1. An Overview of Abortion
John B. Pryor
Illinois State University
A Note About PRCH:
Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health (PRCH) is the only national physician-led nonprofit organization with a membership that is committed to preserving and enhancing reproductive health and freedom.
PRCH’s mission is to enable physicians to become more active and visible in support of comprehensive reproductive health. PRCH exists to ensure that all people have the knowledge, access to quality services and freedom to make their own reproductive health decisions. For more information on PRCH or to become a member, visit < call x24 or
A Note About the Guttmacher Institute:
The Guttmacher Institute is a nonprofit organization that advances sexual and reproductive health worldwide through research, policy analysis and public education. The Institute has offices in New York and Washington, DC. For more information on the Guttmacher Institute, visit < or call
For Abortion in Women’s Lives, a comprehensive report that pulls together all of the most current data and analysis on abortion in the United States, please click here [
A Note About the Data:
The data presented in this slide series are the most recent available as of January Percentages might not add to 100 due to rounding.

2. US Public Opinions about Abortion

3. Should Abortion be Legal in the US?

4. Gallup Poll (2011)

5. Incidence of Pregnancy and Abortion
The pregnancy or abortion rate is defined as the number of pregnancies or abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 (or within a more limited, specified age-group) in a given year.

6. Pregnancies in the United States (Approximately 6.4 Million Annually)
% of pregnancies
Unintended Pregnancy and Contraception:
Among women who are at risk of an unintended pregnancy, 89% are currently using a method of contraception.
Nevertheless, almost half of all pregnancies are unintended.
Half of unintended pregnancies occur among the 11% of women at risk who were not using a contraception method during the month they became pregnant.
Forty-eight percent of women who have unintended pregnancies were using a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant, although often not correctly every time.
Unintended pregnancy is most likely to occur among women who are 18–24, unmarried, black, Hispanic or low-income.
Intended
Unintended
Source: Finer et al., 2006
(2002 data)

7. Outcomes of Unintended Pregnancies (Approximately 3
Outcomes of Unintended Pregnancies (Approximately 3.1 Million Annually)
% of unintended pregnancies (excluding miscarriages)
Unintended Pregnancy Statistics:
A woman who has an unintended pregnancy is just as likely to carry it to term as to have an abortion.
About four in 10 unintended pregnancies end in abortion.
Of the approximately 6.4 million pregnancies in the United States in 2001, 3.1 million were unintended. Of these, approximately 1.4 million resulted in births, 1.3 million in abortions and 430,000 in miscarriages.
Source: Finer, 2006 (2002 data)

8. Incidence of Abortion
In 2008, some 1.21 million pregnancies were terminated by abortion in the United States.
Almost 2% of all women aged 15–44 had an abortion in 2008.
Abortion is one of the most common surgical procedures in the United States.
Source: Jones RK and Kooistra, K., Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2011, 43(1):41–50.

9. Abortion Rates Among Women Aged 15–44
Abortions per 1,000 women
Source: Jones RK and Kooistra, K., Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2011, 43(1):41–50.
Declining Abortion Rates:
The abortion rate is the number of abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age in a given year. In 2008, a total of 20 out of every 1,000 American women aged 15–44 had an abortion.
The abortion rate has declined since 1980, most rapidly from 1990 to 1996—but that decline stalled between 2005 and 2008.
The declining pregnancy rate among teenagers is the result primarily of better contraceptive use, especially use of injectables and implants, and secondarily of lower rates of sexual activity (Santelli JS, Morrow B, Anderson J and Lindberg LD, Contraceptive Use and Pregnancy Risk Among U.S. High School Students, , Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2006, 38(2):106–111.)

