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Health
MPR News Staff, Peter Cox and Erica Zurek
Updated:

Out-of-state patients seeking Minnesota abortion care drove increase in 2023

A person prepares a medical device in an examination room.
Paulina Briggs, lab supervisor, prepares a room for an upcoming appointment at WE Health Clinic in Duluth. WE Health is the only clinic in northern Minnesota that provides abortion services.
Derek Montgomery for MPR News | 2022

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The number of induced abortions performed in Minnesota continued to increase in 2023, according to year-end data from the state’s health department released on Tuesday.

In a report to the state Legislature, the Minnesota Department of Health said there were 14,124 abortions in Minnesota in 2023, an increase of almost 16 percent over 2022.

Most abortions performed by physicians and licensed practitioners were for Minnesota residents. But the number of people seeking abortion care in Minnesota from Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas jumped nearly 50 percent over the period.

Ruth Richardson, CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, said access to telehealth and medication abortions, particularly for rural communities, likely contributed to the increase along with Red River Women’s Clinic move from Fargo to Moorhead in 2022.

“We are continuing to see increases in the number of people who are traveling from outside of the state. We are also seeing the increase in Minnesota residents,” Richardson said.

Abortion providers and others are legally required to submit data to the state health department, which reports findings to lawmakers. The data also included numbers from two organizations that provide medication for abortions, which accounted for around 15 percent of all abortions classified by the state as occurring in Minnesota.

Many states restricted abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to the procedure in 2022. Minnesota state law ensures the right to abortion care.

Groups opposed to legalized abortion care say the state’s laws are “too extreme.”

“Minnesotans don’t want to be known as the land of 14,000 abortions. They want to be known as a land where women can come and truly get help,” said Cathy Blaeser co-executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life

Correction: (Jan. 1, 2025): An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled Cathy Blaeser's name. The above story has been updated.