 |
Why
Women who have had abortions cite the following reasons: 1
| 42% |
unmarried |
| 38% |
would interfere with education/job/career |
| 38% |
have completed my childbearing |
| 34% |
student or planning to study |
| 28% |
can't afford baby and child care |
| 25% |
don't want people to know they had sex or got pregnant |
| 22% |
don't feel mature enough to raise a child |
| 22% |
unemployed |
| 14% |
not enough support from husband or partner |
| 13% |
possible fetal health problem |
| 12% |
physical problem with my health |
| 1% |
was a victim of rape |
| <0.5% |
became pregnant as a result of incest |
When
Abortions
occur at the following gestational times: 2,3
| 23% |
in the first 6 weeks - 301,300 annually |
| 34.5% |
in the seventh or eighth week – 451,950 annually |
| 19.5% |
in the ninth or tenth week – 255,450 annually |
| 10% |
in the eleventh or twelth week – 131,000 annually |
| 6.0% |
in the thirteenth through fifteenth weeks – 78,600 annually |
| 4.5% |
in the sixteenth through twentieth weeks – 58,950 annually |
| 1.5% |
at twenty-one weeks or more – 19,650 annually |
How Many
Current abortion rates
| 1.29 million abortions took place in the U.S. in 2002.3 |
| Over 42 million legal abortions were performed between 1973 and 2002. 4 |
| 48% of women now seeking abortion have had at least one previous abortion. 5 |
| The U.S. abortion rate is among the highest of developed countries. 6 |
| The U.S. abortion rate per 100 pregnancies is 24.5. 7 |
Notes
- The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives," Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Vol. 37 (September 2005).
- Elam-Evans L et al., "Abortion surveillance-United States, 2000", Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2003, 52(SS 12).
- The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "Induced Abortion in the United States" Facts in Brief (2005).
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "Abortion in Context: United States and Worldwide" Issues in Brief, 1999 No. 1 (1999).
- The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "Abortion Incidence and Services In the United States in 2000." Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Vol. 35, (Jan/Feb 2003)
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