10. Disparities in Unintended Pregnancy and Abortion Are Increasing
The overall U.S. unintended pregnancy rate remained stagnant between 2001 and 2006.
Unintended pregnancy has increased by 10% among poor women while decreasing 14% among higher-income women between 2001 and 2006.
Sources: Finer LB and Zolna MR, Unintended pregnancy in the United States: incidence and disparities, 2006, Contraception, 2011, doi: /j.contraception
Finer LB and Henshaw SK, Disparities in rates of unintended pregnancy in the United States, 1994 and 2001, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2006, 38(2):90–96.
Growing Disparities:
Between 2001 and 2006, the U.S. rate of unintended pregnancy remained stagnant.
However, the rate increased by 10% among women living below the poverty level.
And it fell by 14% over the same period among women with an income at or above 200% of the poverty level.

11. Reasons for Abortions

12. Most Important Reason Given for Terminating an Unwanted Pregnancy
Concern for/responsibility to other individuals 74%
Cannot afford a baby now %
A baby would interfere with school/
employment/ability to care for dependents 69%
Would be a single parent/
having relationship problems %
Has completed childbearing %
Reasons for Terminating an Unwanted Pregnancy:
Most women who decide to have an abortion understand the responsibilities of parenthood; a majority already have children.
In a national survey of 1,209 women having abortions, some of the most common reasons given for terminating an unwanted pregnancy were inability to care for or afford a child and concern for the kind of life they could provide for a child (or another child).
Eighty-nine percent of women gave more than one reason. The average number of reasons given was four.
Each year, about 10,000–15,000 abortions occur among women whose pregnancies resulted from rape or incest.
Source: Finer et al., 2005 (2004 data)

13. Gestational Age

14. Abortions by Gestational Age (Weeks Since Last Menstrual Period)
% of abortions
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Abortion surveillance—United States, 2006, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2009, Vol. 58, No. SS-8.
Weeks of Gestation at Time of Abortion:
Almost 90% of abortions are performed in the first trimester of pregnancy (the first 12 weeks after the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period).
Sixty percent of abortions occur at or before eight weeks’ gestation—up from just 20% in 1970.
The proportion of abortions performed very early in pregnancy (at six weeks or before) increased from 14% in 1992 to 28% in 2004.
Fewer than 2% of abortions are performed after 20 weeks.
An estimated 0.08% of abortions are performed after 24 weeks, when the fetus may be viable.
Weeks

15. Reasons for Abortions After 16 Weeks Since Last Menstrual Period
Woman did not realize she was pregnant 71%
Difficulty making arrangements for abortion 48%
Afraid to tell parents or partner 33%
Needed time to make decision %
Hoped relationship would change %
Pressure not to have abortion %
Something changed during pregnancy 6%
Didn’t know timing was important %
Didn’t know she could get an abortion 5%
Fetal abnormality diagnosed late %
Other %
Barriers That Cause Delay:
Eleven percent of women who obtain an abortion do so after the first trimester.
Some women obtaining abortions report delays in recognizing their pregnancies. Many women do not feel the physical changes, hope that they are not pregnant or fail to recognize the pregnancy because of irregular periods.
Nearly half (48%) of women who had late abortions attributed the delay to difficulty in making arrangements for the procedure, meaning that they needed time to raise money or get a Medicaid card, they had to arrange transportation, there was no local abortion provider, they were minors subject to state laws requiring parental involvement, or they had difficulty securing child care.
Source: Torres and Forrest, (1987 data)

16. Methods of Performing Abortions

17. Methods of Abortion I. Suction Methods A. Endometrial Aspiration
1. Performed 4-6 weeks after LMP
2. Use of flexible tube
3. May be done without pregnancy
confirmation
4. Side effects may include cramps &
intermittent menstrual bleeding

18. Methods of Abortion I. Suction Methods (continued) B. Early Abortion
1. Same as A. only pregnancy confirmed
C. Vacuum Curretage
1. Performed after 8 weeks
2. Larger fetal tissue
3. Use of rigid tube with more suction
4. Dilation of cervix is required

19. Methods of Abortion I. Suction Methods (continued)
D. Dilation and Evacuation
1. Performed weeks
2. Fetus is broken up with surgical
instrument prior to suction
3. More dilation is needed

