Abortion Trends Research Articles

Teenage Abortion and Pregnancy Statistics by State, 1992

In 1992, 112 pregnancies occurred per 1,000 U.S. women aged 15-19; of these, 61 ended in births, 36 in abortions and 15 in miscarriages. Black teenagers' rates of pregnancies, births and abortions were 2-3 times those of whites; Hispanic teenagers had rates of births and abortions between those of blacks and whites. While similar proportions of pregnant black and non-Hispanic white teenagers had abortions (40% and 38%, respectively), the proportion was lower among Hispanics (29%). Among all women 15-19, the birthrate rose 12 points between 1987 and 1991; one-third of the rise (four points) may be attributable to a fall in the abortion rate. Between 1991 and 1995, the birth rate of black teenagers fell from 116 to 96 per 1,000, a level well below that of Hispanics (106 per 1,000). Among the states, pregnancy rates per 1,000 teenagers in 1992 ranged from 159 (in California) to 59 (in North Dakota), birth rates per 1,000 varied from 84 (Mississippi) to 31 (New Hampshire) and abortion rates per 1,000 ranged from 67 (Hawaii) to nine (Utah). The pregnancy rates of white and black teenagers are negatively correlated.

Adolescent oral contraception and abortion trends in finland

<h3>Background</h3> Oral contraceptive (OC) use more than doubled among adolescents in Finland in the 1980s. Teenage pregnancies and abortions decreased sharply, and the trends continued to decline in the 1990s: in 1993, the pregnancy rate was 20.0/1000, and the abortion rate was 9.5. However, our earlier reports suggested that increasing trends in OC use levelled off since 1989. We have now studied age-specific trends in OC use and abortions in the 1990s. <h3>Methods</h3> The Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey has followed health habits of Finnish teenagers since 1977, with mailed questionnaires to national samples of 12–18 year-old boys and girls with two years intervals, with similar study design. The data of 14, 16 and 18 year-old girls were used here (N=1621–4451 per year). In 1995 the sample size was 4086 and the response rate was 86%. <h3>Results</h3> In 18 year-old girls the proportion of OC users doubled between 1981 and 1989 (41%), but then kept virtually on the same level, being 40% in 1995. In 16 year -old girls, the proportion of OC users almost threefolded in the 1980s, peaking at 19% in 1989. Since then OC use has slightly decreased, and in 1995 the figure was 16%. In 14-year-olds, the proportion of OC users has varied between 1% and 2% since mid-1980s. In 1993, the abortion rate was 13.9 in 18 year-olds and 8.7 in 16 years-olds (19.2 and 11.6 in 1989, respectively). <h3>Conclusions</h3> OC use has kept virtually on the same level among 18 and 16 year-old girls since 1989 in Finland, but abortions continue to decline in both age groups. Studies on sexual behavior don't indicate any substantial decrease in sexual activity. The result suggest increased use of other contraceptive methods (condoms and emergency contraception).

"Pregnancy, Abortion, and Birth Rates among US Adolescents--1980, 1985, and 1990".

Objective. —To analyze pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates among US adolescent girls in 1980, 1985, and 1990. Design. —Retrospective analysis of trends in data on pregnancies, abortions, and births. Population. —US adolescent girls aged 13 to 19 years. Main Outcome Measures. —Pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates (with and without adjustment for sexual experience) among teenaged girls aged 15 to 19 years and girls under 15 years. Results. —Although pregnancy rates among all teenaged girls 15 to 19 years old remained fairly stable from 1980 to 1985, they increased by 9% during the last half of the decade, totaling 95.9 pregnancies per 1000 teenaged girls 15 to 19 years old by 1990. Because rates of sexual experience increased even faster, pregnancy rates among sexually experienced teens aged 15 to 19 actually declined between 1980 and 1990 by approximately 8%. Abortion rates among these teens remained stable during the 1980s, with 35.8 and 36.0 abortions per 1000 in 1980 and 1990, respectively. As with overall pregnancy rates, abortion rates among these sexually experienced teenaged girls declined during the 1980s. Between 1980 and 1985, birth rates among teenaged girls aged 15 to 19 years declined by 4%, but they increased by 18% during the latter half of the decade, totaling 59.9 births per 1000 in 1990. Among these sexually experienced teenagers, birth rates also declined between 1980 and 1985 and then increased over the next 5 years. In 1990, pregnancies and abortions among girls younger than 15 years accounted for only 3% of all adolescent pregnancies and abortions. However, the number of births among these younger adolescents increased by 15% over the decade. In that age group, trends in pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates over the decade were similar to those for older teens. However, during the late 1980s, the abortion rate declined and the pregnancy rate remained stable, resulting in a 26% increase in the birth rate. Conclusions. —Despite efforts to reduce adolescent pregnancy in the United States, pregnancy and birth rates for that group continue to be the highest among developed countries. Considering that 95% of adolescent pregnancies are unintended, increased efforts to prevent these pregnancies are warranted. ( JAMA . 1996;275:989-994)

