Who receives abortions in Kentucky? State data gives a glimpse into procedures
Abortion will be banned in Kentucky if Roe vs. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, but the commonwealth recorded more than 4,000 pregnancy terminations in 2020, despite current restrictions on the procedure.
Reproductive health care is not widely available in the Kentucky, as only six facilities within the commonwealth reported performing abortions in 2020, the most recent year for which data were available.
Who terminates pregnancies in Kentucky, and where are abortions performed? Kentucky’s Annual Abortion Report of 2020 provides demographic information about patients.
Who receives abortions in Kentucky?
There were 4,104 abortions recorded in Kentucky in 2020.
Patients receiving reproductive care are primarily commonwealth residents in their 20s who have a college education. The gestation week with the greatest number of terminations was six, and only 225 were reported at the 16th week or later.
The most common type of abortion in the commonwealth is non-surgical.
Cases by facility
EMW Women’s Surgical Center Louisville: 3,724
Norton Hospital: 1
Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital: 1
Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest: 368
University of Kentucky Health Care: 1
University of Louisville: 9
State of residence
Kentucky: 3,487
Indiana: 401
Tennessee: 153
Ohio: 31
West Virginia: 16
Virginia: 4
Mississippi: 3
Louisiana: 2
One patient each from Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey and Texas received an abortion in Kentucky in 2020.
Patient age
Under 15: 13
15-19: 353
20-24: 1,192
25-29: 1,229
30-34: 779
35-39: 399
40 or older: 139
Marital status
Unmarried: 3,581
Married: 523
Patient race
Indigenous: 5
Black: 1,418
White: 2,227
Other: 448
Unknown: 6
Education level
Elementary (grades 0-12): 1,880
College (1-4 years): 2,199
College (5 or more years): 3
Unknown: 22
Clinical estimate of gestation weeks
4: 1
5: 163
6: 1,156
7: 778
8: 631
9: 364
10: 201
11: 167
12: 136
13: 86
14: 77
15: 70
16: 49
17: 55
18: 59
19: 33
20: 43
21: 34
22: 0
23: 1
Procedure type
Non-surgical: 2,086
Suction curettage: 1,733
Dilation and evacuation: 283
Sharp curettage (dilation and evacuation): 1
Other: 1
Number of previous live births, still living
0: 1,387
1: 1,092
2: 931
3: 426
4: 179
5: 52
6: 19
7: 8
8: 6
9: 1
10: 3
Previous pregnancies resulting in miscarriage
0: 3,249
1: 648
2: 147
3: 39
4: 12
5: 3
6: 3
7: 1
8: 0
9: 0
10: 1
11: 0
12: 0
13: 1
Previous number of abortions
0: 2,685
1: 925
2: 310
3: 108
4: 34
5: 21
6: 12
7: 3
8: 1
9: 1
10: 3
11: 0
12: 1
Complications
No complications reported: 4,074
Incomplete abortion or retained tissue: 18
Other: 6
Unknown: 6
What questions do you have about abortion rights in Kentucky? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out the form below or email ask@herald-leader.com.
