How many abortions were recorded in Kentucky before the ban? Here’s the state data

Meredith Howard
·2 min read
121

Abortion has been banned in Kentucky as the U.S. Supreme Court overturned landmark Roe v. Wade precedent Friday. The commonwealth recorded more than 4,000 pregnancy terminations in 2020, despite restrictions on the procedure.

Reproductive health care was not widely available in Kentucky even before the near-total ban, as only six facilities within the commonwealth reported performing abortions in 2020, the most recent year for which data were available.

Who terminated pregnancies in Kentucky in 2020, and where were abortions performed? Kentucky’s Annual Abortion Report of 2020 provides demographic information about patients.

Kentuckians, what questions do you have about abortion access and laws? Let us know

Who received abortions in Kentucky?

There were 4,104 abortions recorded in Kentucky in 2020.

Patients receiving reproductive care are primarily commonwealth residents in their 20s who have a college education. The gestation week with the greatest number of terminations was six, and only 225 were reported at the 16th week or later.

The most common type of abortion in the commonwealth is non-surgical.

Cases by facility

  • EMW Women’s Surgical Center Louisville: 3,724

  • Norton Hospital: 1

  • Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital: 1

  • Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest: 368

  • University of Kentucky Health Care: 1

  • University of Louisville: 9

State of residence

  • Kentucky: 3,487

  • Indiana: 401

  • Tennessee: 153

  • Ohio: 31

  • West Virginia: 16

  • Virginia: 4

  • Mississippi: 3

  • Louisiana: 2

One patient each from Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey and Texas received an abortion in Kentucky in 2020.

Patient age

  • Under 15: 13

  • 15-19: 353

  • 20-24: 1,192

  • 25-29: 1,229

  • 30-34: 779

  • 35-39: 399

  • 40 or older: 139

Marital status

  • Unmarried: 3,581

  • Married: 523

Patient race

  • Indigenous: 5

  • Black: 1,418

  • White: 2,227

  • Other: 448

  • Unknown: 6

Education level

  • Elementary (grades 0-12): 1,880

  • College (1-4 years): 2,199

  • College (5 or more years): 3

  • Unknown: 22

Clinical estimate of gestation weeks

  • 4: 1

  • 5: 163

  • 6: 1,156

  • 7: 778

  • 8: 631

  • 9: 364

  • 10: 201

  • 11: 167

  • 12: 136

  • 13: 86

  • 14: 77

  • 15: 70

  • 16: 49

  • 17: 55

  • 18: 59

  • 19: 33

  • 20: 43

  • 21: 34

  • 22: 0

  • 23: 1

Procedure type

  • Non-surgical: 2,086

  • Suction curettage: 1,733

  • Dilation and evacuation: 283

  • Sharp curettage (dilation and evacuation): 1

  • Other: 1

Number of previous live births, still living

  • 0: 1,387

  • 1: 1,092

  • 2: 931

  • 3: 426

  • 4: 179

  • 5: 52

  • 6: 19

  • 7: 8

  • 8: 6

  • 9: 1

  • 10: 3

Previous pregnancies resulting in miscarriage

  • 0: 3,249

  • 1: 648

  • 2: 147

  • 3: 39

  • 4: 12

  • 5: 3

  • 6: 3

  • 7: 1

  • 8: 0

  • 9: 0

  • 10: 1

  • 11: 0

  • 12: 0

  • 13: 1

Previous number of abortions

  • 0: 2,685

  • 1: 925

  • 2: 310

  • 3: 108

  • 4: 34

  • 5: 21

  • 6: 12

  • 7: 3

  • 8: 1

  • 9: 1

  • 10: 3

  • 11: 0

  • 12: 1

Complications

  • No complications reported: 4,074

  • Incomplete abortion or retained tissue: 18

  • Other: 6

  • Unknown: 6

What questions do you have about abortion rights in Kentucky? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out the form below or email ask@herald-leader.com.