Abortion Rates vs. Teenage Pregnancy Rates

Background Information Question Does the rate of teenage pregnancies effect the rate of abortions in Canada from ? Variables Independent: Teenage Pregnancies Dependant: Abortions

Hypothesis “Not Set in Stone”

Teenage Pregnancy Health Risks for Newborn Babies Low birth weight, under-developed organs, bleeding in the brain, respiratory distress syndrome, intestinal problems Health Risks for Teen Moms Anaemia, hypertension (high blood pressure), renal disease (kidney failure), eclampsia (seizures during pregnancy), depression. Other Risks Reduced education (for mother and the child’s future), low profitable income, no partner to help with income.

Abortions The Abortion Law Supreme Court uplifts abortion law in 1988 Put in place in 1898 First criminal law to be passed by the Parliament of Canada Illegal to sell, distribute, or use any form of contraceptives May women chained themselves to the Parliamentary Gallery for two days Law uplifted because it violated section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: Every woman has the right of “life, liberty and security of person.”

Data YearTeenage Pregnancies Abortions Teen Pregnancies Any pregnancy reported in Canada and pregnancies of Canadian residents in the United States that are under the age of 20 years (not including 20). Abortions Any abortion (all ages) reported in Canadian clinics and hospitals and abortions of Canadian residents in clinics in the United States.

One-Variable Graph Central Tendency: Teen Pregnancy Mean: Mode:45639 Median: Central Tendency: Abortions Mean: Mode:92901 Median:

Two-Variable Graph Standard Deviation & Coefficient of Determination Teen Pregnancies: ; Abortions: Coefficient of Determination:

Bias & Sampling Methods Bias Non-Response Bias: For data years , abortion data for teens under 20 years are not available for the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Also this data is not available for teen pregnancies in years Sampling Method Cluster Sampling: Certain groups were representative of the data (teenagers aged under 20 years).

Hidden Variables 2002 and 2003, Nunavut residents are excluded due to incomplete reporting. This could bring up the numbers for abortions and teen pregnancies and 2005, information on induced abortions performed in clinics in Manitoba was not submitted. If it had been included, it could bring up the number of abortions for the given years. Increased awareness and access to the use of contraceptives. Increased knowledge of the use of contraceptives.

Conclusion Teenage pregnancies are declining because less and less teens are becoming pregnant. This results in the reduction of abortions because abortions are no longer needed as much. Though the data does not completely correlate, by looking at the one-variable graphs, you can clearly see that both variables are steadily decreasing, as stated in my hypothesis. "Teen pregnancies in Canada at All-Time Low." Canada.com. Ed. Alex McKay. Canwest Media, 14 Apr

Statistics Canada. Table Pregnancy outcomes, by age group, Canada, provinces and territories, annual, CANSIM (database), Using E- STAT (distributor). win/cnsmcgi.exe?Lang=E&EST-Fi=EStat/English/CII_1-eng.htm (accessed: January 2, 2011) win/cnsmcgi.exe?Lang=E&EST-Fi=EStat/English/CII_1-eng.htm Statistics Canada. Table Induced abortions in hospitals and clinics, by age group and area of residence of patient, Canada, provinces and territories, annual, CANSIM (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). Fi=EStat/English/CII_1-eng.htm (accessed: January 2, 2011) (accessed: January 2, 2011) "Teen pregnancies in Canada at All-Time Low." Canada.com. Ed. Alex McKay. Canwest Media, 14 Apr Web. 3 Jan "Teen pregnancies in Canada at All-Time Low." Canada.com. Citations