20. Methods of Abortion II. Surgical Removal Through Cervix
A. Dilation and Curretage
1. Performed 8-15 weeks
2. Lining of uterus is
scraped with surgical instrument

21. Methods of Abortion III. Induced Labor A. Saline Abortion
1. Performed early to middle parts of
2nd trimester
2. Saline injected into Amniotic sac
(kills fetus)

22. Methods of Abortion IV. Surgical Removal Through Caesarean Procedure
A. Hysterotomy

23. Safety of Abortion

24. An Abortion Is Safer the Earlier in Pregnancy It Is Performed
Deaths per 100,000 abortions
Safety of Abortion:
Abortion is one of the safest surgical procedures for women. The risk of death associated with abortion is low—approximately 0.6 deaths per 100,000 abortions—and the risk of major complications is less than 1%.
The risk of death when a pregnancy is continued to birth is about 12 times as great as the risk of death from induced abortion. (Note: The calculation of mortality from childbirth omits deaths from miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.)
On average, eight women each year die from induced abortion, compared with about 280 who die from pregnancy and childbirth, excluding abortion and ectopic pregnancy.
An abortion is safer the earlier in pregnancy it is performed.
Abortions by gestation
Sources: All births and abortions: Grimes DA, 2006;
Abortion by gestation: Bartlett et al., 2004 (1988–1997 data)

25. Long-Term Safety of Abortion
First trimester abortions pose virtually no risk of:
Infertility
Ectopic pregnancy
Miscarriage
Birth defect
Preterm or low-birth-weight delivery
There is no association between abortion and breast cancer.
Abortion does not pose a hazard to women’s mental health.
Long-Term Safety:
The preponderance of evidence from well-designed and well-executed studies indicates that first-trimester abortion is safe over the long term and carries little or no risk of fertility-related problems, cancer or psychological illnesses.
Vacuum aspiration, the modern method most commonly used during first-trimester abortions, poses virtually no long-term risks of future fertility-related problems.
Exhaustive reviews by panels convened by the U.S. and British governments have consistently found no association between abortions and breast cancer. The available evidence also indicates that abortion is not a risk factor for other types of cancer and may even protect against certain kinds of cancers.
The decision to terminate a pregnancy is often complex and sometimes difficult. However, well-designed studies continue to find that abortion is no more likely to cause mental health problems than is continuing an unwanted pregnancy.
Source: Boonstra, 2006

26. Abortion Risks in Perspective
Chance of death
Risk from terminating pregnancy: per year:
Before 9 weeks in 1,000,000
Between 9 and 10 weeks 1 in 500,000
Between 13 and 15 weeks 1 in 60,000
After 20 weeks in 11,000
Risk to persons who participate in:
Motorcycling in 1,000
Automobile driving 1 in 5,900
Power-boating in 5,900
Playing football in 25,000
Risk to women aged 15–44 from:
Having sexual intercourse (PID) 1 in 50,000
Using tampons in 350,000
Risk of Death from Abortion in Perspective:
The risk of dying from an abortion is low compared with many other risks that people are exposed to.
PID is pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection of the upper reproductive organs in women, which can result from sexually transmitted infection.
Source: Bartlett et al., 2004 (1988–1997 data)

27. Who Has Abortions

28. Women in Their 20s Make Up the Majority of Abortion Patients
Source: Jones RK, Finer LB and Singh S, Characteristics of U.S. Abortion Patients, 2008, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2010.
Abortions by Age:
The majority (58%) of women having abortions are in their 20s.
Fewer than 1% are younger than 15, while 17% are aged 15–19.
More than four-fifths of pregnancies among teenagers are unintended, and teenagers account for more than one in five unintended pregnancies nationwide.
Abortion numbers and rates decline with age because fecundity declines, use of contraceptive sterilization increases and women’s likelihood of being married grows. Marriage makes it easier to use contraceptives effectively and to continue an unintended pregnancy if it occurs. For teens, abortion rates and numbers decline because of an increasing number of teens delaying first sex, improvements in teens’ contraceptive use and a relatively high likelihood of teens continuing unwanted pregnancies.

