Kansas becoming Midwest abortion hub 

Kansas is growing its reputation as a regional abortion destination, with new state data showing nearly 75% of abortions performed in the state in 2024 involved women traveling from out of state. 

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 19,811 abortions were performed in the state in 2024, marking the second consecutive year totals exceeded 19,000. The figure represents a stunning increase from just 7,849 abortions in 2021, before neighboring states enacted stronger protections for unborn children. 

Of the 2024 total, 15,048 abortions were provided to women who did not live in Kansas. Only 4,763 abortions were performed on Kansas residents. Out-of-state women primarily came from Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma – nearby states that have enacted abortion bans in recent years. 

Texas accounted for 6,736 abortions performed in Kansas in 2024, followed by Missouri with 3,760 and Oklahoma with 3,141. Smaller numbers came from Arkansas, Louisiana and Nebraska, the Kansas Reflector reports. 

The data shows how Kansas’ legal environment has effectively positioned the state as a magnet for abortions. While the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, returning abortion authority to the states, a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court ruling interpreted the state constitution as protecting a right to abortion. 

The court’s decision, which remains in effect post-Roe, also has sharply limited – and has even shrunk – the protections state lawmakers can establish to protect women and regulate the abortion industry. 

Abortion demand among Kansas residents also rose in 2024. The number of abortions provided to in-state residents increased 9.3% from the previous year. State data shows 140.3 abortions per 1,000 live births among Kansas residents, up from 128 per 1,000 in 2023. 

Kansans for Life criticized the timing of the report’s release, arguing state officials delayed publishing the data. 

“By waiting until the final hours of the year to release Kansas’ 2024 abortion statistics, Gov. Laura Kelly has made it clear she hoped these numbers would go unnoticed,” said Mackenzie Ayers, a spokeswoman for Kansans for Life. 

KDHE Secretary Janet Stanek defended the report as part of the agency’s broader public health mission. 

“Public health statistics are essential to governmental agencies, businesses, industries and citizens for effective health policy decisions and program planning. KDHE is committed to ensuring accessibility,” Stanek’s report said. 

Kansans for Life also raised concerns about the enforcement of existing parental consent requirements. 

 
The organization believes “young females were obtaining abortions in Kansas without parental consent,” Ayers said, adding the group would be “pursuing every legal option to restore some form of informed consent protections for women in 2026 and continue to sound the alarms about parental consent laws being potentially ignored.”