The number of abortions in Ohio rose slightly in 2017, according to statistics released Friday by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), while the overall abortion rate was unchanged. It was the first year-over-year increase since 2011-2012.
According to ODH, a total of 20,893 induced pregnancy terminations were reported in 2017, a 1 percent increase from the 20,672 reported in 2016 but lower than 2015’s 20,976. The number of abortions between 2001 and 2017 had been declining an average of 830 per year. The 2017 number includes 18,615 Ohio resident women.
The report also found:
- Approximately one in 10 women who obtained abortions in 2017 were under 20 years of age, with another one-third between the ages of 20-24 years.
- While the age distribution of women obtaining abortions has remained relatively unchanged since 2001, the age-specific abortion rates for women under the age of 25 has steadily decreased.
- Approximately 85 percent of women with known marital status who obtained abortions were never married, divorced, or widowed.
- Forty-nine percent of resident women who obtained abortions and for whom race was reported were white, while 44 percent were African American; 5 percent were of Hispanic origin; 4 percent were Asian/Pacific Islander; and 4 percent reported more than one race.
- The 2017 abortion rate was 8.9 per 1,000 resident women ages 15-44 years old, unchanged from 2016.
- The 2017 abortion ratio was 144 abortions per 1,000 live births, slightly up from 142 in 2016.
- Fifty-six percent of all induced abortions involved pregnancies of less than nine weeks, while 29 percent involved pregnancies of nine to 12 weeks. The proportion involving abortions of less than nine weeks increased from 49 percent in 1997, while the proportion between nine and 12 weeks declined from 35 percent to its current 29 percent.
- There were 454 abortions in 2017 involving pregnancies of 19 or more completed weeks of gestation, a decrease from the 508 reported in 2016.
- Curettage was the method of termination used in 58 percent of cases, a decrease from 2001 when 87 percent used curettage.
- Mifepristone was used for non-surgical termination for 5,279 abortions, followed by 489 terminations using misoprostol, and 40 terminations using methotrexate.
- Most of the abortions were obtained in the six major metropolitan areas. Cuyahoga County accounted for 36.7 percent of abortions, followed by Franklin County at 23.2 percent and Hamilton County at 15.4 percent.