Kansas is projected to see an estimated 17% increase in abortions during 2024 with the state recording among the highest number of abortions provided to out-of-state residents, according to new research from a reproductive rights think tank.
The Guttmacher Institute released new estimates Tuesday showing that there would be 22,720 abortions performed in Kansas during 2024, up from the estimated 19,230 abortions conducted a year earlier.
There were actually 19,467 abortions performed in Kansas during 2023, meaning there would be a 17% increase in 2024, according to the state’s Vital Statistics report.
The Guttmacher Institute’s data provides the only insight into how many abortions were performed in 2024 since the state has delayed releasing those numbers from the spring until the end of the year.
The state didn’t release the 2023 abortion statistics until December 2024.
“Kansans deserve the truth from our own government about the sharp increases in abortion here but are being kept in the dark,” said Danielle Underwood, spokesperson for Kansans for Life.
Underwood said the governor and the state health department need to stop playing politics and release comprehensive, up-to-date statistics. “Kansans have a right to know what’s happening inside our borders – and women deserve better than to be funneled here to abortion facilities with little to no accountability,” Underwood said in a statement.
Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, said the report reflects what’s being seen in real time.
“With the opening of our Pittsburg health center in August, we’ve been able to provide more patients with the care they deserve,” Wales said in a statement.
“Our team members and supporters have worked to meet the moment as much as possible by expanding access and centering the experiences of patients who, too often, have had to travel far from home,” she said.
“Kansans voted for reproductive freedom, and we’re proud to put that vote into action, helping people access care without government interference,” she said.
- Illinois: 34,930 abortions, or 39%, of abortions from out-of-state residents.
- North Carolina: 16,650 abortions, or 36%, of abortions from out-of-state residents.
- Kansas: 16,050, or 71%, of abortions from out-of-state residents.
- New Mexico: 12,800 abortions, or 69%, abortions from out-of-state residents.
Guttmacher’s estimates reinforce the numbers that the state reported for 2023.
Of the 19,467 abortions performed in Kansas during 2023, about 78%, or 15,111, were for women from out of state.
Kansas residents obtained 4,355 abortions, or 22% of the total, within the state in 2023.
The number of abortions for out-of-state women last year was 78% higher than in 2022, and the number of abortions for Kansas women was about 13% more than a year earlier.
Most of the out-of-state women who underwent an abortion in Kansas – 7,606 – came from Texas, where abortion is banned.
Another 3,283 women came from Oklahoma and 3,045 came from Missouri, where voters last year effectively overturned the state’s abortion ban through a constitutional amendment.
Another 728 women came from Arkansas to get an abortion, and 208 came from Louisiana, the report shows.
The number of women from those five states – Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana and Arkansas – made up about 76% of the patients who underwent an abortion in Kansas.
Court records show Planned Parenthood has seen the number of patients seeking access to abortion grow approximately 40% following the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Planned Parenthood submitted testimony in court indicating that 50% of those abortion patients now come from states other than Kansas and Missouri.
Nearly two-thirds of Planned Parenthood’s patients seeking an abortion have traveled
more than 100 miles to access the procedure, court records show.
Overall, Guttmacher’s new full-year estimates show that the total number of abortions provided in all states without abortion bans remained relatively stable between 2023 and 2024.
They increased by less than 1%, and the proportion of people traveling across state lines to obtain an abortion declined slightly, from 16% to 15%, the report showed.
In 2024, there were 14 states with total bans on abortion, and Florida and Iowa implemented bans at six weeks’ gestation, Guttmacher reported.
The report is based on data that Guttmacher collects from abortion clinics monthly as well as historical data based on caseloads, officials said.
About 85% of the data used in the model comes from data collected directly from clinics, and the balance is an estimated based on modeling.
