Pro-abortion measures result in taxpayer-funded abortions increasing at the state level

Taxpayer-funded abortion is increasing at the state level as pro-abortion lawmakers work to expand abortion since the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Federally, the Hyde Amendment prohibits most taxpayer funding of abortion, allowing funding only in cases of rape, incest, or when the physician determines the pregnant mother’s life is at risk.

But while the Hyde Amendment prevents most abortions from being paid for by federal tax dollars, each state can determine its own taxpayer funding for abortion.

According to the pro-abortion organization KFF.org (The Kaiser Family Foundation), “There is tremendous variability in how much states reimburse for abortion services in states that use state funds to pay for abortions under Medicaid:

• Medication abortion: $162 (RI) to $665 (NM)

• D&C procedures: $146 (WA) to $1,000 (NY)

• D&E procedures: $248 (WA) to $1,300 (NY), $1,920 (IL)

“In recent years, some states, such as Illinois, New York, New Mexico, and Maryland have significantly boosted their Medicaid reimbursement rates to support abortion access in their states in the face of abortion bans and restrictions in states across the nation. For example, six states have more than doubled their reimbursement rates for D&C procedures and five states for D&E procedures since 2017,” KFF.org wrote (emphasis added).

Which states allow taxpayer-funded abortion?

In 2014, 15 states allowed state Medicaid dollars to pay for abortions. By 2017, that number had increased to 17. More recently, as of March 12, 2025, the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute claimed that “19 states have a policy or court order that directs state Medicaid funds to pay for abortions under all circumstances… federal Hyde Amendment bars the use of federal Medicaid funds to pay for abortions except under very narrow exceptions.” In addition, KFF reported that 20 states fund abortions which “exceed[] federal requirements.”

A breakdown of these 20 states is below. As there are no federal requirements to report abortion numbers or abortions by payment type, information by state may vary.

It is important to remember that the numbers below indicate not just monetary cost, but actual, innocent human lives ended using money collected from the taxpaying public.

Alaska

Alaska‘s 2017 data showed that half of women who aborted in the state used taxpayer-funded Medicaid to pay for their abortions. In 2019, that percentage dropped to 45%, though reported abortions actually increased slightly.

In 2022, “Forty-four percent of Alaska abortions were funded by state Medicaid, the same percentage as in 2021. Six percent were covered by insurance, and 34% were self-pay. Sixteen percent were funded through some other means,” reported the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI).

Then, according to CLI, there were 1,222 abortions reported in Alaska in 2023, down 2% from 2022. “Forty-two percent of Alaska abortions were funded by state Medicaid. Six percent were covered by private insurance, and 35% were self-pay. Sixteen percent of the abortions were funded through some other means,” CLI reported.

California

Abortions in California have been skyrocketing. The state “pays for all abortion services using state-only funds” through the Medi-Cal program. In addition, “A person does not have to be a California resident to receive abortion care in the state.” Between 2014 and 2020, California taxpayers funded approximately 411,000 abortions, costing nearly $118 million, according to data from the state’s Medi-Cal website. But from 1989 to 2020, the state’s taxpayer-funded abortion costs amounted to nearly $800 million ($785,421,873).

Colorado

Last year, the Colorado legislature passed Amendment 79, which, according to the Colorado Sun, “strips from the Colorado Constitution a ban on using public money to pay for abortions. That prohibition was passed by Colorado voters in 1984.”

“The Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus abortion coverage would be offered starting in 2026,” the media outlet separately noted. “In the first full implementation year, costs for abortion services are estimated to be $5.9 million…” the fiscal note for Senate Bill 183 says.

Connecticut

According to HUSKY Health‘s reproductive rights website, “The Connecticut Medicaid plan covers abortion services for people enrolled in HUSKY… If you have other health insurance plans, including Medicaid plans from other states, your plan may or may not pay for abortion services.”

According to one source, “In 2018, the state HUSKY program paid for 6,995 abortions totaling $4.2 million. This comes to 75% of the 9,294 abortions performed in the state during 2018.” In 2023, the Connecticut Catholic Conference reported that “abortion providers lobbied for $2 million to help service the large influx of women coming to Connecticut for abortions. Using misleading percentages[,] they tried to raise concern in the legislature. Based on the actual numbers[,] we now know that the $2 million allocation, if granted, would have amounted to $38,461 per woman” (emphasis added).

Delaware

A 2024 report from WHYY claimed that under newly enacted legislation, the state “requires Medicaid, private health insurance and state employee insurance plans cover services related to termination of pregnancy. Coverage is capped at $750.”

“The fiscal cost for FY 25 is more than $503,000, with a $250,000 one-time cost,” WHYY reported in a separate article.

Hawaii

Hawaii Medicaid covers induced abortion services with 100% state funds. This requires induced abortion services to be billed directly to Hawaii’s Medicaid Fee-For-Service (FFS) program,” MedQuest Hawaii reported.

Illinois

In 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker solidified a 2017 law with an executive order, which forced taxpayers to pay for state employees’ and Medicaid recipients’ abortions. “Illinois taxpayers paid for nearly four times more abortions in the first six months of 2018 than the year before,” noted a local news report. This is a massive increase. National Review reported:

A Freedom of Information Act request filed by NewsChannel 20 in Springfield, Ill., found that in the first six months of 2018, there was a sharp increase in the number of taxpayer-funded abortions in the state.

