Where North Dakotans Obtain Abortions
State lines do not change the value of an unborn child’s life.
Why abortions still affect our state
North Dakota bans most abortions. Yet some women travel to other states for an abortion. Abortion pills also reach North Dakota by mail.
Both are serious concerns. Protecting life means understanding these paths and offering mothers help before they feel they have nowhere else to turn.
We should never assume that a low count inside our state means the work is done.
The bigger picture: about 1,370 in 2025
Travel is only part of the picture. Adding 980 out-of-state abortions to 390 cases counted from abortion pills sent here gives a combined estimate of about 1,370.
Combined estimate: 980 abortions obtained in other states + 390 cases counted from abortion pills sent into North Dakota = about 1,370 in 2025. Source: Guttmacher travel workbook, 2025 sheet, ND_residence column, North Dakota row and final out-of-state total. The groups are separate by the study’s location rules. Counts are rounded estimates, not confirmed completed abortions or a count of individual women. Some abortions are outside the study.
Most travel in the data is to Minnesota
Estimated abortions obtained outside North Dakota by ND residents.
Estimated abortions in Minnesota. These are part of the 980 total.
About 93 of every 100 abortions in the out-of-state estimate were in Minnesota.
| Year | All other states | Minnesota | Rest of the total* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 900 | 780 | About 120 |
| 2024 | 940 | 820 | About 120 |
| 2025 | 980 | 910 | About 70 |
Source: Guttmacher travel workbook, 2023–2025 sheets, ND_residence column, Minnesota row and final travel-total row. Counts are research estimates rounded to the nearest 10. Minnesota’s 2025 share is 910 ÷ 980, rounded to 93%. *The last column is total minus Minnesota, not a separately published count.
ND residents obtaining abortions in Minnesota
What about the other states?
The workbook hides counts under 100 for each travel path. This helps protect privacy.
A blank cell does not always mean zero. We cannot use the blanks to name every state in the remaining total.
The data also do not tell us which clinic each woman visited, how far she traveled, or whether she had a procedure or used pills.
These limits matter. We should speak clearly about the abortions we can count without claiming details we do not have.
Travel and mailed pills are different
A woman travels
She goes to another state for an abortion. Researchers count that in the travel estimate.
Pills are sent here
A provider may be in another state while the woman receives the pills in North Dakota. Researchers count the pills where they arrive.
Some sources are missing
These estimates do not include every source of pills. For example, some providers outside the United States are not included.
An abortion in Minnesota can appear in Minnesota’s state total and in North Dakota’s travel total. It is still the same abortion.
The online-provider count can also be part of a larger study total. It should not be added a second time.
Source: travel workbook notes and Guttmacher’s study methods.
What do we know about pills sent here?
The supplied annual workbook estimates 100 abortions assigned to North Dakota in 2023, 280 in 2024 and 390 in 2025. Its online-only provider count has the same figures.
These are not counts of abortions at North Dakota clinics. The study counts mailed pills where they are received.
Each shipment raises a concern for an unborn child’s life. But a shipment does not prove that the pills were used or that an abortion was completed.
Read the estimate’s range and limits
The study’s 2025 North Dakota total is 390, with a range of 310–590. Its online-only provider estimate is 390, with a range of 310–580. These are 90% uncertainty intervals: ranges that show the estimates are not exact.
A separate October 2026 article reports 360 for shield-law telehealth abortions in North Dakota. That is a different published measure. The measures and data versions must be matched before using one in place of the other.
Source: annual summary workbook, ND row; JAMA Network Open, October 22, 2026.
Why do state reports show less?
North Dakota’s reports cover reported abortions inside the state. They do not give a complete count of abortions our residents obtain elsewhere.
For 2023–2025, the state says the reported number was too low to publish a report. That does not prove there were no abortions.
Research groups ask providers for data and use estimates to fill gaps. Their reports cover different things. We should not add them together or treat them as the same kind of count.
Why can’t North Dakota simply stop every shipment?
Some states protect providers who send abortion pills across state lines. These “shield laws” can make it harder for North Dakota to enforce its law.
This is a serious challenge for the pro-life movement. Lawmakers need clear facts and laws that can hold up in court.
A research count does not prove that a named person broke the law. North Dakota’s penalty for performing an abortion does not apply to the pregnant woman who has it.
Our focus must remain on protecting children, helping mothers and finding lawful ways to address the problem.
Read the law in plain language Explore ways to protect lifeNorth Dakota abortion law; see the laws page for shield-law sources.