Pregnancy, Abortion, and Birth Rates Among US Adolescents—1980, 1985, and 1990

To analyze pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates among US adolescent girls in 1980, 1985, and 1990. Retrospective analysis of trends in data on pregnancies, abortions, and births. US adolescent girls aged 13 to 19 years. Pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates (with and without adjustment for sexual experience) among teenaged girls aged 15 to 19 years and girls under 15 years. Although pregnancy rates among all teenaged girls 15 to 19 years old remained fairly stable from 1980 to 1985, they increased by 9% during the last half of the decade, totaling 95.9 pregnancies per 1000 teenaged girls 15 to 19 years old by 1990. Because rates of sexual experience increased even faster, pregnancy rates among sexually experienced teens aged 15 to 19 actually declined between 1980 and 1990 by approximately 8%. Abortion rates among these teens remained stable during the 1980s, with 35.8 and 36.0 abortions per 1000 in 1980 and 1990, respectively. As with overall pregnancy rates, abortion rates among these sexually experienced teenaged girls declined during the 1980s. Between 1980 and 1985, birth rates among teenaged girls aged 15 to 19 years declined by 4%, but they increased by 18% during the latter half of the decade, totaling 59.9 births per 1000 in 1990. Among these sexually experienced teenagers, birth rates also declined between 1980 and 1985 and then increased over the next 5 years. In 1990, pregnancies and abortions among girls younger than 15 years accounted for only 3% of all adolescent pregnancies and abortions. However, the number of births among these younger adolescents increased by 15% over the decade. In that age group, trends in pregnancy, abortion and birth rates over the decade were similar to those for older teens. However, during the late 1980s, the abortion rate declined and the pregnancy rate remained stable, resulting in a 26% increase in the birth rate. Despite efforts to reduce adolescent pregnancy in the United States, pregnancy and birth rates for that group continue to be the highest among developed countries. Considering that 95% of adolescent pregnancies are unintended, increased efforts to prevent these pregnancies are warranted.

Abortion Trends in Singapore: A 25-Year Review

Study ObjectiveAbortion legislation in Singapore has gone through dramatic changes in the past 25 years. In this paper, we studied the effect of abortion legislation on abortion trends in Singapore. Setting and ParticipantsThe Ministry of Health, Singapore, collects data on all abortions performed in Singapore. These data have been analyzed and are presented in this paper. ResultsThe liberalization of abortion legislation resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of abortions performed beginning in 1974. The rate peaked at 23,512 abortions in 1985, and in fact, 35% of all pregnancies were terminated in 1985. The introduction of mandatory abortion counseling in 1986 resulted in a decline in the number of abortions to 16,476 in 1993 with only 24.6% of pregnancies being terminated. The teenage abortion rate was 0.2 per 1000 female teenagers under 20 years of age in 1970. With the liberalization of abortions, the rate reached a peak of 13.7 per 1000 female teenagers in 1985. In 1993, the teenage abortion rate was 9.5%. The proportion of nulliparous women seeking abortion has increased phenomenally from 0.5% in 1976 to 40.6% in 1993. Close to 95% of the women seeking abortions in 1993 did so for social reasons, 3.7% for medical reasons, and 2.0% for failed contraception (Table 3). ConclusionMandatory abortion counseling and a change in the government policy which now encourages Singaporeans to have more children if they can afford it, have resulted in a decrease in the number of abortions being performed. The problems of teenage abortions, nulliparous abortions, and repeated abortions need to be further addressed.

