We heart Guttmacher!
The Guttmacher Institute released the 2025 abortion data this week. We talk to Isaac Maddow-Zimit, the lead data scientist on the monthly abortion provision study, to break down the numbers.
Data nerds, rejoice! As certified nerds, we love data and the Guttmacher Institute is a dream for anyone wanting the understand the reproductive health numbers from around the world. In the US, Guttmacher has been leading the way with tracking abortion numbers by state, by month. In the wake of the Dobbs’ decision, the numbers paint a picture of how abortion is being accessed and how many folks are traveling to receive care.
Yesterday, they released their 2025 report from their monthly abortion provision study, which allows us to follow trends in abortion care in the US over the past few years. What are some of the headlines from these numbers? What happened to people seeking care in 2025?
Abortion rates are steady over the past 3 years. Despite the variety of abortion bans that have been enacted, the difference in numbers of people seeking care between 2024 and 2025 were not that different. Around 1.1 million people sought abortion care both years.
People are still traveling to receive care. And in NC - travelers continue to make up a significant number of patients receiving care (with roughly 18,000 people traveling to NC - stable from the 2024 estimates). Look at these cool maps and graphics. Check out your state’s data here. The numbers of travelers have declined slightly on a national level, but in 2025 there were still approximately 142,000 traveling for care (down from 170,000 in 2023).
Travel for care likely declined due to increased availability of Telehealth abortion care. Telehealth for patients in restricted states remains possible through a variety of shield laws that protective states have enacted to protect providers offering this care. Telehealth abortion care is safe and for some people, may be the only way to access care.
I encourage you to check out the data and the report on the Guttmacher website.
On this week’s episode we pick Isaac Maddow-Zimet’s brain about the numbers. He is the lead data scientist from the Monthly Abortion provision study at Guttmacher and was able to explain how the estimates are made and what findings he thought were interesting from 2025. You can find that interview here:
If you love hearing smart data nerds explain things in easy-to-understand ways then you should also check out this interview with Dr. Caitlin Myers. She tracks distances that patients need to travel for care and how that impacts people’s lives. Her episode can be found here:
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