29. More than 80% of women having abortions are unmarried
Sources: 1973–1996: Henshaw SK et al., Readings on Induced Abortion, Volume 2: A World Review 2000, New York: The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), 2001, Table –2004: Special distributions published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adjusted for year-to-year changes in the reporting states.
Source Presentation: Trends in Abortion in the United States, 1973–2008

30. Poor and low-income women account for an increasing share of U. S
Poor and low-income women account for an increasing share of U.S. abortions
Sources: 1987: Special tabulations of the Alan Guttmacher Institute’s Abortion Patient Survey , 2000: Jones RK, Darroch JE and Henshaw SK, Patterns in the socioeconomic characteristics of women obtaining abortions in 2000–2001, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2002, 34(5):226–235, Table : Jones RK, Finer LB and Singh S, Characteristics of U.S. abortion patients, 2008, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2010.
2010 Federal Poverty
Level for 2 people:
$14,570 Gross Annual Income –
Source Presentation: Trends in Abortion in the United States, 1973–2008

31. Who Has Abortions: Race/Ethnicity
Abortions by Race/Ethnicity:
The largest group having abortions (41%) are non-Hispanic white women.
Black and Hispanic women together make up more than half (52%) of women having abortions. This proportion is greater than their proportion in the population because they have a higher rate of unintended pregnancy, and, among black women, because they are more likely to resolve an unintended pregnancy through abortion.
About 7% of women having abortions are Asian, Pacific Islander or Native American.
*Non-Hispanic
Source: Jones et al., 2002

32. Most Women Obtaining Abortions Report a Religious Affiliation
Source: Jones RK, Finer LB and Singh S, Characteristics of U.S. Abortion Patients, 2008, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2010.
Abortions by Religious Identification:
When U.S. women having abortions are asked their religion, 37% say they are Protestant. By contrast, 50% of women 18–44 in the U.S. population identify themselves as Protestant. The difference suggests that Protestant women’s abortion rate is lower than that of all women.
The proportion of abortion patients who are Catholic is virtually identical to the proportion of all women who are Catholic. Thus, the abortion rate per 1,000 Catholic women aged 18–44 is comparable to that of all women.
One in five abortion patients say they are “born-again” or “evangelical” Christians.
Twenty-eight percent of abortion patients claim no religious identification, compared with only 16% of the population.

33. Six in 10 Women Having Abortions Are Already Mothers
Source: Jones RK, Finer LB and Singh S, Characteristics of U.S. Abortion Patients, 2008, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2010.
Abortions by Women’s Prior Pregnancies:
Six in 10 women having abortions are mothers.
If a sexually active woman were to use abortion as her means of birth control and wanted two children, she would have about 30 abortions by the time she reached age 45.

34. Who Provides Abortion Services

35. Percentage of Abortions Performed by Each Type of Provider
Jones RK and Kooistra, K., Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2011, 43(1):41–50.
Facilities Providing Abortions:
Abortion clinics—defined as facilities where half or more of patient visits are for abortion services—provide 70% of all abortions. Other clinics, including some group practices, provide most of the rest.
The proportion of abortions performed in hospitals has declined markedly, from 22% in 1980 to only 4% in 2008.
Some 332 doctors provide abortions in their offices, but perform fewer than 400 procedures per year; many of these physicians perform fewer than one abortion per week. Together, they account for only 1% of all abortions. Nevertheless, these providers are important to their patients in that they make abortion services easily available.

36. Number of Providers by Type
No. of providers
Jones RK and Kooistra, K., Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2011, 43(1):41–50.
Change in Number of Providers:
In 2008, the United States had 1,793 abortion providers.
Over time, the number of hospitals where abortions are performed and the number of physicians’ offices performing a small number of abortions (fewer than 400 per year) have declined sharply.
For physicians’ offices, the decline accelerated in the period 1992–1996 and stalled between 2005 and 2008.
The number of abortion clinics has remained relatively constant.

