At a glance
Find frequently asked questions, data, reports, and findings from CDC's Abortion Surveillance System.

When did CDC abortion surveillance start?

CDC began abortion surveillance in 1969 to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions.

Many states and jurisdictions conduct abortion surveillance.
This information is voluntarily reported as aggregate data to CDC.
CDC's surveillance system compiles the information from states and jurisdictions on legal induced abortions.

How does CDC define abortion?

For the purpose of surveillance, legal induced abortion is defined as:

"An intervention performed within the limits of state and jurisdiction law by a licensed clinician (for instance, a physician, nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner, physician assistant) intended to terminate a suspected or known intrauterine pregnancy and that does not result in a live birth."

Exclusions

This definition excludes management of:
- Intrauterine fetal death
- Early pregnancy failure/loss
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Retained products of conception

Method Reporting

Most states and jurisdictions that collect abortion data report whether an abortion was performed by:
- Medication, or
- Surgery

Are states and jurisdictions required to report their abortion data to CDC?

No. States and jurisdictions voluntarily report aggregate data to CDC for inclusion in its annual Abortion Surveillance report.

CDC's Division of Reproductive Health prepares surveillance reports as data become available.
There is no national requirement for data submission or reporting.

States and jurisdictions needing guidance on abortion surveillance may contact CDC at Contact CDC-INFO.

How is the report prepared and formatted?

Preparation of the Abortion Surveillance report is based on the data available from the states and jurisdictions that voluntarily provide this information for a given calendar year.

Process Overview:

CDC receives voluntarily submitted data from states/jurisdictions
Staff perform analyses to produce:
Tables
Figures
Narrative describing methods and trends
Report is published as data become available

For more information on compilation of the report, please view the abstract and methods portion of the most recent Abortion Surveillance report.

How is the Abortion Surveillance Report used?

This report is used for many purposes in the field of public health, including to:

Evaluate programs aimed at promoting equitable access to patient-centered quality contraceptive services in the United States, to reduce unintended pregnancies.
Assess changes in clinical practice patterns related to abortion over time, such as changes in method and gestational age at the time of abortion.
Estimate the number of pregnancies in the United States, using the number of pregnancies ending in abortion, in conjunction with birth data and estimates of pregnancy loss.

Are data available for my own analysis?

Besides the data available in the annual Abortion Surveillance report, data are also available for:

Abortions distributed by area of residence
Abortions distributed by area of clinical service

These data are consistent with data reported to CDC for each year's Abortion Surveillance report.

Limitations

No additional data are available for public use beyond what is published.
For other abortion data, search:
The National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE/PubMed
MedlinePlus bibliographic reference

Last reviewed: 2026-5-4
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Reproductive Health