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U.S. Abortion Statistics

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Below is a breakdown of various statistics relating to abortions performed in the United States since the U. S. Supreme Court ruled (7-2) that a woman was entitled to terminate an unwanted pregnancy in the 1973 landmark case Roe v. Wade.

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American's views concerning Abortion

  • 79% do not support the current abortion-on-demand policy, saying abortion should be legal only in some circumstances (68%), or illegal in all circumstances (11%).
    Marist Poll, December 2011
  • 78% believe that women who have abortions commonly experience moderately severe to very severe negative emotional reactions to abortion. Medical Science Monitor, 2003
  • 95% of women want to be informed of all risks of a medical procedure; 69% want to be informed of all alternatives. Journal of Medical Ethics, July 2006
  • 64% of women who experienced one or more abortions “felt pressured by others” to have the abortion. Medical Science Monitor, Oct. 2004
  • Why do women have abortions?

  • 74% say having a baby would interfere with work, school, or other responsibilities.
  • 73% say they cannot afford to have a child.
  • 48% say they do not want to be a single parent, or have relationship problems with husband or partner.
  • Less than 2% say they became pregnant as a result of rape or incest. Source: The Alan Guttmacher Institute, Perspective on Sexual & Reproductive Health, Sept. 2005
  • ANNUAL ABORTION STATISTICS

  • In 2008, approximately 1.21 million abortions took place in the U.S., down from an estimated 1.29 million in 2002, 1.31 million in 2000 and 1.36 million in 1996. From 1973 through 2008, nearly 50 million legal abortions have occurred in the U.S. (AGI).
  • In 2007, the highest number of reported legal induced abortions occurred in Florida (91,954), NYC (90,870), and Texas (80,886); the fewest occurred in Wyoming (9), South Dakota (707), and North Dakota (1,235) (CDC).
  • The 2007 abortion ratios by state ranged from a low of 58 abortions per 1,000 live births in Idaho and South Dakota (Wyoming had too few abortions for reliable tabulation) to a high of 737 abortions per 1,000 live births in NYC (CDC).
  • The annual number of legal induced abortions in the United States doubled between 1973 and 1979, and peaked in 1990. There was a slow but steady decline through the 1990's. The number of annual abortions decreased by 2% between 2000 and 2007, with a slight spike in 2006. (CDC)
  • In 1998, the last year for which estimates were made, more than 23% of legal induced abortions were performed in California (CDC).
  • In 2005, the abortion rate in the United States was higher than recent rates reported for Canada and Western European countries and lower than rates reported for China, Cuba, the majority of Eastern European countries, and certain Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union (CDC).
  • Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended; about 4 in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Twenty-two percent of all U.S. pregnancies end in abortion. (AGI).
  • WHO HAS ABORTIONS?

  • In 2007, 84% of all abortions were performed on unmarried women (CDC).
  • Women between the ages of 20-24 obtained 33% of all abortions; women between 25-29 obtained 24% (CDC).
  • 50% of U.S. women obtaining abortions are younger than 25; women aged 20-24 obtain 33% of all U.S. abortions and teenagers obtain 17% (AGI).
  • In 2007, adolescents under 15 years obtained .05% of all abortions, but had the highest abortion ratio, 768 abortions for every 1,000 live births (CDC).
  • 47% of women who have abortions had at least one previous abortion (AGI).
  • Black women are more than 4.8 times more likely than non-Hispanic white women to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are 2.7 times as likely (AGI).
  • 37% of women obtaining abortions identify themselves as Protestant, and 28% identify themselves as Catholic (AGI).
  • At current rates, nearly one-third of American women will have an abortion (AGI).
  • WHY ARE ABORTIONS PERFORMED?

  • On average, women give at least 3 reasons for choosing abortion: 3/4 say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities; about 3/4 say they cannot afford a child; and 1/2 say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner (AGI).
  • WHEN DO ABORTIONS OCCUR?