Declining induced abortion rate in Finland: data quality of the Finnish abortion register.

Induced abortion rates have declined in Finland since 1973. A possible explanation offered has been that of deteriorating data collection. To assess the completeness of the Register, we compared the information from a consecutive sample of hospital records (N = 482) to the Finnish Abortion Register in 18 hospitals in three counties. A smaller consecutive sample (N = 345) was collected from the same hospitals to assess the validity of the Register information. Only five abortions (1 percent) found in the hospitals were not reported in the Abortion Register. A total of 95 percent of all the length of pregnancy (definition problems), the classification of the abortion procedure, and social class (out-of-date classifications). Furthermore, early complications were poorly reported. The data from the Finnish Abortion Register are a reliable source for monitoring trends in the abortion rate and its variation by subgroups, but are an unreliable source for the study of the medical aspects of induced abortion.

Trends In Induced Abortion During the 12 Years since Legalization in Norway

Data on 174,595 Norwegian women aged 15-44 who had an induced abortion between 1979 (when all abortions through 12 weeks of gestation were legalized) and 1990 reveals that the general abortion rate decreased by 12% among married women, while it remained unchanged among unmarried women. Unmarried women had higher abortion rates than did married women among all age-groups except teenagers, increasing from a difference of 11 abortions per 1,000 women in 1979-1981 to a difference of 13 per 1,000 in 1988-1990. Pregnancy terminations occurred at an earlier gestational age during the last three years of the study period, compared with the first three. Abortions beyond 12 gestational weeks, which require the approval of a hospital committee, decreased among unmarried women, while increasing somewhat among married women. A larger proportion of married women than unmarried women terminated pregnancies beyond 18 gestational weeks.

Induced Abortion Among Unmarried Women in Shanghai, China

In 1988-1989 researchers analyzed data on 15178 induced abortions among 15-29 year old single women from 5 districts of Shanghai China to determine trends in abortion among single women. They also looked at medical records at Hua-chuan General Hospital in Shanghai to learn the percentage of single women who experienced late abortions. The highest abortion rate was among 20-24 year old women (]59) followed by 25-29 year old women (94) and 15-19 year old women (56). In fact 21 year olds experienced the most abortions (182.7) and 15 year olds the least (0). Among teenagers the rate stood 57% higher in the rural districts than the urban districts (72.2 vs. 45.9). Further abortion rates rose rapidly in the rural districts with age peaking at 20 years (264.1) then fell sharply to 23 among 28 year olds. On the hand the increase was more gradual among urban women and peaked at 21 (224.9) and the ensuing fall was more steady and was higher than rural areas. In 1982 in the 3 urban districts 14% of abortions occurred in single women. By 1986 it increased to 28%. It fell slightly to 25% in 1988. These corresponding figures for the rural districts were 14% 20% and 24%. Between 1982-1988 the abortion rate of 15-19 year olds rose from 5-56. Further abortion rates among 20-24 year olds and 30-34 year olds rose 4 times and among 25-29 year olds more than twice. 43% of all 2nd and 3rd trimester abortions occurred in unmarried women in 1982 by 1988 this figure soared to 63%. This indicated that single women were more likely to obtain an abortion late in their pregnancies than married women. The Chinese family planning program encourages women to delay marriage until age 23 and improved health and nutrition have reduced the age of menarche thus leaving women a longer period of sexual maturity. This coupled with the fact that cultural mores stress sexual abstinence outside of marriage and premarital pregnancy brings shame the considerable abortion rate among single women in Shanghai was not surprising.

Abortion Trends in 1987 and 1988: Age and Race

T his research note updates and revises the numbers, percentage distributions, rates and ratios of U. S. abortion patients, according to age and race.1 New data for 1988 are presented, and the statistics for 1987 have been recalculated to correct an anomaly in the 1987 data that occurred when one large state overstated the proportion of abortions that occurred among women under age 18. Data for 1980 and 1986 are shown to illustrate recent trends.

