Abortions on Canadian Women in the United States

As of 2004, Statistics Canada no longer records abortions performed on Canadian women in the United States. In 2003 the number of U.S. abortions on Canadian women was recorded as 149. In recent years recording was partial at best. Many states and individual clinics did not report the number of Canadian women receiving abortions. “These counts…should be regarded as a minimum estimate because not all American states submitted reports, some private clinics may not report to the state health department or the residence of the patient was not reported. The reports did not specify if the abortion took place in a hospital or clinic. As of 2004, this information is no longer collected.” [Statistics Canada—History of the Therapeutic Abortion Survey]

Between 1988 and 1991 the number of abortions performed on Canadian women in the US averaged 1,600 per year. In 1992 the recorded number dropped to just 526. That drop reflected a decrease in the reporting, not necessarily a decrease in the number of abortions obtained in the U.S. The number of recorded cross-border abortions continued to decline over the next decade until the reporting ceased after 2003.

Since 1988, the total number of abortions performed on Canadian women in the U.S. is recorded as 10,099 with an average of 631 per year.

Since 1971, the total number of abortions performed on Canadian women in the U.S. is recorded as 66,971, with an average of 2,029 per year.

Abortions on Canadian Women performed in the United States, by year, 1988 to 2003 – pdf

Abortions on Canadian Women performed in the United States, by year, 1971 to 2003 – pdf