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How many women in Florida had abortions last year? And why?

Fetal sonogram (generic)

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has released its annual reports detailing how many abortions were performed for residents in each of the state’s counties in 2023.

Abortion has become a controversial topic in recent decades, with supporters saying it’s a matter of women’s bodily autonomy, and opponents arguing it’s a form of infanticide.

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In total, the reports say there were over 72,000 abortions performed in the state in 2023, with the vast majority being elective, meaning a woman has chosen to terminate her pregnancy without explicit justification.

Non-medically necessary abortions — including those made for elective, social or emotional reasons — made up over 97% of cases, state officials said.

By contrast, less than 0.6% of abortions performed in Florida this year were for reasons including incest, rape, fatal fetal abnormalities, or a threat to the mother’s life, the report shows.

In addition, the FAHCA reports that around 65,000 abortions were performed within the first trimester, though over 6,500 were performed within the second.

The abortion totals by reason and trimester are as follows:

ReasonTotal1st Trimester2nd Trimester
Elective Abortion51,34546,9394,406
Social/Economic Reasons16,80915,3881,471
Emotional/Psychological Health
of Mother
2,0191,814205
Physical Health of Mother
(Not Life-Endangering)
1,1721,038134
Life-Endangering Physical Condition21316152
Serious Fetal Genetic Defect, Deformity
or Abnormality
312145167
Incest1073
Rape907119
Victim of Human Trafficking110
Fatal Fetal Abnormality1168108
TOTAL72,08765,5226,565

Florida law bans elective abortions after 15 weeks (approximately 3 weeks into the second trimester), though Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban into law earlier last year titled the “Heartbeat Protection Act.”

The 15-year ban was upheld by the state’s Supreme Court, allowing the six-week ban to take effect on May 1 — with some exceptions.

According to the CDC, an unborn child’s central nervous system and heart can begin to develop as early as three weeks into a pregnancy, which is likely the cause behind the law’s title.

In 2023, Florida saw variations in abortion figures based on which county people lived in.

Dade and Broward counties were the two with the greatest number of abortions performed, according to the report. However, the report also notes that over 6,500 abortions were performed out-of-state.

The total number of abortions performed per county is as follows:

CountyNo. of Abortions
Dade14,793
Broward8,894
Out-of-State6,566
Hillsborough6,018
Orange4,768
Palm Beach4,352
Duval3,591
Pinellas2,808
Polk2,085
Lee1,714
Volusia1,094
Brevard1,056
Pasco1,041
Seminole1,037
Osceola1,021
Leon976
St. Lucie844
Manatee752
Marion751
Sarasota732
Alachua724
Collier696
Lake640
Escambia445
Clay397
Bay333
Hernando308
St. Johns305
Okaloosa302
Indian River287
Martin277
Charlotte260
Flagler166
Citrus156
Highlands145
Columbia140
Santa Rosa130
Putnam130
Hendry115
Nassau112
Gadsden100
Sumter86
Okeechobee79
Walton76
Levy74
Desoto64
Suwannee61
Monroe57
Wakulla50
Baker46
Hardee45
Jackson43
Bradford42
Dixie41
Hamilton36
Madison31
Taylor30
Jefferson23
Union21
CalhounN/A
FranklinN/A
GilchristN/A
GladesN/A
GulfN/A
HolmesN/A
LafayetteN/A
LibertyN/A
WashingtonN/A

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