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Fact check: What percentage of abortions in 2024 were due to health risks to the mother?
Executive Summary
The available analyses do not provide a definitive, single percentage for abortions in 2024 that were performed specifically because of health risks to the mother; instead, they offer two different, partial indicators: one estimate that exceptions for health risks account for less than 5% of abortions based on eight states’ 2021 data, and another finding that about 12% of respondents cited health-related reasons (broadly defined) in studies that are not limited to 2024 or to maternal health risk alone [1] [2] [3]. These contrasting figures reflect differences in definitions, data years, and sampling frames, and they underscore that no direct, nationally representative 2024 figure for abortions due solely to maternal health risk is present in the provided material [1] [2] [3].
1. Why the question can’t be answered with a single 2024 number — definitions and data gaps matter
The sources reveal that the crux of the disagreement is definitional: one dataset treats “exceptions” such as health risk to the mother as a legal category measured against all abortions and finds these exceptions account for under 5%, drawing on eight states’ reporting for 2021; another study asks individuals about health-related reasons (including fetal health or general health concerns) and reports roughly 12% mentioned health-related motives, without isolating maternal health risk or restricting results to 2024 [1] [2]. The two measures are not directly comparable because one is an administrative count of legal exceptions and the other is a self-reported reason among people obtaining abortions; both are further limited by the fact that much of the data cited predates 2024 or lacks a consistent national frame [1] [2].
2. What the “less than 5%” figure actually represents and why it matters
The Charlotte Lozier Institute’s fact sheet that yields the less than 5% figure uses eight states’ 2021 reporting on women’s reasons for choosing abortion and aggregates categories that would qualify for legal exceptions, including maternal health risk [1]. That approach measures the proportion of abortions that would meet common statutory exceptions to abortion limits, not the proportion of abortions driven by medical severity or emergent maternal threat in 2024. Because it relies on selected state reporting and older data, the less than 5% figure is useful for understanding the narrow legal-policy category of exceptions, but it is not a direct measure of the medical prevalence of maternal health–risk-driven abortions in 2024 [1].
3. What the “about 12%” stat captures — broader health reasons and limited specificity
Other analyses indicate that roughly 12% of individuals cited health-related reasons as part of their decision to seek an abortion, a category that can include concerns about fetal health, preexisting maternal conditions, or general health-related socioeconomic considerations; crucially, this statistic is not isolated to maternal health risk specifically, nor is it anchored to the calendar year 2024 in the provided material [2]. As such, the 12% figure signals that health concerns are a meaningful part of the landscape of abortion reasons, but it overstates precision for the narrow policy question about abortions performed because of acute maternal health risk in 2024 [2].
4. Context from studies of post-Dobbs impacts — health outcomes matter but don’t answer the percent question
Separate analyses in the provided set document adverse maternal and infant health trends after abortion restrictions, including higher sepsis and pregnancy-associated mortality in states with bans; these pieces emphasize that restricted access has measurable health consequences, but they do not provide a direct estimate of the share of abortions performed for maternal health risk in 2024 [4] [5] [6]. These studies shift the conversation from the proportion question to impact assessment: even if a relatively small share of abortions are performed under statutory health exceptions, the public-health stakes of access and emergency care are substantial and require distinct measurement from prevalence estimates [4] [5] [6].
5. Bottom line and what would resolve the uncertainty
Given the available analyses, the most defensible statement is that no single, nationally representative figure for 2024 exists in the provided material that isolates abortions performed specifically because of maternal health risk; the closest indicators are an administrative-based under-5% estimate tied to 2021 state reporting and a broader ~12% self-reported health-related reason metric that is not limited to maternal health risk or to 2024 [1] [2] [3]. Resolving the question definitively requires nationally representative 2024 data that distinguishes maternal health risk from other health-related reasons and from legal-exception categories; without that dataset, policy debates should acknowledge the difference between legal exception counts and individual health-reason reporting when citing percentages [1] [2].