section 22 environment, please contact our office at 614-448-8508 or reach out to our Speaker’s Bureau. Please note that the statistics in this document only represent the intentionally induced abortions that happen in Ohio and are reported to the Ohio Department of Health as required by law. It does not include abortions that happen outside of Ohio or that are not reported as required. 

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Statewide Look:
We are grateful that the number of abortions that took place in Ohio slightly declined in 2024 as compared to 2023. The total number of abortions performed in Ohio (21,829) dropped by 171 from 2023 (22,000). Overall, Ohio women made up a smaller number of those having abortions (18,696 – or about 85% in 2024, compared to 19,229 – or about 87% in 2023) with an increase to 3000 women traveling to Ohio to obtain an abortion. This trend is reflected by the increase of abortions performed in Franklin and Hamilton Counties (see Abortions by Community below) – as both locations have proximity to states with more protections for moms and babies and surgical and medical abortion clinics that were continuously operating.

We are cautious about placing too much confidence in these numbers. The number of mail-order abortions available to Ohio women has increased exponentially in the past two years and is not going to be visible within state analytics. In addition, it is possible that more healthcare practitioners are casually offering abortions within their practice without following reporting requirements. We have some anecdotal evidence that may suggest this is the case.

One such piece of evidence is the dramatic decline in the number of abortions that happen through non-surgical means, specifically the abortion pill. Use of the abortion pill has exploded – from less than 5% a few years ago to as high as 80% locally in recent years. Last year, statewide reported use of the abortion pill was about 46% - a slight increase from 2023 (45%). At the same time, we have also seen the rate of post-abortion complications reported by providers explode – more than quadrupling (186 in 2024 from 41 in 2023). Examples of post-abortion complications in 2024 include perforated uterus, cervical laceration, hemorrhage, incomplete or failed abortion, hematometra, and infections.

It is also worth noting that, once again, Black women were disproportionately impacted by abortion. Of the total abortions, 9228 (42%) were performed on Black women and 8934 (41%) were performed on white women. Ninety-seven abortions (0.4%) were reported as being performed for medical necessity, with necessity described as diabetes (2), MS (1), hemorrhage (3), respiratory failure (2), pre-eclampsia (4), inevitable abortion (9), fatty liver (1), infection (2), premature rupture of membranes (19), heart disease (9), and other (52).
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Abortions Locally
Abortions are reported not only by the location where the procedure was performed, but by the county (and zip code) where the mother lived.

In looking at the Greater Columbus MSA (metropolitan statistical area), we see some modest increases in the number of local abortions, apart from Madison and Morrow Counties, which saw a decrease. This trend is also reflected in the number of abortions that took place in Central Ohio (next table) but further suggests that we are increasingly an abortion destination.

The data available also suggests that distribution of the abortion pill, while increasing in total numbers locally, has become a smaller percentage of the overall abortions performed (72% in 2024, compared to 81% in 2023). This far outpaces the statewide percentage - which was 45% in 2023 and 46% in 2024. Abortion pill education and reversal information will continue to be a top priority of ours.

Traditionally, Greater Columbus Right to Life has served the Greater Columbus MSA counties (shown below), but in recent years we have expanded to serve a large portion of central and southeast Ohio where there is no other organized pro-life organization.  Note to those living outside of the MSA area – the numbers for your county and zip code are available in the full report and in the months and weeks to come we will expand our look to your counties.
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That said, while the number of abortions has risen overall in the MSA, especially when compared to 2022 (when heartbeat protections were in law) and 2023 (prior to Ohio’s Constitutional Amendment), we still see a reduction from 2021 in the general trend. It is important to remember that these numbers are just a snapshot, it is helpful to share this information with our partners providing pregnancy help, post abortion healing, and family support in our communities.

​Abortions by Community
Most abortions that are reported to the Ohio Department of Health currently occur at one of the surgical or non-surgical clinics located in the five counties that correspond to Columbus (Franklin), Cincinnati (Hamilton), Cleveland (Cuyahoga), Dayton (Montgomery), Cuyahoga Falls (Summit), and Toledo (Lucas). This year, we also saw abortions happening in our MSA to include Pickaway and Delaware Counties. We also included Athens, as we have been monitoring the Planned Parenthood expansion to offer the abortion pill in Athens County in about November of 2023. This is around the same time that a family medicine practice started offering abortions in Delaware County (Lewis Center). We also have seen a significant increase in the number of abortions happening in other counties. We will take a closer look at this in weeks and months to come.
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Below we look at abortions by where they are being performed. The number of abortions taking place in Franklin County has significantly increased in the past two years, exceeding even 2021 numbers. This is also true for Hamilton County (Cincinnati) and, to a lesser extent, Montgomery County (Dayton).

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In Conclusion
What does this mean? Well, we know that 60 babies are aborted each day (on average) in Ohio and 420 each week. That means that for each hour that passes, about 2.5 babies will die in Ohio. For those living in Central Ohio, that is about 12 a day, or 82 each week.
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It is grim, but it is not without hope. Greater Columbus Right to Life and pro-life organizations around the state are working with partners in the pregnancy help, abortion pill reversal, and post-abortion healing communities to get more information and life-affirming help to the people who need it most. Churches, schools, and families have an opportunity – and an obligation, to speak the truth about the dignity of every human life. The 2024 abortion statistics report is both a reminder and a rallying cry that we cannot count on the laws to protect unborn children any longer, but we can count on you. Especially with increase in out-of-state abortions happening locally, we have not only an opportunity but an obligation to show up on the sidewalk with renewed constancy and faithfulness. The women who are traveling here for an abortion are not likely to encounter the community outreach from our pregnancy help centers, which means that we need to continuously renew our efforts.

To download this report as a PDF, click here. You can download current and historical Ohio Department of Health Abortion Reports here.

To schedule a free speaker or training at your church, school, or organization, visit our Speaker's Bureau page. You can also sign up for 40 Days for Life or learn about opportunities to work for or Volunteer with us.

Finally, you can help support this work as well as our efforts to train and equip the community to respond to the abortion crisis by donating today.

​Note: This entry was updated at 3:45 to adjust minor typographical errors and expand on information provided, including the number of abortion pills used in central Ohio.