55,000 Abortions Occur at or after 15 Weeks of Gestation Each Year: Study

According to a fact sheet by the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), the education & research arm of SBA Pro-life America, more than 55,000 abortions occur at or after 15 weeks of gestation each year.

The fact sheet, released earlier this month, found that abortion data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that roughly 6 percent of all abortions have taken place at 15 weeks of gestation or later.

“When applied to the Guttmacher Institute’s most recent estimate of 930,160 abortions nationwide in 2020, this is approximately 55,800 abortions at 15 weeks or later each year,” the study noted. At the same time, however, the Lozier Institute indicated that it is difficult to provide a definitive answer because abortion statistics in the U.S. vary.

CLI came up with the estimated number of abortions at 15 weeks or later by analyzing abortion data reported from each state.

“When states reported gestational ages using broad ranges (e.g., grouping abortions at 13-15 weeks of gestation together), CLI estimated the percentage occurring at 15 weeks by using data from states that reported abortions by individual week of gestation,” the fact sheet said.

The study also revealed that 5 percent of abortions took place at or after 15 weeks of pregnancy in pro-life states. That figure increased to 7 percent in pro-abortion states.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a 15-week nationwide abortion ban. Speaking alongside pro-life leaders at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol last week, Graham explained that babies can feel pain by the time they are 15 weeks old.

“I want to be a nation as a whole that recognizes at 15 weeks, the baby feels pain, that to save the baby’s life, you have to provide anesthesia because you don’t want to hurt the baby in the process of saving its life, and we are not a better nation by just dismembering that child,” the Senator said at the time.

Related:

Sen. Lindsey Graham Introduces 15-Week National Abortion Ban

Photo courtesy: ©GettyImages/doble-d

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. He is also the co-hosts of the For Your Soul podcast, which seeks to equip the church with biblical truth and sound doctrine. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.

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