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U.S. Abortion Rate at 30-Year Low
Many abortions are among older mothers and minority women, report says
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
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TUESDAY, Sept. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Abortions in the United States fell 33 percent between 1974 and 2004, but sizeable differences among racial and economic groups continue to exist as to who gets an abortion, a new report says.
While the number of abortions among teens has also dropped dramatically, down 50 percent, abortion rates are still high among older women with children and poor women, according to the report from the Guttmacher Institute.
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"There's been a shift in the population of women obtaining abortions relative to 30 years ago," said Rachel Jones, a senior research associate at the institute. "They are older, they are more likely to be unmarried, more likely to be mothers, and they are more likely to be women of color."
One of the largest factors in the decline has been the drop in teenage pregnancies and abortions, Jones said. "We've done a lot of work addressing teen pregnancy, including comprehensive sex education, access to contraceptive services and providing kids with information to help them delay sexual activity," she said.
Most U.S. women having abortions today come from lower income groups, she said.
The rate of abortions in the United States has dropped 33 percent from 1974 to 2004. In 1980 there were 29 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44; by 2004, that number had dropped to 20 per 1,000 women, according to the report.
While the abortion rate has dropped among all racial groups, it remains three times higher among Hispanic women and five times higher among black women, compared to white women, the report found.
From 1994 to 2004, the rate of abortions among Hispanic women fell by 20 percent, from 35 per 1,000 women to 28 per 1,000 women. The drop in the abortion rate over the same period for white women was 30 percent; for black women, it was 15 percent.
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Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 9/23/2008
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SOURCES: Rachel Jones, senior research associate, Guttmacher Institute, Washington, D.C.; Laurie Rubiner, vice president, public policy, Planned Parenthood, Washington, D.C.; Michael F. Greene, M.D., director, obstetrics, Massachusetts General Hospital, and professor, obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston; Wendy Wright, executive vice president, Concerned Women for America, Washington, D.C.; Sept. 23, 2008, report, Trends in the Characteristics of Women Obtaining Abortions, 1974 to 2004, Guttmacher Institute, New York City, and Washington, D.C.
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