Here’s which Florida counties had the most abortions this year — and why

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has released its annual reports detailing how many abortions were performed for residents in each of the state’s counties within the first 11 months of 2023.

Abortion has become a controversial topic in recent decades, with supporters saying it’s a matter of women’s bodily autonomy, and opponents arguing it’s a form of infanticide.

In total, the reports say there were over 72,000 abortions performed in the state in 2023, with the vast majority being elective, meaning a woman has chosen to terminate her pregnancy without explicit justification.

Non-medically necessary abortions — including those made for elective, social or emotional reasons — made up over 97% of cases, state officials said.

By contrast, less than 0.6% of abortions performed in Florida this year were for reasons including incest, rape, fatal fetal abnormalities, or a threat to the mother’s life, the report shows.

In addition, the FAHCA reports that around 65,000 abortions were performed within the first trimester, though over 6,500 were performed within the second.

The abortion totals by reason and trimester are as follows:

Florida law bans elective abortions after 15 weeks (approximately 3 weeks into the second trimester), though Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban into law earlier this year titled the “Heartbeat Protection Act.”

The 15-year ban is on hold pending judgment by the state’s Supreme Court. If found to be constitutional, the six-week ban would then take effect — with some exceptions.

According to the CDC, an unborn child’s central nervous system and heart can begin to develop as early as three weeks into a pregnancy, which is likely the cause behind the law’s title.

In 2023, Florida saw variations in abortion figures based on which county people lived in.

Dade and Broward counties were the two with the greatest number of abortions performed, according to the report. However, the report also notes that over 6,500 abortions were performed out-of-state.

The total number of abortions performed per county is as follows:

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