The Department of Health collects information on pregnancy in Washington State from birth certificates, fetal death certificates, and the abortion reporting system. Abortion data is non-identified and includes only information on induced abortion.
Why This Data is Important
Live births, fetal deaths and abortions, or induced terminations of pregnancies (ITOPs) make up total pregnancies. Abortions, or ITOPs, are defined as interventions performed by licensed clinicians, within state regulations, that are intended to terminate suspected or known ongoing intrauterine pregnancies and do not result in a live birth. ITOP surveillance documents the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal abortions, as well as information about the procedures used. The CDC compiles the information from states to produce national ITOP estimates. ITOP surveillance is necessary to examine trends in public health. It is used to calculate pregnancy, teen pregnancy and abortion rates. It helps evaluate the success of programs promoting equitable access to contraceptive services. It helps monitor changes in clinical practice patterns, procedures used, weeks of gestation, as well as procedure complications and management.
View the Data
The Tableau abortion dashboards are no longer available. The Center for Health Statistics is moving all dashboards to PowerBI and will make them available as they are ready.
Washington tracking Network (WTN) data
Abortion Medical Procedures - Washington State Occurrences (PDF) - This report includes annual WA abortion occurrences and the percent using prescribed medications.
Abortion/Induced Termination of Pregnancy (ITOP) Reporting
If you provide abortions/ITOPs to WA State residents, monthly reporting is required by WAC 246-490-100 Reporting of pregnancy terminations. Please email CHS.DataRequests@doh.wa.gov if you need information about how to do so.
More Information
- Clinical Practice | Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (ucsf.edu)
- Resources: Info For Families | Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (ucsf.edu)
- Health of Washington State Report - Maternal and Child Health
- Maternal and Child Health
- Radiation and pregnancy (marchofdimes.org)
- Vital Statistics Technical Notes (PDF) provides more information about all vital
- 2023 Highlights – Vital Statistics Factsheet (PDF)
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Our office has these topics: CHARS Data Users, Vital Statistics Data, and BRFSS Data Users.
Contact Us
Email us at CHS.DataRequests@doh.wa.gov