International handbook on abortion

Preface Abortion Trends: An International Review Australia Bangladesh Belgium Canada China Cuba Czechoslovakia Denmark Finland German Democratic Republic Federal Republic of Germany Greece Hungary India Indonesia Israel Italy Japan South Korea Latin America The Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Norway Poland Singapore Republic of South Africa Sri Lanka Sweden United Kingdom United States of America Yugoslavia Bibliography Index

Trends in Abortions, 1982-1984

Reports from state health departments indicate that the number of legal abortions performed in the US declined by more than 4% between 1982 and 1984. Almost all of the drop occurred between 1982 and 1983. The total number of abortions is estimated to have dropped from 1,574,000 in 1982 to 1,515,000 in 1983 and to 1,508,000 in 1984. Because the number of women aged 15-44 increased slightly in 1983 and in 1984, the abortion rate showed a greater relative decrease than did the number of abortions. Most of the increase in the number of childbearing age occurred among women aged 30-44, who have relatively few abortions. Although the total number of women increased, the number of abortions expected on the basis of past age-specific abortion rates actually decreased slightly. Since there has been no increase in the number of births to correspond to the decrease in abortion, the decline in the abortion rate reflects a decrease in the pregnancy rate. About 29% of pregnancies are terminated by abortion. About 4% of these are spontaneous fetal losses. The last complete count of the number of US abortions was made by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) in 1982. Evidence that the number of abortions declined in 1983 is that 28 states reported declines, whereas only 9 reported increases. The 1984 estimate presented in this article may be slightly less accurate than that for 1983, since it was based on only 31 states. More accurate data on 1984 abortions will be available from the next AGI survey of abortion providers, planned for the spring of 1986.

Reproductive Behavior: Central and Eastern European Experience

The authors attempt to clarify the reproductive decision-making process and to assess the factors influencing reproductive behavior in the Socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Particular attention is paid to the effects of government policies. In Part 1 the authors present overviews of demographic trends the role of women the historical development of population policies abortion policies and private behavior and pro-natalist incentives. Part 2 consists of country reports on the Soviet Union Poland Yugoslavia Romania the German Democratic Republic Czechoslovakia Hungary Bulgaria and Albania. Each country report includes information on demographic trends: abortion and population policies; fertility planning including family research womens roles and family size intentions and actualities; fertility regulating behavior including contraceptive practice abortion trends and pro-natalist incentives; and sex and society including marriage sex education and adolescent sexuality. The final part of the book is a bibliography containing over 1000 references.

Reproductive Behavior, Central and Eastern European Experience

The authors attempt to clarify the reproductive decision-making process and to assess the factors influencing reproductive behavior in the Socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Particular attention is paid to the effects of government policies. In Part 1 the authors present overviews of demographic trends the role of women the historical development of population policies abortion policies and private behavior and pro-natalist incentives. Part 2 consists of country reports on the Soviet Union Poland Yugoslavia Romania the German Democratic Republic Czechoslovakia Hungary Bulgaria and Albania. Each country report includes information on demographic trends: abortion and population policies; fertility planning including family research womens roles and family size intentions and actualities; fertility regulating behavior including contraceptive practice abortion trends and pro-natalist incentives; and sex and society including marriage sex education and adolescent sexuality. The final part of the book is a bibliography containing over 1000 references.

An Attempt to Reduce Infant and Child Mortality in Bohol, Philippines

PIP: This discussion describes the experience of 1 local area, Bohol, Philippines, that, despite an active maternal and child health/family planning (MCH/FP) program, failed to experience a decline in mortality during the project period (1975-1979). The specific health services to be delivered were determined during the early years of the project. The project managers believed that a package of basic primary health services with an emphasis on MCH would make a measurable impact on child health and, hopefully, on mortality. It was felt that increased use of family planning, particularly on the part of high risk mothers, would also contribute to a decline in infant and child mortality. The project recruited and trained 44 new midwives and others were added later. By 1979, 100 small Primary Health Care Centers, each staffed by a midwife had been established in the project area. 50 small community drugstores were also opened. The 4 public health hospitals and 21 rural health units, 1 in each town of the project area, participated in the project. The Bohol project increased the number of health staff, supervised them, and provided logistic support. As an immediate goal, the project sought to reach all children under age 5 with basic health services. Based on census and survey data, it is probably safe to say that mortality declined in Bohol between 1970 and 1975-79, but during the project period the crude death rate for the project area showed only a slight but statistically insignificant downward trend. Even though improvements were demonstrated in health service coverage in the project area, these improvements might have worked against other trends, thus explaining the lack of a clear decline in infant and child mortality during the project period. The project collected information on trends in fertility, abortion, nutrition, breastfeeding, and general living conditions. Although the results were at times mixed, none of the 5 appeared to have had a major effect on mortality trends. Except fertility, little change was noted. Although fertility declined, it was not clear whether higher or lower risk births were being prevented. A number of plausible explanations are evaluated as to why infant and child mortality failed to show a clear decline in Bohol: health services were of inadequate quantity or quality; midwives had too many tasks; there was a lack of fit between health services and local health conditions; local health problems were intractable to current technology; resources were insufficient to provide comprehensive primary health care; the MCH program was used primarily as a vehicle for family planning; too little attention was given to curative services; MCH programs are not designed to have a demograhic impact, and the project had too short a time period to have a demographic effect on such a large population.