In the first half of 2017, only 84 abortions were publicly funded, but in the first half of 2018 — after HB 40 had taken effect — 1,561 abortions were paid for by Illinois taxpayers.

This is an increase of 1,758 percent. It appears that approximately 10 percent of all abortions performed in Illinois are paid for with taxpayer dollars.

In 2022, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) “affirmed its commitment to covering abortion care for all Medicaid customers in the state of Illinois” and increased the abortion reimbursement rate by 20%. In addition “The Illinois budget for fiscal year 2026 sets aside $24 million for services that include abortions,” My Stateline recently reported.

Maine

“In 2019, Legislative Document(LD) 820 required Maine’s Medicaid program and private health insurers to cover abortion services… The average number of abortion procedures per month in Maine increased from approximately 157 (156.7) to 168 (167.7) after the policy shift,” a recent study claimed.

According to a state website, “Maine requires state-regulated major medical insurers and MaineCare (Medicaid) to cover family planning services, abortion services, and pregnancy-related services… MaineCare uses state general funds to support abortion services for low-income people covered by the program in instances when federal matching payments are not available….”

Maryland

Between 2016 and 2018, taxpayers paid $17.5M for 26,588 abortions at an average cost of $658 per abortion. Between 2017 and 2019, they spent $18.2M for 28,427 abortions.

Between 2020 and 2022, Maryland taxpayers spent $29.4M on 45.2K abortions:

• 2020: $6.6M for 9,909 abortions.

• 2021: $7.2M for 10,997 abortions.

• 2022: $7.7M for 11,596 abortions.

• 2023: $7.9M for 12,727 abortions.

In 2024, “Section 19 of the fiscal 2024 Budget Bill (Chapter 101 of 2023) added $3.5 million in general funds to the MCPA budget to increase Medicaid provider reimbursement rates for abortion care services.”

Massachusetts

In 2025, WBUR reported:

Massachusetts doctors and other health care providers facilitated 24,355 abortions last year, a 37% increase from 2022… 36% of abortions in Massachusetts were paid for by a public insurance program, often Medicaid.

That’s not the case for the telehealth visits — most were paid for by patients. Abortion funds, created by individual donations, helped with expenses in 16% of abortions recorded in Massachusetts last year.

According to CLI, “Thirty-eight percent of women paid for their abortion out of pocket and the payment type was not known for 5% of abortions. Sixteen percent of women who obtained abortions in Massachusetts in 2023 used abortion funds while 71% did not. It is not known for 13% of women if they used abortion funds.”

Minnesota

An analysis from the Minnesota pro-life group MCCL found that between 1995 and 2018, taxpayers bankrolled the deaths of 90,000 babies at the cost of approximately $27 million. In 2022, “41 percent of Minnesota abortions were funded through public assistance… Eighteen percent were covered by private insurance, and 42 percent were self-pay,” CLI reported.

Montana

Earlier this year, a district court judge in Montana struck down HB 862, which prohibited Medicaid-funded abortions unless the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest, or the mother was “in danger of death.”

Nevada

A 2024 court ruling opened the door to Medicaid funded abortions in the state.

New Jersey

Abortion is covered under “NJ FamilyCare,” the name for “Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in New Jersey,” says the state’s reproductive health coverage website.

In addition, “If you are enrolled in the State Health Benefits Program or the School Employees Health Benefits Program, comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion coverage, is also provided as part of your plan,” the website also states.

New Mexico:

According to NMHealth.org, “NM Medicaid covers abortion.”

New York

“New York State Medicaid will pay for the care you receive while pregnant, including abortion care,” NYC.gov states.

For years, taxpayer-funded abortions in New York have comprised nearly half of the reported abortions in the state:

• 2016: 82,189 (40,491 Medicaid)

• 2017: 77,810 (37,275 Medicaid)

• 2018: 72,548 (35,238 Medicaid)

• 2019: 74,211 (35,905 Medicaid)

• 2020:59,344 (29,036 Medicaid)

• 2021: 59,616 (29,422 Medicaid)

• 2022: 68,388 (34,054 Medicaid)

Oregon

Oregon’s Medicaid, the Oregon Health Plan (OHP), covers abortions for Oregon residents,” stated Oregon.gov. “… OHP (Medicaid) pays for the cost of transportation to and from your appointment,” a separate page of the website claimed. “The Reproductive Health Access Fund (RHAF) is a state-funded program that covers abortion services free of charge for Oregon residents who are not enrolled in OHP and who are not U.S. citizens.”

Rhode Island

“The Equality in Abortion Coverage Act (EACA) was signed into law by the State of Rhode Island on May 18, 2023. Under the law, the EACA will provide insurance coverage for abortion care to individuals on Medicaid to increase access and reduce financial limitations of reproductive health care at the state level,” the state’s HHS website states.

“In his budget plan for fiscal year 2024, [Governor] McKee includes funding to add abortion coverage to Rhode Island’s Medicaid program and to the insurance coverage for state employees, at a projected cost of $622,000,” reported the AP.

Vermont

In Vermont, abortions are covered under Medicaid, otherwise known as Vermont Health Connect.

Washington

“Using state funds, Apple Health covers abortion as part of its reproductive health services,” the Washington State Healthcare Authority website states.

“You do not need to be a citizen of the United States or live in Washington for a specific amount of time to get Apple Health,” Washington’s Department of Health website claims.

Protecting Hyde at the federal level is critical to limiting the number of babies targeted for abortion. When abortions are taxpayer-funded, Big Abortion knows full well that they will increase.