  • 88-92% of all abortions happen during the first trimester, prior to the 13th week of gestation (AGI/CDC).
  • HOW ARE ABORTIONS PERFORMED?

  • In 2007, 86% of abortions were performed by curettage (which includes dilatation and evacuation [D&E]). Most curettage abortions are suction procedures (CDC).
  • Medical abortions made up approximately 12% of all abortions reported (CDC).
  • WHO IS PERFORMING ABORTIONS?

  • The number of abortion providers declined by 11% between 1996 and 2000 (from 2,042 to 1,819). It declined another 2% between 2000 and 2005 (from 1,819 to 1,787) It has remained stable between 2005 and 2008 (1,787 to 1,793). (AGI).
  • Forty-two percent of providers offer very early abortions (during the first four weeks’ gestation) and 95% offer abortion at eight weeks. Sixty-four percent of providers offer at least some second-trimester abortion services (13 weeks or later), and 20% offer abortion after 20 weeks. Eleven percent of all abortion providers offer abortions past 24 weeks (AGI).
  • ABORTION FATALITY

  • In 2007, 6 women died as a result of complications from known legal induced abortion (CDC).
  • The number of deaths attributable to legal induced abortion was highest before the 1980s (CDC).
  • In 1972 (the year before abortion was federally legalized), a total of 24 women died from causes known to be associated with legal abortions, and 39 died as a result of known illegal abortions (CDC).
  • THE COST OF ABORTION

  • In 2009, the average cost of a nonhospital abortion with local anesthesia at 10 weeks of gestation was $451 (AGI).
  • MEDICAL ABORTION

  • In 2005, 57% of abortion providers, or 1,026 facilities, provided one or more types of medical abortions, a 70% increase from the first half of 2001. At least 10% of nonhospital abortion providers offer only medication abortion services (AGI).
  • In 2005, an estimated 161,100 early medication abortions were performed in nonhospital facilities (AGI).
  • Medication abortion accounted for 17% of all abortions in 2008 (AGI).
  • ABORTION AND CONTRACEPTION

  • Induced abortions usually result from unintended pregnancies, which often occur despite the use of contraception (CDC).
  • 54% of women having abortions used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant. Among those women, 76% of pill users and 49% of condom users reported using the methods inconsistently, while 13% of pill users and 14% of condom users reported correct use (AGI).
  • 8% of women having abortions have never used a method of birth control (AGI).
  • 9 in 10 women at risk of unintended pregnancy are using a contraceptive method (AGI).
  • ABORTION AND MINORS

  • 40% of minors having an abortion report that neither of their parents knew about the abortion (AGI).
  • 35 states currently enforce parental consent or notification laws for minors seeking an abortion: AL, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI , MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WV, and WY. The Supreme Court ruled that minors must have the alternative of seeking a court order authorizing the procedure (AGI).
  • ABORTION AND PUBLIC FUNDS

  • The U.S. Congress has barred the use of federal Medicaid funds to pay for abortions, except when the woman's life would be endangered by a full-term pregnancy or in cases of rape or incest (AGI).
  • 17 states (AK, AZ, CA, CT, HI, IL, MA, MD, MN, MT, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA and WV) do use public funds to pay for abortions for some poor women. About 14% of all abortions in the United States are paid for with public funds (virtually all from the state) (AGI).
  • Source: Abort73.com

    Abortions by State (2005-2009)
    Alabama-Mississippi

    State

    2005

    2006

    2007

    2008

    2009

                     

