What do public health statistics and medical data show regarding the frequency of and reasons for abortions performed at or after 21 weeks of gestation?
Confidence as of July 31, 2026
3 claims2 open questions
Our take
Available data shows that abortions performed at or after 21 weeks represent about 1% of reported U.S. abortions, but there is no reliable, consistent data that states the reason why for these abortions.
Why we say this
CDC, 2024
Among areas reporting gestational age, 1.1% of abortions were at ≥21 weeks.
CDC, 2024
Does not publish nationwide reasons for abortion by gestational age.
The 19th, 2025
Since publishing 2022 data, the federal government has made no plans to continue or expand this research — leaving this an open question.
This is not a claim of absolute truth. Read the whole story for more context.
as of July 31, 2026
This story tracks what public health surveillance, peer-reviewed medical research, and official statistics establish about abortions performed at or after 21 weeks of gestation in the United States. The evidence addresses two separate questions: (1) how frequently these abortions occur, and (2) what medical and non-medical factors are documented as contributing reasons. National surveillance reliably measures frequency but does not comprehensively record patients' reasons, leaving important evidence gaps.
Where things stand
There is broad agreement on the rarity of abortions occurring at or after 21 weeks among reported U.S. abortions in the most recent CDC Abortion Surveillance reports (data years through 2022). CDC has not published a later annual surveillance report; in May 2025, HHS officials told GAO the future of that data collection was uncertain amid agency realignment. There is considerably less comprehensive national evidence regarding patients' reasons because neither the CDC's abortion surveillance system nor most state reporting systems collect standardized nationwide data on indications for abortion. Most evidence regarding reasons comes from peer-reviewed clinical studies of later-abortion patients rather than national surveillance.
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Confidence
as of July 31, 2026CDC surveillance through data year 2022 consistently reports that more than 92% of abortions occur during the first trimester and approximately 1% occur at or beyond 21 weeks. No later annual Abortion Surveillance report has been published; GAO reported in June 2025 that HHS officials were uncertain whether CDC would continue collecting abortion data. The surveillance system also does not systematically collect nationally standardized data on why abortions occur at specific gestational ages. Consequently, published clinical studies document multiple contributing factors, but there is no official nationwide breakdown assigning percentages to individual reasons.
This is our best read given the published evidence we have reviewed — not a claim of absolute truth.
Open questions
What proportion of abortions after 21 weeks are associated with fetal diagnoses, maternal health conditions, or delayed access?
No comprehensive national reporting system collects standardized indication data.
How have changes in state abortion laws affected the timing of abortions?
Policy changes may alter access and gestational timing, but CDC has not published Abortion Surveillance for years after 2022 and the future of that federal series is uncertain.
What would change our mind
- A nationally standardized surveillance system collecting verified medical indications for abortions by gestational age.
- Large representative studies demonstrating substantially different distributions of reasons than those currently documented.
Timeline — How we got here
6 updates · append-onlyStable for nowNo CDC Abortion Surveillance report after data year 2022
As of July 31, 2026, CDC’s Abortion Surveillance findings page still presents 2022 as the latest published annual report. No later federal gestational-age breakdown superseding the ~1% figure at ≥21 weeks has been released.
Claims & evidence
Each claim is tracked separately — not a single verdict.Abortions performed at or after 21 weeks account for approximately 1% of reported U.S. abortions in the most recent CDC Abortion Surveillance reports (through data year 2022).
Evidence basis- November 28, 2024Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2022
For 2022, among the 41 areas that reported gestational age, 92.8% of abortions were performed at ≤13 weeks’ gestation, 6.1% at 14–20 weeks, and 1.1% at ≥21 weeks’ gestation.
- November 24, 2023Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2021
For 2021, among the 41 areas that reported gestational age, 93.5% of abortions were performed at ≤13 weeks’ gestation, 5.7% at 14–20 weeks, and 0.9% at ≥21 weeks’ gestation.
- June 23, 2025Abortion Restrictions: Research Suggests Potential Economic and Household Effects of Recent State Changes (GAO-25-107477)
In May 2025, agency officials said the future of this data collection is uncertain, given ongoing realignment efforts at the agency.
- June 23, 2025The future of federal abortion data collection is unclear
Since publishing the 2022 data in November (data is typically released on a two-year delay), it's unclear whether the agency plans to continue the research.
No official U.S. public health surveillance system provides a comprehensive national breakdown of the reasons abortions are performed at or after 21 weeks.
Evidence basis- November 27, 2024Abortion Surveillance Findings and Reports
CDC surveillance reports gestational age and other characteristics but do not publish nationwide statistics assigning reasons for abortions by gestational age.
Published medical studies report multiple reasons for abortions after 21 weeks, including severe fetal anomalies, maternal health conditions, delayed recognition of pregnancy, delayed diagnosis of fetal conditions, and barriers to obtaining earlier abortion care.
Evidence basis- November 27, 2024Abortion Surveillance Findings and Reports
CDC surveillance measures timing and characteristics of abortions but does not attribute individual procedures to specific medical indications, leaving that evidence to clinical studies.
What this doesn’t establish
Claims commonly associated with this story that the available evidence does not establish. Confirming a narrow fact here is not confirmation of the broader narrative around it. As such, these claims are not included in the claims bar above.
Official public health data do not establish that abortions performed at or after 21 weeks occur exclusively because of immediate medical emergencies.
Evidence basis- November 27, 2024Abortion Surveillance Findings and Reports
National surveillance does not record medical indication, so it cannot establish that all later abortions share a single cause.
Official public health data also do not establish that most abortions performed at or after 21 weeks are elective procedures performed without medical or access-related factors.
Evidence basis- November 27, 2024Abortion Surveillance Findings and Reports
Because CDC surveillance does not collect standardized reasons for later abortions, it cannot support conclusions about what proportion are elective versus medically indicated.
Help improve this story
Point us at a source, a mistake, or a framing problem. Every submission is reviewed by a human before anything changes — this is not a vote on what’s true.
Confidence last reviewed July 31, 2026. Updates are append-only; nothing here is edited silently.
Soon you'll be able to follow a story and get notified when the evidence changes.