37. Number of abortion providers in Illinois, 1973-2008
* Beginning in 1988, data were collected every four years, while previously data were collected more frequently.

38. Factors Contributing to the Decline in the Number of Abortion Providers
Anti abortion harassment and violence -More than half of abortion providers—and 89% of large providers—experienced some kind of antichoice harassment in 2008
Social stigma/marginalization
Professional isolation/peer pressure
The “graying of providers”
Inadequate economic/other incentives
Lack of medical training opportunities-Fewer than half (46%) of residency training programs in obstetrics and gynecology routinely provide training in first-trimester abortion
Factors Contributing to the Decline in Abortion Providers:
More than half of abortion providers—and 82% of large providers—experienced some kind of antichoice harassment in 2000.
Fewer than half (46%) of residency training programs in obstetrics and gynecology routinely provide training in first-trimester abortion (Almeling et al., 2000).
In addition, demand for abortion providers may have declined as contraceptive use has improved and unintended pregnancy and abortion rates have declined.
Source: Jones & Kooistra (2008)

39. Percentage of Providers of 400 or More Abortions per Year Who Reported Harassment in 2008
Picketing %
Picketing with physical
contact with patients %
Vandalism %
Picketing homes of staff members 7%
Bomb threats %
Patient pictures posted on the Internet 5%
Source: Jones RK and Kooistra, K., Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2011, 43(1):41–50.
Anti Abortion Violence and Harassment:
The majority of abortion clinics experience picketing, and many experience some other form of harassment or violence (Jones RK and Kooistra, K., Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2011, 43(1):41–50.).
More than 6,100 acts of violence have been reported against abortion providers since 1977, including bombings, arson, death threats, murders, kidnappings and assaults, as well as more than 156,000 acts of disruption, including bomb threats and harassing calls (NAF, NAF Violence and Disruption Statistics: Incidents of Violence & Disruption Against Abortion Providers in the U.S. & Canada, 2009, < accessed January 10, 2011.).
Small providers are much less likely than large ones to experience harassment. In 2008, 89% of nonhospital providers of 400 or more abortions reported experiencing picketing or other harassment, compared with only 35% of those that performed 30–399 abortions (Jones RK and Kooistra, K., Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2011, 43(1):41–50.).
Many abortion patients experience emotional upset and postabortion depression if they encounter aggressive antiabortion protesters (Major B et al, Report of the APA Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2008, < >, accessed Oct. 4, 2010.).

40. Factors That Make It Difficult For Women to Obtain Abortion Services

41. Percentages of Counties with No Provider and of Women Living in Those Counties
Source: Jones RK and Kooistra, K., Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2011, 43(1):41–50.
Distance from an Abortion Provider:
Eighty-seven percent of U.S. counties had no abortion provider in In nonmetropolitan areas, the proportion was 97%. As a result, many women must travel substantial distances to access the service.
More than one in four women (27%) who have an abortion travel 50 miles or more for the procedure, a significant distance and a documented barrier to timely care (Jones RK et al., Abortion in the United States: incidence and access to services, 2005, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2008, 40(1):6–16.).
The proportion of women in counties without a facility that provides even one abortion a year has increased, reaching 35% in 2008.
The proportion of women in unserved counties would be higher if not for the efforts of nonprofit organizations to establish and maintain clinics in areas without other providers.

42. Legal Restrictions on Abortion in the USA

43. Federal Laws & Policies about Abortion
Hyde Amendment
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act
Federal Health Benefits Program

44. State Laws about Abortion
In 1992, the US Supreme Court upheld the right to abortion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. However, the ruling significantly weakened the legal protections previously afforded women and physicians by giving states the right to enact restrictions that do not create an "undue burden" for women seeking abortion.

45. Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U.S. 914 (2000)
US Supreme Court overturned a Nebraska statute banning "partial-birth abortion."
Court found that the ban would outlaw the safest and most commonly used methods of second-trimester abortion, and therefore constituted an undue burden on women’s right to obtain abortions.
"the absence of a health exception will place women at an unnecessary risk of tragic health consequences."

46. Federal Laws in the Bush Era
Despite that ruling, Congress passed an almost identical ban on so-called “partial birth abortion” that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 5, 2003.
Also on November 5, 2003, minutes after Bush signed it into law, a Nebraska federal judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing the first-ever federal abortion ban from being enforced against the plaintiffs in the Nebraska lawsuit challenging the ban.
Three Federal Courts in New York, California, and Nebraska struck down this law as unconstitutional. In January of 2006, 2 Federal Appeals Courts upheld these rulings.
On November 8, 2006 the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in two challenges to the Federal Abortion Ban, also known as the "Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003." In both the Center for Reproductive Rights case (Gonzales v. Carhart) and Planned Parenthood case (Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood), appellate courts declared the ban unconstitutional citing previous law established over the last thirty years.

47. APRIL 2007
With Bush-appointed judges Alito and Roberts, Supreme Court upholds the Federal partial birth abortion ban in a 5-4 decision.

48. Obama on Abortion
President Obama signed an executive order on March 24, 2010 to reaffirm that the new health law he signed will not allow any federal funds for abortion.

49. State Laws Restricting Abortion as of October 2012
Physician and Hospital Requirements: 39 states require an abortion to be performed by a licensed physician. 21 states require an abortion to be performed in a hospital after a specified point in the pregnancy, and 20 states require the involvement of a second physician after a specified point.
Gestational Limits: 41 states prohibit abortions, generally except when necessary to protect the woman’s life or health, after a specified point in pregnancy, most often fetal viability.
“Partial-Birth” Abortion: 18 states have laws in effect that prohibit “partial-birth” abortion. 3 of these laws apply only to postviability abortions

50. State Laws Restricting Abortion as of October 2012
Public Funding: 17 states use their own funds to pay for all or most medically necessary abortions for Medicaid enrollees in the state. 32 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the use of state funds except in those cases when federal funds are available: where the woman’s life is in danger or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. In defiance of federal requirements, South Dakota limits funding to cases of life endangerment only.
Coverage by Private Insurance: 8 states restrict coverage of abortion in private insurance plans, most often limiting coverage only to when the woman’s life would be endangered if the pregnancy were carried to term. Most states allow the purchase of additional abortion coverage at an additional cost.

51. State Laws Restricting Abortion as of October 2012
Refusal: 46 states allow individual health care providers to refuse to participate in an abortion. 43 states allow institutions to refuse to perform abortions, 16 of which limit refusal to private or religious institutions
State-Mandated Counseling: 17 states mandate that women be given counseling before an abortion that includes information on at least one of the following: the purported link between abortion and breast cancer (5 states), the ability of a fetus to feel pain (11 states) or long-term mental health consequences for the woman (8 states).

52. State Laws Restricting Abortion as of October 2012
Waiting Periods: 26 states require a woman seeking an abortion to wait a specified period of time, usually 24 hours, between when she receives counseling and the procedure is performed. 9 of these states have laws that effectively require the woman make two separate trips to the clinic to obtain the procedure.
Parental Involvement: 37 states require some type of parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion. 22 states require one or both parents to consent to the procedure, while 11 require that one or both parents be notified and 4 states require both parental consent and notification.

53. International Perspective on Abortion

54. World Public Opinion Poll (2008)

55. U.S. Share of Abortions Worldwide
Abortion Worldwide:
Each year, 46 million abortions occur worldwide.
The United States accounts for approximately 5% of the world’s population and only 3% of abortions worldwide.
Other Countries
Source: Sedgh, 2007

56. Abortion Rate, United States and World
Abortions per 1,000 women
Abortion Rates:
The U.S. abortion rate is lower than that of the world as a whole.
Source: Sedgh, 2007 (data for 2003)

57. An increasing proportion of abortions are unsafe
% of abortions that are unsafe
Source: Sedgh G et al., Induced abortion worldwide in 2008: levels and trends, Lancet, 2012 (forthcoming).

