United States Abortion Facts

Abortion in the U.S.
• About half of American women have experienced an unintended pregnancy.[1]
o 69% of pregnancies among black women were unintended
o 54% of pregnancies among hispanic women were unintended
o 40% of pregnancies among white women were unintended
• Of these unintended pregnancies, 40% are aborted. [1]
• About 1/3 of American women will have an abortion by age 45. [1]
• 90% of all abortions occur during the first trimester. [3]
• In 2005, Medical, non-surgical abortions (using drugs such as Mifepristone, also known as RU-486 or the abortion pill) accounted for 13% of all abortions, and 22% of abortions before nine weeks’ gestation. [1]
• 1.21 million abortions occurred in 2005. From 1973 when abortion was legalized through 2005, more than 45 million abortions have occurred in the U.S.[1]

Who is having abortions?
Age of women in the U.S. who are having abortions: [1]
• 0.4% are under the age of 15
• 6% are 15-17 years old
• 11% are 18-19 years old
• 33% are 20–24 years old
• 24% are 25-29 years old

Nationality of women in the U.S. who are having abortions: [1]
• 30% are black women
• 36% are white women
• 25% are hispanic women
• 9% are of other nationalities

Religion of women in the U.S. who are having abortions: [1]
• 37% identify themselves as Protestant
• 28% identity themselves as Catholic

For women who have abortions, about 61% have one or more children [3] (including 34% who have had two or more children [2]), 67% had never married [3], 57% are economically disadvantaged[3] and 88% live in metropolitan areas[3].

Why U.S. women have abortions[1]
• 75% say they cannot afford to have a child.
• 75% say having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities.
• 50% say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner.

Adolescents and Sexual/Reproductive Trends[4]
• 15-24 year olds in America acquire nearly ½ of all new Sexually Transmitted Diseases/Infections, even though they only represent 25% of the sexually active population.
• 9.1 million of new Sexually Transmitted Disease/Infection cases each year are acquired by 15-24 year olds.
• In 2006, 27% of pregnancies among 15-19 year olds ended in an abortion.

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[1] “Facts on Induced Abortion in America,” Guttmacher Institute http://www.alanguttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html, May 2010.

[2] “Characteristics of U.S. Abortion Patients, 2008,” Guttmacher Institute
http://www.alanguttmacher.org/pubs/US-Abortion-Patients.pdf, May 2010.

[3] “An Overview of Abortion in the United States,” Guttmacher Institute http://www.alanguttmacher.org/media/presskits/2005/06/28/abortionoverview.html, January 2008.

[4] “Facts on American Teens’ Sexual and Reproductive Health, “Guttmacher Institute
http://www.alanguttmacher.org/pubs/FB-ATSRH.html, January 2010.