    Alabama

    9,707

    9,542

    9,403

    9,737

    9,392

    Alaska

    1,956

    1,923

    1,701

    1,759

    1,938

    Arizona

    10,446

    10,506

    10,486

    10,396

    10,045

    Arkansas

    4,122

    5,037

    4,866

    4,869

    n/a

    California

    208,430

    215,500

    223,180

    n/a

    n/a

    Colorado

    10,541

    11,002

    10,483

    10,680

    n/a

    Connecticut

    16,780

    14,351

    17,390

    17,030

    n/a

    Delaware

    11,603

    11,898

    12,097

    12,016

    n/a

    DC

    2,518

    2,692

    4,160

    4,450

    n/a

    Florida

    92,513

    95,575

    91,954

    86,757

    82,038

    Georgia

    28,015

    27,642

    29,415

    30,066

    30,330

    Hawaii

    3,831

    3,990

    3,756

    3,273

    3,342

    Idaho

    1,827

    1,919

    2,160

    2,132

    2,348

    Illinois

    43,409

    46,467

    45,298

    47,717

    41,307

    Indiana

    10,224

    10,092

    10,382

    10,469

    n/a

    Iowa

    5,881

    6,728

    6,649

    6,486

    5,829

    Kansas

    10,543

    11,271

    10,841

    10,642

    9,484

    Kentucky

    3,870

    3,912

    4,550

    4,430

    n/a

    Louisiana

    8,860

    6,204

    6,833

    6,817

    8,167

    Maine

    2,514

    2,586

    2,611

    2,589

    n/a

    Maryland

    37,590

    n/a

    34,380

    34,290

    n/a

    Massachusetts 

    27,270

    24,246

    25,790

    24,900

    n/a

    Michigan

    25,209

    25,636

    24,683

    25,970

    22,357

    Minnesota

    13,365

    14,065

    13,843

    11,896

    12,388

    Mississippi

    2,956

    2,874

    2,870

    2,697

    2,374

     

      

    Abortions by State (2005-2009) 

    Missouri-Wyoming

              

    State

    2005

    2006

    2007

    2008

    2009

                                            

    Missouri

    11,619

    11,833

    11,470

    11,508

    10,518

    Montana

    2,155

    2,119

    2,238

    2,125

    2,223

    Nebraska

    3,173

    2,927

    2,481

    2,813

    2,551

    Nevada

    10,565

    11,471

    10,646

    9,983

    n/a

    NewHampshire

    n/a

    3,200

    3,200

    n/a

    n/a

    New Jersey

    31,230

    30,986

    26,668

    28,480

    n/a

    New Mexico

    5,934

    6,087

    6,036

    6,150

    n/a

    New York

    117,944

    121,278

    120,554

    118,381

    115,008

    North Carolina

    27,674

    29,430

    28,545

    27,234

    26,123

    North Dakota

    919

    777

    795

    918

    831

    Ohio

    34,128

    32,936

    30,859

    29,613

    28,721

    Oklahoma

    6,322

    6,595

    6,319

    6,124

    6,029

    Oregon

    11,602

    12,246

    11,883

    10,610

    10,801

    Pennsylvania

    34,909

    36,731

    36,663

    38,807

    37,284

    Rhode Island

    3,918

    3,690

    4,820

    4,134

    n/a

    South Carolina

    11,919

    13,114

    12,838

    10,917

    11,656

    South Dakota

    805

    748

    707

    848

    769

    Tennessee

    13,154

    14,615

    14,789

    14,241

    13,638

    Texas

    77,374

    82,056

    81,079

    81,591

    77,850

    Utah

    3,556

    3,753

    3,932

    3,911

    3,665

    Vermont

    1,620

    1,611

    1,583

    1,494

    n/a

    Virginia

    25,822

    27,024

    27,292

    27,410

    26,356

    Washington 

    24,161

    24,790

    24,735

    24,279

    22,642

    West Virginia

    1,674

    2,037

    1,853

    1,744

    n/a

    Wisconsin 

    9,566

    9,352

    8,099

    8,008

    8,299

    Wyoming

    904

    275

    839

    275

    129

     

    Source: AGI, CDC

     

           

    Abortions per 1,000 women

    (Ages 15 to 44)

     

    1973 –16.3

     

    1977 - 26.4

     

    1981 - 29.3

     

    1985 - 28.0

     

    1989 - 26.8

     

    1993 - 25.0

     

    1997 - 21.9

     

    2001 - 21.1

     

    2005 - 19.4

     

    2008 - 19.6

     

     

     

     

    An American Holocaust