A surge in patients from Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri contributed to a significant rise in demand for abortions at Kansas clinics.
In 2023, Kansas recorded the highest number of abortions in its history—19,467 procedures. This was the first full year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing many states to implement abortion bans.
The 2023 figure marks a 58% increase from the 12,318 abortions in 2022 and a 148% rise from the 7,849 recorded in 2021.
The report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment shows that less than a quarter of those receiving abortions at Kansas clinics were from the state. Texans made up the largest portion, followed by Kansans, Oklahomans, Missourians, and Arkansans.
More than 90% of the abortions were performed before the 13th week of pregnancy, with none occurring after 22 weeks, which is the legal limit in Kansas.
Kansas has been reporting annual abortion statistics since 1971. The previous record was set in 1973, with 12,612 procedures. The numbers fluctuated over the years, generally declining after 2000.
The decline ended in 2022 when Kansas clinics saw an influx of out-of-state patients following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.
In response to the rising demand from out-of-state residents, three new clinics have opened in Kansas: one in Kansas City in 2021, another in Wichita in 2022, and one in Pittsburg in August 2023.
Kansans for Life, an anti-abortion group, expressed concern about the rise in abortions, calling it “heartbreaking.” Communications director Danielle Underwood stated, “The surge of abortions in Kansas is a heartbreaking reminder of the abortion industry’s relentless targeting of vulnerable women who are no longer protected by enforceable informed consent laws or basic abortion facility-inspection and safety standards.”
In 2022, Kansas voters rejected an anti-abortion ballot measure that would have given lawmakers the power to severely restrict or ban the procedure.
Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which operates the Kansas City, Kansas, and Pittsburg clinics, emphasized that patients from states with restricted abortion access continue to turn to Kansas. “Patients in this state have more rights and better health outcomes than in far too many states in the country, and we are grateful to the voters of Kansas for making that possible,” Wales said.