58. U.S. Abortion Rate Higher Than in Many Other Industrialized Countries
Abortions per 1,000 women
Abortion Rates Internationally:
The abortion rate in the United States is higher than rates in most other Western industrialized countries but lower than rates in eastern Europe and many developing areas.
Abortion rates have been falling slowly in most developed countries over the last 5–10 years.
Source: Sedgh, 2007

59. The legal status of abortion does not predict its incidence
The lowest abortion rates in the world—less than 10 per 1,000 women of reproductive age—are in Europe, where abortion is legal and available.
By contrast, in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, where abortion law is most restrictive, the regional rates are 29 and 31 per 1,000 women, respectively.
Rates are per 100,000 women of aged 15-44
Sedgh et al., 2007

60. High Rates of Abortion Occur in Countries that Severely Restrict Abortion
Abortions per 1,000 women 15–44
Source: Boonstra, 2006

61. Complications of unsafe abortion
An estimated five million women are hospitalized each year for treatment of abortion-related complications, such as hemorrhage and sepsis.
Complications from unsafe abortion procedures account for 13% of maternal deaths, or 67,000 per year.
Approximately 220,000 children worldwide lose their mothers every year because of abortion-related deaths.
Unsafe Abortion and Maternal Mortality:
Abortion mortality rates are hundreds of times higher in developing countries, where abortion is often illegal or highly restricted, than in developed countries.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, unsafe abortions account for 13% of all maternal mortalities worldwide. Most unsafe abortions occur where abortion is illegal.
WHO estimates that 67,000 of the more than 536,000 pregnancy-related deaths that occur each year result from unsafe abortions.
Singh, 2006; WHO 2007; Grimes 2006

62. Almost all abortion-related deaths occur in developing countries
Deaths per 100,000 unsafe abortions, 2003
WHO, 2007

63. Research from Psychology on the Possible Psychological Impact of Abortions upon Women who have them

64. Women who have abortions
Up to 98 percent of the women who have abortions have no regrets and would make the same choice again in similar circumstances (Dagg, 1991).
More than 70 percent of women who have abortions express a desire for children in the future (Torres & Forrest, 1988). There is no evidence that women who have had abortions make less loving or suitable parents (Bradley, 1984).

65. Post-abortion depression?
Mild, transient, immediately postoperative depressive symptoms that quickly pass occur in less than 20 percent of all women who have had abortions (Adler et al., 1990; Zabin et al.,1989).
Similar symptoms occur in up to 70 percent of women immediately following childbirth (Ziporyn, 1984).

66. Serious psychological disturbances?
Serious psychological disturbances after abortion are less frequent than after childbirth.
Researchers suggest that the predictors of severe psychological disturbances after abortion are:delays in seeking abortion, medical or genetic indications for abortion, and severe pre-existing or concurrent psychiatric illness (Lazarus, 1985).

67. Munk-Olsen et al. (2011) New England Journal of Medicine
Study of all girls and women born in Denmark between 1962 and 1993 who were alive and had no history of a mental disorder 9 months before a first-ever first-trimester induced abortion or first childbirth.

69. Abortion and teen pregnancy
A study of a group of teenagers who obtained pregnancy tests at one of two Baltimore clinics found that the young women who chose to have abortions were far more likely to graduate from high school at the expected age than those of similar socioeconomic status who carried their pregnancies to term or who were not pregnant. They showed no greater levels of stress at the time of the pregnancy and abortion and no greater rate of psychological problems two years after the abortion than did the other women (Zabin et al., 1989).

70. Abortion vs. adoption?
The psychological responses to abortion are far less serious than those experienced by women bringing their unwanted pregnancy to term and relinquishing the child for adoption (Sachdev, 1993).