{"id":21677,"date":"2025-04-11T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/?post_type=news_release&#038;p=21677"},"modified":"2025-04-08T16:32:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T20:32:06","slug":"abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us","status":"publish","type":"news_release","link":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Abortion rates remain relatively stable in Canada, while rates spike in UK, Europe, and US\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Vancouver, BC, April 11, 2025<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> \u2013 <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A new study finds that, unlike countries across the UK and Europe, abortion rates did not spike in Ontario, Canada from 2020-2022.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Following decades-long declines in nearly all high-income settings, abortion rate trends reversed between 2020 and 2022 in many countries. For example, 2022 and 2023 saw the highest abortion rates on record in Scotland, England, and Wales.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Researchers from the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">University of British Columbia<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ICES<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> found that, after accounting for changes in the abortion rate when the abortion medication mifepristone was introduced in 2017 and during the COVID-19 pandemic, abortion rates held fairly steady in Ontario through 2022.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cCanada was well-positioned to seamlessly continue abortion service delivery through the pandemic, with policies in place to support primary care and telemedicine abortion care since 2017,\u201d <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">says Dr. Laura Schummers, lead author and Assistant Professor of Health Outcomes, Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation at UBC. \u00a0 <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Abortion trends from 2012 to 2022<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Long-standing abortion rate declines continued through 2016, and were steepest for those younger than 25 years, while rates for those aged 30 to 44 years remained stable.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Rates then increased modestly between 2017 and 2020 when mifepristone became available, followed by a decline during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the abortion rate returned to the pre-pandemic trend, continuing to increase gradually.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The population-based cohort study examined all medication and procedural abortion provided to females (biological sex at birth) aged 15 to 44 years old from 2012 to 2022. Linked health data at ICES was used to examine patient use of primary care, inpatient and outpatient hospital services, same-day surgeries, and prescriptions from a pharmacy.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This research found steady gains in the percentage of abortions provided by medication, accounting for more than 50% of abortions in Ontario by 2022.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">One limitation of the study is that \u201cpregnancy intention\u201d\u2014a person\u2019s self-reported desire or plan to become pregnant\u2014is not available in health administrative data, which means underlying trends in managing unintended pregnancy may not have been captured.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Canadian policies may affect abortion rates<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The study notes that sharp increases in the abortion rate from 2020 to 2023 reported in some settings might be due to declining use of the most effective contraception methods. \u201cIf declining contraception use is due to misinformation or disinformation, like through social media, or concerns about cost-of-living, these may impact future rates in Canada\u201d said Schummers. \u201cOn the other hand, if spiking rates elsewhere are due to decreased access to contraception or improved abortion access, Canada\u2019s unique policy and service environment mean we likely won\u2019t see similar trends in Canada.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Policies to improve access to contraception are rolling out across Canada, including universal free contraception through the 2024 federal pharmacare legislation. Over time, this may mean we see declining abortion rates.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">However, the researchers note that it remains to be seen whether sociocultural forces impacting increased abortion rates in some countries may lead to abrupt increases in Canada in future years.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">ICES<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> is an independent, not-for-profit research and analytics institute that uses population-based health information to produce knowledge on a broad range of healthcare issues. ICES leads cutting-edge studies and analyses evaluating healthcare policy, delivery, and population outcomes. Our knowledge is highly regarded in Canada and abroad and is widely used by government, hospitals, planners, and practitioners to make decisions about healthcare delivery and to develop policy. For the latest ICES news, follow us on BlueSky and LinkedIn: @ICESOntario<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Misty Pratt<\/span><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Senior Communications Associate, ICES<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"mailto:Media@ices.on.ca\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Media@ices.on.ca<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">343-961-6982<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vancouver, BC, April 11, 2025 \u2013 A new study finds that, unlike countries across the UK and Europe, abortion rates did not spike in Ontario, Canada from 2020-2022.