Abortion Statistics The Second Look Project

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

1. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives," Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Vol. 37 (September 2005).
2. Elam-Evans L et al., "Abortion surveillance-United States, 2000", Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2003, 52(SS 12).
3. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "Induced Abortion in the United States" Facts in Brief (2005).
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "Abortion in Context: United States and Worldwide" Issues in Brief, 1999 No. 1 (1999).
7. 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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