Minnesota saw fewer abortions in 2021 — but Roe’s overturning could change that

Abortions in Minnesota fell about 2% in 2021, but that decline is likely to quickly reverse in the state following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The high court’s action has made Minnesota an island for legal abortion in the Upper Midwest, and abortion providers say they are preparing for a sharp spike in women from nearby states seeking abortion services.

The Minnesota Department of Health’s annual report Friday, required by law, showed that about 90% of women receiving abortions in the state were Minnesotans. Of nearby states, Wisconsin had by far the most women crossing state lines to get an abortion in Minnesota, with about 6% of the total.

Patients from North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Michigan accounted for about 4%. Abortion services have ended in South Dakota and Wisconsin, and North Dakota’s ban is expected to take effect in late July barring legal action. North Dakota’s lone abortion provider is planning to relocate from Fargo to Moorhead, Minn.

More than half of the 10,136 Minnesota abortions in 2021 were performed by medication rather than surgically.

The state has been averaging about 10,000 abortions each year, down from nearly 18,000 in the 1980s.

Planned Parenthood of Minnesota performed most of the state’s abortions last year — about 70% — and Whole Women’s Health was next at about 10%.

About 5% of women undergoing abortion said they were doing it because their physical health was at stake or because pregnancy would impair major bodily function. Fifty-five patients, or about 0.5%, said they were victims of rape or incest. About half said they did not want children at the time of their abortions.

Of patients who reported the timing of their abortion, almost 90% of abortions were done in the first trimester; only one abortion was done in the third trimester, according to the report.

Most patients last year were adults, already had children and were disproportionately people of color compared with Minnesota’s overall racial makeup.