\u00a0 Following decades-long declines in nearly all high-income settings, abortion rate trends reversed between 2020 and 2022 in many countries. For example, 2022 and 2023 saw the highest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","migration-helper-automated":[],"migration-manual":[],"topic":[21],"class_list":["post-21677","news_release","type-news_release","status-publish","hentry","topic-women-or-gender-based-research"],"acf":{"infographic":"","journal_article":[21676],"research_report":"","atlas":"","research_program":[6740],"site":[6737],"ices_scientist":"","announce_or_event":"","video":"","iitn_type":"Article","iitn_title":"","iitn_short_title":"","iitn_source_link_url":"","iitn_source_link_text":"","sitecore_item_id":"","sitecore_item_name":"","sitecore_field_values":"","previous_url":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ICES | Abortion rates remain relatively stable in Canada, while rates spike in UK, Europe, and US\u00a0<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vancouver, BC, April 11, 2025 \u2013 A new study finds that, unlike countries across the UK and Europe, abortion rates did not spike in Ontario, Canada from\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ICES | Abortion rates remain relatively stable in Canada, while rates spike in UK, Europe, and US\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vancouver, BC, April 11, 2025 \u2013 A new study finds that, unlike countries across the UK and Europe, abortion rates did not spike in Ontario, Canada from\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ICES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICESOntario\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ic-es-data-discovery-better-health-logo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/news-releases\\\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/news-releases\\\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\\\/\",\"name\":\"ICES | Abortion rates remain relatively stable in Canada, while rates spike in UK, Europe, and US\u00a0\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-11T15:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Vancouver, BC, April 11, 2025 \u2013 A new study finds that, unlike countries across the UK and Europe, abortion rates did not spike in Ontario, Canada from\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/news-releases\\\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/news-releases\\\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/news-releases\\\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News Releases\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/news-releases\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Abortion rates remain relatively stable in Canada, while rates spike in UK, Europe, and US\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/\",\"name\":\"ICES\",\"description\":\"POPULATION-BASED HEALTH RESEARCH THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ICES\",\"alternateName\":\"Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/ices-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/ices-logo.png\",\"width\":\"676\",\"height\":\"618\",\"caption\":\"ICES\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ices.on.ca\\\/fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/ICESOntario\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/ices-research-institute\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ICES | Abortion rates remain relatively stable in Canada, while rates spike in UK, Europe, and US\u00a0","description":"Vancouver, BC, April 11, 2025 \u2013 A new study finds that, unlike countries across the UK and Europe, abortion rates did not spike in Ontario, Canada from","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"ICES | Abortion rates remain relatively stable in Canada, while rates spike in UK, Europe, and US\u00a0","og_description":"Vancouver, BC, April 11, 2025 \u2013 A new study finds that, unlike countries across the UK and Europe, abortion rates did not spike in Ontario, Canada from","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\/","og_site_name":"ICES","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICESOntario\/","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ic-es-data-discovery-better-health-logo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\/","name":"ICES | Abortion rates remain relatively stable in Canada, while rates spike in UK, Europe, and US\u00a0","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-04-11T15:00:00+00:00","description":"Vancouver, BC, April 11, 2025 \u2013 A new study finds that, unlike countries across the UK and Europe, abortion rates did not spike in Ontario, Canada from","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/abortion-rates-remain-relatively-stable-in-canada-while-rates-spike-in-uk-europe-and-us\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News Releases","item":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Abortion rates remain relatively stable in Canada, while rates spike in UK, Europe, and US\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/","name":"ICES","description":"POPULATION-BASED HEALTH RESEARCH THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"ICES","alternateName":"Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences","url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ices-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ices-logo.png","width":"676","height":"618","caption":"ICES"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICESOntario\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ices-research-institute\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_release\/21677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news_release"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/site\/6737"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research_program\/6740"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/journal_article\/21676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"migration-helper-automated","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/migration-helper-automated?post=21677"},{"taxonomy":"migration-manual","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/migration-manual?post=21677"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=21677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}