--- title: Abortion Rates Reach New Low Since 1973 description: A new report reveals that the U.S. abortion rate hit its lowest level since 1973 when the procedure was legalized in Roe v. Wade. canonical: https://time.com/4636942/abortion-rates-lowest-levels/ author: Samantha Cooney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-17T21:53:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:46:14.634Z article:section: Health og:title: Why U.S. Abortion Rates Are Now at Their Lowest Level og:description: The numbers are the lowest since Roe v. Wade in 1973 og:url: https://time.com/4636942/abortion-rates-lowest-levels/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9d527dc4aea4300/6988b212f887dc48e2e986c9/men-fight-abortion-rights-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Supreme Court Hears Arguments In Abortion Clinic Access Case og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why U.S. Abortion Rates Are Now at Their Lowest Level twitter:description: The numbers are the lowest since Roe v. Wade in 1973 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9d527dc4aea4300/6988b212f887dc48e2e986c9/men-fight-abortion-rights-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why U.S. Abortion Rates Are Now at Their Lowest Level > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=d39470d0-216c-4c2a-8d89-d791813a2b12&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=d39470d0-216c-4c2a-8d89-d791813a2b12&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=d39470d0-216c-4c2a-8d89-d791813a2b12&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Jan 17, 2017 9:53 PM UTC  A demonstrator holds up a sign in support of abortion rights outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, March 2, 2016\. Supreme Court justices clashed in their first abortion showdown in almost a decade as a pivotal justice suggested the court could stop short of a definitive ruling on a disputed Texas law regulating clinics. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images A demonstrator holds up a sign in support of abortion rights outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, March 2, 2016\. Supreme Court justices clashed in their first abortion showdown in almost a decade as a pivotal justice suggested the court could stop short of a definitive ruling on a disputed Texas law regulating clinics. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Jan 17, 2017 9:53 PM UTC A new [report](https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2017/us-abortion-rate-continues-decline-hits-historic-low) reveals that the U.S. abortion rate hit its lowest level since 1973 when the procedure was legalized in [_Roe v. Wade_](http://motto.time.com/4630548/jeff-sessions-roe-v-wade/?iid=sr-link1)_._ Released Tuesday by the [Guttmacher Institute](https://www.guttmacher.org/), a policy and research organization that advocates for reproductive rights, the analysis found that there were 14.6 abortions per 1,000 women in 2014\. That’s [down from the peak](http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/17/509734620/u-s-abortion-rate-falls-to-lowest-level-since-roe-v-wade) of 29.3 abortions per every 1,000 women in 1980 and 1981\. The total number of abortions performed in 2014 was 926,000, a drop from the 958,700 abortions performed in 2013, which was the first time the procedure dipped below one million since 1975 in the U.S. Guttmacher researcher Rachel Jones, the report’s lead author, [told NPR](http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/17/509734620/u-s-abortion-rate-falls-to-lowest-level-since-roe-v-wade) that the decline was likely caused by the increased [availability of affordable contraception](http://time.com/4108686/birth-control-methods-how-work/) and increased use of long-term birth control like IUDs. But the report also attributes the decline to the influx of [abortion restrictions](http://motto.time.com/4619534/reproductive-health-abortion-restrictions-2016/) in a number of states. The number of clinics providing abortions fell by 6% from 2011 and 2014, and the lowest abortion rates were in South Dakota, Mississippi and Wyoming, all of which only had one operating abortion clinic in 2014. “If there are women in these highly restrictive states who want abortions but can’t get them because there aren’t any clinics that they can get to, and that’s why abortion’s going down, that’s not a good thing,” Jones told NPR. “But we think the story that’s going on in a lot of situations, in a lot of states, is that fewer women are having unintended pregnancies and in turn fewer abortions, and that is actually a good story.” It’s unclear how Donald Trump’s presidency will impact the abortion rates in the country. Trump has [vowed to appoint justices](http://motto.time.com/4538293/donald-trump-partial-birth-abortion-third-debate/) to overturn _Roe v. Wade,_ and [several states have attempted](http://motto.time.com/4599724/abortion-restrictions-ohio-texas/?iid=sr-link7) to pass additional roadblocks to the procedure. The Republican Party, which controls Congress, has [promised to defund Planned Parenthood](http://motto.time.com/4624230/planned-parenthood-federal-funding-obamacare-repeal/?iid=sr-link9) and repeal [the Affordable Care Act](http://motto.time.com/4565558/iud-election-trump-birth-control/), which currently requires insurers to provide birth control at no cost. Those latter two actions could negatively affect low-income women, which made up 75% of women who got abortions, according to the report. Two-thirds of abortion patients also already have children at home. “It can be very difficult for them to arrange for time off from work, transportation and child care,” Jones told [the Associated Press](http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2017-01-17/new-report-abortions-in-us-drop-to-lowest-level-since-1974). “Some of the abortion rate decline is likely attributable to women who were prevented from accessing needed services.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4636942/abortion-rates-lowest-levels/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4636942/abortion-rates-lowest-levels/"},"headline":"Why U.S. Abortion Rates Are Now at Their Lowest Level","datePublished":"2017-01-17T21:53:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:46:14.634Z","description":"The numbers are the lowest since Roe v. Wade in 1973","url":"https://time.com/4636942/abortion-rates-lowest-levels/","keywords":["abortion","Health Care","Healthcare","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9d527dc4aea4300/6988b212f887dc48e2e986c9/men-fight-abortion-rights-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9d527dc4aea4300/6988b212f887dc48e2e986c9/men-fight-abortion-rights-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Supreme Court Hears Arguments In Abortion Clinic Access Case","caption":"Supreme Court Hears Arguments In Abortion Clinic Access Case","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/abortion/","name":"abortion"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4636942/abortion-rates-lowest-levels/","name":"Why U.S. Abortion Rates Are Now at Their Lowest Level"}}]}] ```