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Who Has Abortions?

Jill

Transcript via Feministing below the fold.

Who are the women who obtain abortions in the United
States?
You might be surprised.
Almost one out of every three American women
Will have an abortion by age 45.
They come from all walks of life.
They are women you know.
Most women having abortions are in there 20s.

Many people mistakenly believe that teens are the group
most likely to have an abortion.
Teens actually account for fewer than 2 in 10 of all
abortions, and most of them are older teens —those aged
18 and 19.
Six in 10 women having abortions already have a child and
many have two or more.
They know what it means to be a mother.
And they often cite the need to care for their children as a
primary reason for deciding not to have another right now.
Three out of four women who have abortions describe
themselves as religiously affiliated
Catholic women have abortions at about the same rate as
women overall.
In 2008, more than 4 in ten abortion patients had incomes
below the federal poverty line

That’s a huge increase from a decade ago.
White women account for one in three abortions, more than
any other group.
However, women of color are disproportionately likely to
have an abortion.
The reason is that black and Hispanic women have much
higher rates of unintended pregnancy.
These trends reflect widespread inequities in other areas
Not enough Access to contraception and to quality,
affordable health care.
And not enough educational opportunities and good jobs.
These broad social and economic inequities must be
addressed.
But at a minimum, contraception should be easy to get and
use for all.
And comprehensive sex education should be available to all
adolescents
But while prevention is key, there will always be women
who need abortions.
That’s why abortion is basic health care for women.
It should be covered by private insurance plans as well as
under public insurance programs, such as Medicaid.
Covering abortion under Medicaid is critical to help the
poorest, most vulnerable women pay for their procedure.
Any woman who needs an abortion
should be able to have one safely and with dignity.

6 thoughts on Who Has Abortions?

  1. Thank you for posting this. I also like the fact that they made sure to make it clear that these stats were specific to the U.S.

  2. I am a woman who had an abortion before they were legal–California, 1969. I had to endure the humiliating process of seeing two (male) psychiatrists and pleading my case so they could declare it detrimental to my mental health to have another child. ABout the same time, the prominent case of a woman who had been a children’s TV personality and had to fly to Europe (don’t remember exactly where) to end a pregnancy helped the abortion rights movement, as did full-page advertisements in NY Times and other papers (emulating similar ads in France), signed by hundreds of prominent women who had had illegal abortions. Roe v. Wade was a giant step out of servitude for women. Enforced pregnancy is tantamount to slavery. We can’t let them turn the clock back. Thanks for posting this.

  4. oldlady:
    I am a woman who had an abortion before they were legal–California, 1969.I had to endure the humiliating process of seeing two (male) psychiatrists and pleading my case so they could declare it detrimental to my mental health to have another child.ABout the same time, the prominent case of a woman who had been a children’s TV personality and had to fly to Europe (don’t remember exactly where) to end a pregnancy helped the abortion rights movement, as did full-page advertisements in NY Times and other papers (emulating similar ads in France), signed by hundreds of prominent women who had had illegal abortions.Roe v. Wade was a giant step out of servitude for women.Enforced pregnancy is tantamount to slavery.We can’t let them turn the clock back.Thanks for posting this.

    Thank you for sharing this. This comment, coupled with Rebecca’s guest post today has really got me thinking about all the rights I have been taking for granted.

  5. I had an abortion at 16 after having protected sex (condom) which failed, I was mentally ill and using drugs at the time. I was in no way capable of being a mother, or raising a stable healthy child. I decided that it would be unethical to bring up a child who would likely (given family history) suffer from mental illness, have mentally ill parents who are too young/poor or be raised in foster care (still with mental illness), and possible effects of drugs/smoking due to unknown pregnancy. Having had a mental breakdown, I was in no condition to carry a baby. I have never felt bad about this decision, as it was the right one.

  6. The material is great. The pervasive nature of abortion on the United States is some how difficult to understand for me as a latin American woman. More than nothing for the economical power, we will expect wide spread use of anti conception. But even so stuff happens. It’s quite important to keep the door open for the women that need or want an abortion, for any reason and without shame.

    Thanks for posting

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