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 in 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.
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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:
| Reason | Total | 1st Trimester | 2nd Trimester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elective Abortion | 51,345 | 46,939 | 4,406 |
| Social/Economic Reasons | 16,809 | 15,388 | 1,471 |
| Emotional/Psychological Health of Mother | 2,019 | 1,814 | 205 |
| Physical Health of Mother (Not Life-Endangering) | 1,172 | 1,038 | 134 |
| Life-Endangering Physical Condition | 213 | 161 | 52 |
| Serious Fetal Genetic Defect, Deformity or Abnormality | 312 | 145 | 167 |
| Incest | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| Rape | 90 | 71 | 19 |
| Victim of Human Trafficking | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Fatal Fetal Abnormality | 116 | 8 | 108 |
| TOTAL | 72,087 | 65,522 | 6,565 |
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 last year titled the “Heartbeat Protection Act.”
The 15-year ban was upheld by the state’s Supreme Court, allowing the six-week ban to take effect on May 1 — 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:
| County | No. of Abortions |
|---|---|
| Dade | 14,793 |
| Broward | 8,894 |
| Out-of-State | 6,566 |
| Hillsborough | 6,018 |
| Orange | 4,768 |
| Palm Beach | 4,352 |
| Duval | 3,591 |
| Pinellas | 2,808 |
| Polk | 2,085 |
| Lee | 1,714 |
| Volusia | 1,094 |
| Brevard | 1,056 |
| Pasco | 1,041 |
| Seminole | 1,037 |
| Osceola | 1,021 |
| Leon | 976 |
| St. Lucie | 844 |
| Manatee | 752 |
| Marion | 751 |
| Sarasota | 732 |
| Alachua | 724 |
| Collier | 696 |
| Lake | 640 |
| Escambia | 445 |
| Clay | 397 |
| Bay | 333 |
| Hernando | 308 |
| St. Johns | 305 |
| Okaloosa | 302 |
| Indian River | 287 |
| Martin | 277 |
| Charlotte | 260 |
| Flagler | 166 |
| Citrus | 156 |
| Highlands | 145 |
| Columbia | 140 |
| Santa Rosa | 130 |
| Putnam | 130 |
| Hendry | 115 |
| Nassau | 112 |
| Gadsden | 100 |
| Sumter | 86 |
| Okeechobee | 79 |
| Walton | 76 |
| Levy | 74 |
| Desoto | 64 |
| Suwannee | 61 |
| Monroe | 57 |
| Wakulla | 50 |
| Baker | 46 |
| Hardee | 45 |
| Jackson | 43 |
| Bradford | 42 |
| Dixie | 41 |
| Hamilton | 36 |
| Madison | 31 |
| Taylor | 30 |
| Jefferson | 23 |
| Union | 21 |
| Calhoun | N/A |
| Franklin | N/A |
| Gilchrist | N/A |
| Glades | N/A |
| Gulf | N/A |
| Holmes | N/A |
| Lafayette | N/A |
| Liberty | N/A |
| Washington | N/A |
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