The Ministry of Health’s annual report on induced abortions in New Zealand for 2024 reveals a horrific reality that demands far more public attention and moral scrutiny than it has received.
In 2024, 17,785 abortions were carried out.
That is 49 pre-born lives lost every single day.
Or 342 each week.
This represents a 9% increase from 2023, when 16,277 abortions were reported. For every 1,000 known pregnancies, 232 ended in abortion.
The highest number of abortions on record was reported in 2003, totalling 18,511. While numbers fell to 12,823 in 2016, the steady increase in recent years indicates that this record may soon be exceeded.
“The escalating numbers are a disturbing trend,” says Michelle Kaufman, National Director of Family Life International. “Reforming the abortion law in 2020 was a heinous decision. Renaming this crime as ‘healthcare’ has only made it so much easier to end the lives of pre-born children. Children who had a right to be protected.”
Early Chemical Abortion
Early Chemical* Abortions, referred to as Early Medical Abortions (EMA), occur under 10 weeks’ gestation and now dominate the abortion landscape in New Zealand.
In 2024, EMAs accounted for 67% of all abortions (11,892 cases). These abortions involve a combination of two drugs: mifepristone, which blocks progesterone and deprives the baby of nourishment, and misoprostol, which induces uterine contractions to expel the child.
The statistics reveal a dramatic shift in how women are obtaining abortions. In 2020, when the Abortion Legislation Act was passed, EMAs accounted for 38.1% of abortions. The current report indicates an increase of 29% since that law reform.
Almost half of these early chemical abortions (5,419) were accessed through the national Decide abortion “telehealth service”, with a further 2,393 (20%) obtained through regional “telehealth”. Despite the rise of “telehealth” to obtain the abortion pills, 4,080 were through in-person consultations.
“It is little wonder that early chemical abortion has caught on,” says Kaufman. “When taking the contraceptive or morning-after pill is portrayed as normal and responsible behaviour, it is only a small step to taking pills to end a pregnancy, especially in a culture already conditioned to treat pregnancy as a problem to be solved.”
Induction of Labour as Abortion
Chemical abortions are not limited to early pregnancy. After 10 weeks, they are classified as second-trimester medical abortions, which involve inducing labour.
In 2024, 386 chemical abortions occurred at 11 weeks or later, including 174 at 20 weeks’ gestation or beyond.
“The language used, such as ‘induction of labour’, can obscure the reality of what is really taking place,” Kaufman says. “This is not a premature birth with an intention to care for the child. It is the deliberate ending of a human life, often at a stage when the baby could survive with medical support.”
Surgical Abortion
As chemical abortion has become the preferred method, surgical abortions continue to decline. In 2024, surgical procedures made up 31% (5,507) of all abortions which is down sharply from 47.8% (6,764) in 2022.
Surgical abortion remains more prevalent among certain ethnic groups. Māori (36%) and Pacific women (35%) were more likely to access surgical abortion than chemical abortion. By comparison, Asian women (28%) and women identifying as European/Other (29%) had lower rates.
Late-Term Abortion
Later-term abortions increased significantly in 2024. There were 201 abortions at 20 weeks’ gestation or later, up from 174 in 2023.
Of these, 174 were chemical abortions and 27 were surgical. The Ministry of Health report provides no further detail regarding gestational age beyond 20 weeks.
“The lack of transparency around later-term abortions is deeply concerning,” says Kaufman. “It was recently revealed that since 2020 approximately 80 babies have been born alive after an attempted abortion, then denied the dignity of proper care and respect due a human person. Information like this ought to be reported by the Ministry of Health not buried until someone asks the right questions. The public deserves total transparency about abortion practices.”
Age of mothers having an abortion
The average age of women having abortions varied by ethnicity.
- Māori women had the lowest mean age at 26.1 years
- Pacific women followed at 26.7 years
- European/Other women the mean age was 28 years
- Asian women had the highest mean age at 31.1 years
Of particular concern is the sharp rise in abortions among teenage girls. In 2024, 1,849 abortions were carried out on girls aged 19 and under, compared with 1,242 in 2019.
Tragically, 48 of these girls were aged 14 or younger.
“One has to wonder whether the abuse of these young girls was reported when the pregnancy was discovered,” Kaufman asks. “Or were the circumstances quietly covered up in the name of privacy?”
Abortions among women in their early 40s are also increasing. In 2024, 892 abortions occurred in this age group—a 46% increase from 2014, when there were 611.
Abortions among women aged 45 and over remained steady at 64 over the year.
Conclusion: Mourning What Has Been Lost
As seen across much of the Western world, how women access abortion in New Zealand is rapidly changing. Abortion is increasingly framed as a simple, early, and private solution and often reduced to a “telehealth” consultation and a handful of pills.
But behind the language of convenience lies a far more sobering truth:, even as it claims thousands of lives each year and leaves countless women carrying unseen wounds.
Abortion is violent. It is brutal. It is barbaric.
And it always ends a human life.
What is also too often forgotten are the mothers, fathers, grandparents, and siblings who live with the negative and lasting consequences of abortion. Grief, regret, and ongoing trauma are real experiences that often go unacknowledged because they disrupt the narrative that abortion is harmless or empowering.
A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. When pre-born children are denied their right to live, and women are offered abortion instead of real support, something fundamental has gone wrong.
“We are not becoming more compassionate,” Kaufman concludes. “We are becoming more efficient at ending life and less willing to ask whether we should.”
Today, we must pause to mourn the tragic loss of life, and to recommit ourselves to restoring a culture that cherishes and supports both mother and child.
*The Ministry of Health and the wider medical community commonly refer to abortions carried out using pills as “medical” abortions. Family Life International uses the term “chemical abortion” because it more accurately describes the means by which the abortion occurs—through the administration of drugs that cause the death of the pre-born child. The term “medical” implies a therapeutic or health-benefiting procedure, which we believe is misleading in this context and functions as a euphemism we choose to avoid.
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The Ministry of Health’s 2024 report on induced abortions in New Zealand highlights a distressing trend, with 17,785 abortions performed, showing a 9% increase. Early Medical Abortions dominate, accounting for 67%. The report raises concerns about transparency, increasing late-term abortions, and the psychological impact on families, urging societal reflection on abortion practices.
