WASHINGTON – National Right to Life today released The Status of Abortion in the United States, 2025. The twelfth annual edition summarizes key legislative developments on the state and federal level since Dobbs, and analyzes the limited data on the annual number of abortions in the United States.
“Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, we have seen the status of abortion in the U.S. change dramatically,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Many states have enacted laws to protect unborn children and their mothers from the tragedy of abortion.”
Tobias continued, “Pro-life education and legislative efforts are making an impact on our culture and in the lives of women facing unexpected pregnancies. But there is still much to be done.”
Key highlights from the report include:
- Since the Dobbs decision, the availability of abortion data has undergone a shift. Numbers released by both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Guttmacher Institute differ broadly but both agree on one thing: a large majority of abortions are now done using chemical abortion – a method that puts women at increased risk.
- Pro-life laws and actions on the state and federal level have a positive impact. For example, it is estimated that the Hyde Amendment has saved over 2.5 million lives since it was implemented.
- In the months following Dobbs, several states have moved to enact laws designed to provide maximum protections from abortion to unborn children and their mothers. A total of 5 states enacted laws to protect unborn babies once a heartbeat has been detected. Nine states have enacted laws that protect babies throughout gestation. Eight states have laws that protect babies when the heartbeat can be detected and throughout pregnancy. Two states have laws that protect babies after 12 weeks.
The report is available from the National Right to Life Communications Department here: http://www.nrlc.org/uploads/communications/statusofabortion2025.pdf
