Minnesota Abortions Fall to 4th Lowest Ever, Down 48% Since 1980 as More Babies Saved

State   |   Paul Stark   |   Jul 1, 2020   |   4:00PM   |   St. Paul, Minnesota

The number of abortions in Minnesota leveled off at 9,922 in 2019, according to a report released today by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). The annual abortion total has mostly remained steady since falling seven straight years from 2006 to 2013. Planned Parenthood grew its share of the abortion market in 2019 to a record-high 65 percent.

“Planned Parenthood continues to inflate abortion numbers in Minnesota despite a long-term pro-life trend,” says Scott Fischbach, executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL). “Nevertheless, pro-life efforts are supporting women and saving unborn lives. Pregnancy care centers, pro-life education, pro-life laws like Woman’s Right to Know and Positive Alternatives—all of these are making a difference.”

Since its peak in 1980, Minnesota abortions have fallen 48 percent. The 2019 number is the fourth-lowest since 1974. The abortion rate inched up from 8.3 (abortions per 1,000 Minnesota women of reproductive age) in 2018 to an estimated 8.4 in 2019. 

Planned Parenthood, however, increased its abortion total for the eighth straight year to reach a record-high of 6,451. Its abortion numbers have jumped 79 percent since 2011—even as overall state abortions have dropped 10 percent over the same period. The state’s other three abortion centers also saw increases in 2019 following the closure of the Mildred Hansen clinic.

Today’s numbers arrive as a lawsuit proceeds in Ramsey County District Court aiming to strike down numerous abortion-related laws in Minnesota, including the Woman’s Right to Know informed consent law, the parental notification law, the abortion reporting law (which is responsible for today’s report), and the requirement that only physicians perform abortions. 

In 2019, according to the MDH data, 3,003 women opted against abortion after receiving the Woman’s Right to Know information. Abortions on minors, meanwhile, numbered 259 (a slight increase over 2018), which is an 89 percent decline since 1980, the year before Minnesota’s parental notification law was first enacted. 

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“Minnesota’s existing laws help empower women,” says Fischbach. “They are reasonable and commonsense protections that are entirely constitutional. They should be upheld in court.”

The following is additional information from Induced Abortions in Minnesota January – December 2019: Report to the Legislature:

  • A total of 244 abortions took place at 20 weeks gestation or later (there were 245 in 2018). The latest abortion took place at 30 weeks.
  • The suction abortion procedure accounted for 56 percent of all abortions (same as 2018). Chemical abortions accounted for 37 percent (same as 2018). Dilation and evacuation (D & E) dismemberment procedures numbered 671 and accounted for 7 percent (about the same as 2018).
  • Rape or incest was a reason given for less than one percent of abortions (consistent with past years). 68 percent of women cited “does not want children at this time” (compared to 73 percent in 2018). 21 percent cited “economic reasons” (up from 20 percent).
  • 39 percent of women had undergone one or more previous abortions (compared to 40 percent in 2018); a total of 704 women had undergone three or more previous abortions. 
  • Complications: 114 complications were reported occurring at the time of the procedure, including cervical laceration, hemorrhage, and uterine perforation (up from 77 in 2018); 38 complications were reported occurring following the procedure, including 25 cases of “incomplete termination of pregnancy” (there were 46 post-operative complications in 2018).
  • Three abortions resulting in a born-alive infant were reported (same as 2018); none of the infants survived.