EXCLUSIVE: New Bill Would Require States to Be Transparent About Annual Number of Abortions

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Sen. Joni Ernst is introducing a bill Wednesday to require states to accurately report abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. States are currently asked but not required to provide this information to the CDC.  

If passed and signed into law, the bill, titled the ‘‘Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2025,” will require states to report the number of abortions performed each year. States that fail to provide the CDC with the requested abortion data will risk losing Medicaid payments for certain family planning services and supplies.  

“Every life is precious, and we cannot allow tax dollars to pay for abortions on demand,” Ernst, R-Iowa, told The Daily Signal. “The full extent of government funding should not be a mystery, and my bill will require transparency from all 50 states.”  

While the Hyde Amendment bans the use of federal funds for abortion, 17 states pay for “all or most” of what the Guttmacher Institute calls the “medically necessary abortions” of Medicaid enrollees.  

In addition to proving the number of abortions performed annually, the bill requires each state to collect information regarding the age, race, ethnicity, marital status, and county of residence of the women having the abortion. The gestational age of the baby at the time of the abortion, the abortion method used to terminate the pregnancy, and whether the child survived the abortion is also required information for state documentation.  

The bill further requires states to document and report whether the mother having the abortion has had previous pregnancies, live births, or any form of abortion.  

All the aggregate data would then be gathered into a report to be published and made available to the public. No information would be included that could identify any individual who received an abortion.  

The CDC currently requests abortion-related data from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City, but states are not required to share this information under current law.  

In November, the CDC reported that 46 states, plus the District of Columbia, and New York City, had provided the CDC with abortion-related data for 2022. California, Maryland, New Hampshire, and New Jersey did not provide the requested information.  

Even among the states that do report to the CDC, not all states report on the same data points.  

“In fact, there is not a single abortion data point publicly reported for all 50 states and the District of Columbia,” according to the text of the bill.  

“We need a complete and accurate understanding, including tragic cases where babies are born alive during abortions, to ensure that no life is ever ignored, hidden, or forgotten,” Ernst said. 

The Iowa senator has a long track record of supporting pro-life legislation and has earned an “A+” rating on the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America National Pro-Life Scorecard.  

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., will introduce companion legislation in the House.  

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