Abortions in Michigan reached their highest levels since 1990 after the state declared them a “fundamental right.”
More than 31,000 abortions were had in the state in 2023, according to data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The number is 1,000 more than 2022.
Michigan abortions have not seen such high numbers since 1990, when the state recorded 36,184 abortions. In 1985, however, the state recorded 42,678 abortions.
The majority of the state’s abortions for 2023 were performed for women over the age of 30 (36.8%). Women between the ages of 25-29 consisted of 28.5% of those who had abortions, and 8.1% of abortions were had among women under the age of 20.
One abortion occurred after the 28th week of pregnancy. Another abortion occurred between the 25th and 28th weeks.
In November 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed several bills to reduce abortion barriers. “In roughly the last 18 months, we went from the overturn of Roe v. Wade to protecting abortion rights and expanding reproductive freedom,” she wrote on Facebook at the time.
“The Reproductive Health Act will reduce barriers to abortion, cut unnecessary red tape for medical providers, and expand reproductive health care coverage across Michigan,” she said.
“Two years ago, Americans had their constitutional right to abortion stripped away by an extreme, out-of-touch Supreme Court,” Whitmer said in June. “We must keep fighting to protect the fundamental freedom of every person to make their own health care decisions about their own bodies. While other states have gone backwards, banning abortion, going after birth control, and gutting all kinds of critical health care, we are leading the way to move Michigan forward.”
