Induced Abortion in the United States
• Nearly half of pregnancies among American women in 2011 were unintended, and about four in 10 of these were terminated by abortion.[
1]
• Twenty-one percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) in 2011 ended in abortion.[
2]
• In 2011, approximately 1.06 million abortions were performed, down 13% from 1.21 million in 2008. From 1973 through 2011, nearly 53 million legal abortions occurred.[
2]
• The abortion rate in 2011 was 16.9 per 1,000 women aged 15–44, down 13% from 19.4 per 1,000 in 2008. This is the lowest rate observed since abortion became legal in the United States in 1973.[
2]
• In 2011, 1.7% of women aged 15–44 had an abortion [
2]. Half of these women had had at least one previous abortion.[
3]
• At 2008 abortion rates, almost one in 10 women will have an abortion by age 20, one in four by age 30 and three in 10 by age 45.[
4]
WHO HAS ABORTIONS?
• Twelve percent of U.S. abortion patients in 2014 were teenagers: Those aged 18–19 accounted for 8% of all abortions, 15–17-year-olds for 3% and teenagers younger than 15 for 0.2%.[
3]
• More than half of all abortion patients in 2014 were in their 20s: Patients aged 20–24 obtained 34% of all abortions, and patients aged 25–29 obtained 27%.[
3]
• White patients accounted for 39% of abortion procedures in 2014, blacks for 28%, Hispanics for 25% and patients of other races and ethnicities for 9%.[
3]
• Seventeen percent of abortion patients in 2014 identified as mainline Protestant, 13% as evangelical Protestant and 24% as Catholic; 38% reported no religious affiliation.[
3]
• In 2014, some 46% of all abortion patients had never married and were not cohabiting.[
3]
• Fifty-nine percent of abortions in 2014 were obtained by patients who had had at least one previous birth.[
3]
• Forty-nine percent of abortion patients in 2014 had incomes of less than 100% of the federal poverty level ($11,670 for a single adult with no children).
*,[
3]
• Twenty-six percent of abortion patients in 2014 had incomes of 100–199% of the federal poverty level.[
3]
• The reasons patients gave for having an abortion underscored their understanding of the responsibilities of parenthood and family life. The three most common reasons—each cited by three-fourths of patients—were concern for or responsibility to other individuals; the inability to afford a child; and the belief that having a baby would interfere with work, school or the ability to care for dependents. Half said they did not want to be a single parent or were having problems with their husband or partner.[
5]
• Fifty-one percent of abortion patients had used a contraceptive method in the month they got pregnant, most commonly condoms (27%) or a hormonal method (17%).[
6]
Induced Abortion in the United States
what "substandard" care is that, exactly...?
