2020 ABORTION STATISTICS
Executive Summary
Pennsylvania has been monitoring and reporting on abortion data since 1975. This report is produced pursuant to Section 3214 of the Abortion Control Act, 18 Pa. C.S. § 3214(e)(1).
In 2020, there were 32,123 abortions performed in Pennsylvania. Nearly half, (14,813) of all abortions performed in Pennsylvania were to white individuals, and 14,177 were to black or African-American individuals. Abortions to individuals of Hispanic origin accounted for 3,479, or 10.9 percent, of all abortions in 2020. More than 88 percent (28,281) of the abortions performed in Pennsylvania in 2020 were to unmarried individuals.
The largest age group having abortions was 25-29, accounting for 9,841 (30.6 percent) of all 2020 abortions. Individuals under age 20 accounted for 7.9 percent of all abortions in 2020, and individuals under age 18 accounted for 2.4 percent. Comparatively, in 2019, individuals under age 20 accounted for 8.2 percent, and individuals under age 18 accounted for 2.4 percent.
Similar to 2019, 93.3 percent of the abortions performed in 2020 were on Pennsylvania residents. Residents of other states, territories and other countries accounted for just 2,144 abortions in 2020.
Of the abortions performed in 2020 in Pennsylvania, 90 percent were performed in eight counties: Allegheny; Chester; Dauphin; Delaware; Lehigh; Northampton; Philadelphia; and York
More than 37 percent of Pennsylvania residents having abortions were residents of Philadelphia County. Other counties that account for a greater percentage of resident abortions included: Allegheny (3,083); Delaware (1,857); Montgomery (1,712); and Bucks (962). Of all 67 counties, 16 (23.9 percent) showed a decrease in the number of resident abortions performed in 2020 compared to 2019.
In 2020, there were 239 reports of complications from abortions that were submitted by physicians; 16.2 percent fewer than the 285 reported in 2019. More than 75 percent of the complications were related to retained products of conception, 13.8 percent to bleeding and 5 percent to infection.