SALEM, Ore. — Oregon Health Authority (OHA) last week published its finalized abortion numbers for 2024, reporting nearly 10,000 abortions carried out during the year. The data show a 26% increase in later abortions at or after 23 weeks gestation, an uptick in procedures for out-of-state residents, and a doubling of abortions performed in an Eastern Oregon county bordering Idaho.
According to the OHA Center for Health Statistics data, providers in Oregon performed 9,860 total Oregon abortions in 2024, 215 fewer than the 10,075 abortions performed in 2023.
Providers carried out 365 abortions at or after 21 weeks gestation in 2024, up from 334 the prior year (the youngest baby to survive premature birth was born last year in Iowa at 21 weeks gestational age). 284 of those abortions were performed at or after 23 weeks gestation (roughly the age of “viability,” at which the unborn can feel pain and survive outside the womb), a 26% increase from the 225 abortions performed within that timeframe in 2023. Moreover, 134 abortions were performed at “unknown” gestation, the highest number since 2014.
Of the 9,860 total Oregon abortions performed in 2024, 1,861 were for out-of-state residents – an increase of 200 from the 1,661 carried out in 2023.
Notably, more than a third of the abortions for out-of-state residents took place in Malheur County, with 779 (88.9%) of the county’s total 876 abortions reportedly performed for out-of-state residents. The county had 0 annual abortions prior to 2023, when a Planned Parenthood facility was opened in Ontario, about 60 miles west of Boise, Idaho. Idaho has a strong pro-life law protecting nearly all unborn lives from the moment of fertilization.
“The ongoing increase in lateabortions and the cynical use of Eastern Oregon as an abortion destination is devastating and heartbreaking,” Oregon Right to Life Executive Director Lois Anderson said. “The OHA data from this year once again shows that Oregon is moving in the wrong direction, continuing to trumpet abortion-on-demand – including when an unborn baby can feel pain and survive outside the womb – rather than life-affirming care that will truly support moms and families.”
“These data are more than just numbers: They represent unborn lives lost and families impacted by the trauma of abortion,” Anderson said. “We are deeply saddened for these 9,860 lives ended, and are more committed than ever to building an Oregon where every baby is welcomed and supported with real care that affirms life rather than destruction.”
Oregon Right to Life believes in the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death. Abortion ends the life of a genetically distinct, growing human being. We oppose abortion at any point of gestation. In rare cases, a mother may have a life threatening condition in which medical procedures intended to treat the condition of the mother may result in the unintended death of her preborn baby. At the same time, ORTL recognizes that modern medical practice has and will continue to increase the ability to save both the life of the mother and the baby.
