How many abortions were performed in 2024 in the United States?

1. Two headline numbers, two methods — why they differ

Guttmacher’s 1,038,100 figure covers clinician‑provided abortions in states without total abortion bans and comes from its Monthly Abortion Provision Study that blends provider surveys and statistical modeling ^[1]. #WeCount’s 1.14 million estimate is a nationwide total reported by the Society for Family Planning and explicitly incorporates telehealth prescriptions, shield‑law provision and data reported monthly by participating providers — a broader capture of where and how abortions were accessed in 2024 ^{[2] [3]}. Both groups are transparent that methods and inclusion criteria differ; that explains most of the numerical gap ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Telehealth and “shield laws” changed counting and access

Multiple sources identify telehealth provision and shield laws as major drivers of rising counts: telehealth abortions rose substantially through 2024 and SFP’s reporting credits telehealth and shield‑law prescribing for increased volume—#WeCount documents many medication abortions provided under shield laws to people in banned states ^{[2] [4] [5]}. News coverage and analysis from AP, Axios and TIME highlight that telehealth prescriptions for abortion pills pushed overall numbers upward in 2024 ^{[5] [6] [4]}.

3. Travel and cross‑state care are important — and uneven

Guttmacher reports roughly 155,000 people crossed state lines for abortion in 2024, about 15% of abortions in states without total bans, indicating substantial interstate movement for care ^[1]. #WeCount and KFF similarly document rising interstate flows and note that while national totals edged up, state‑level changes were highly uneven — some states saw sharp declines while others absorbed out‑of‑state patients ^{[3] [7]}.

4. What these totals do — and do not — include

Neither dataset fully captures self‑managed abortions obtained without clinician involvement; Guttmacher and Pew both underline that formal counts reflect legal, clinically provided care and may miss self‑managed cases ^{[8] [9]}. Guttmacher’s published rate — 15.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 for 2024 — is calculated from its provider‑based totals and does not encompass out‑of‑system self‑management ^[8]. #WeCount attempts broader coverage of telehealth and shield‑law prescriptions but still depends on provider reporting ^[2].

5. Short‑term trend: modest national rise, big local shifts

Multiple outlets concur: national abortion volume increased slightly in 2024 compared with 2023, but that “stability” masks large state differences. Guttmacher reported a <1% increase across states without total bans ^[1]; TIME summarized a similar small increase with substantial state variability ^[10]; and KFF and AP framed the rise as driven by telehealth even as access fell near zero in some restrictive states ^{[11] [6]}.

6. How journalists and policymakers should treat the numbers

Treat headline totals as method‑dependent estimates, not immutable counts. Use Guttmacher’s 1,038,100 to discuss clinician‑provided care in states without total bans and use #WeCount’s ~1.14 million when you need a broader national picture that includes telehealth and shield‑law prescribing ^{[1] [2]}. Cite the dataset used and note omissions such as self‑managed abortions and providers who did not report ^{[9] [8]}.

7. Remaining uncertainties and reporting limitations

Available sources make clear several limits: the CDC’s national reporting lags (with its last full national year in public account through 2021), provider nonresponse requires modeling for both projects, and self‑managed abortions remain largely invisible to these systems ^{[9] [12] [8]}. Sources do not provide a single, definitive national census for all abortions in 2024 that includes self‑managed care; instead, researchers offer competing, transparently different estimates ^{[2] [1]}.

Bottom line: if you need one succinct answer from the available reporting, say that Guttmacher counted about 1.04 million clinician‑provided abortions in states without total bans in 2024, while the Society for Family Planning’s #WeCount project estimates roughly 1.14 million total abortions nationwide in 2024 — the difference reflects scope and methodology, especially inclusion of telehealth and shield‑law provision ^{[1] [2]}.