Correction: Recent Trends in Fertility, Abortion and Contraception in Cuba

Correction: Recent Trends in Fertility, Abortion and Contraception in Cuba

Recent Trends in Fertility, Abortion and Contraception in Cuba

Recent Trends in Fertility, Abortion and Contraception in Cuba

State Implementation of Supreme Court Decisions: Abortion Rates Since Roe v. Wade

I N NINETEEN SEVENTY-THREE, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113) that access to abortion during the first three months of pregnancy was guaranteed by Constitutional provisions concerning privacy. But the Court's action did not remove the controversial question of abortion from the public to the private domain. Instead, Roe has contributed to continuing public debate over the implications of abortion for welfare policy, civil liberties, race relations, religion, and women's rights. Sufficient time has elapsed since the Roe decision that we can begin to examine the impact (if any) of that decision on the people most directly involved: American females of child-bearing age. This paper will first discuss national trends in abortions, illegitimacy, maternal mortality rates, and birth rates since Roe. I then focus on state implementation of abortion policy. Has Roe resulted in equal access to abortion in all 50 states, at least during the first trimester? If not, what political, economic, and social factors account for variations in access to abortion? As I shall show, interstate differences in abortion rates have diminished considerably since 1973. Population factors such as race, poverty, and religion explain little of the variance in state abortion rates. But availability of medical services, Medicaid, and legislative support for liberalized abortion policies vary widely across states, resulting in considerable inequality of access for women, especially poor women, who seek abortions. A path analysis shows that political factors are central to

Second-Trimester Abortion in the United States

This overview of a conference attended primarily by physicians largely deals with 2 current trends in late abortion: sharp decrease in mortality from 2nd trimester abortions since legalization in 1973, to 6.5 per 100,000 procedures in 1977, and replacement of saline instillation by dilatation and evacuation (D & E) as the most widely used 2nd trimester abortion procedure, particularly in the early second trimester. In 1972, 18% of abortions were second trimester, while in 1977, 9% of the 1,320,320 reported legal abortions were 2nd trimester. In 1977 there were 6 deaths from late abortions in the U.S., down from a high of 18 in 1973. However, 57% of deaths following legal abortion between 1972 and 1977 took place in the second trimester. Older women and blacks run particularly high risks from 2nd trimester abortions. Research results indicated that 86% of the 104 deaths from late abortions occurring between 1975 and 1977 could have been prevented through improved physician technique, reduction of restrictive legislation, and increase of women using effective contraception and seeking early abortions. D&E accounted for 73% of abortions between 13 and 15 weeks' gestation, although after 16 weeks instillation techniques continue to be the method of choice. A 1977 study by the Center for Disease Control found that the major complication rate for D & E abortions was 60% lower than that for saline with lower rates of fever, endometritis, hemorrhage and retained products of conception, but higher rates of cervical injury and uterine perforation. Comparative mortality rates from the 2 procedures are somewhat unclear due to recent fluctuations. This report also discusses the possible limits that may be imposed on late abortions by legislation, by the unwillingness of physicians and hospitals to perform them, and by the refusal of insurers to provide coverage.

Recent and possible future trends in abortion.

The regularly published abortion statistics are insufficiently detailed to make it easy to assess the significance of increases or decreases in the annual number of abortions. Numbers of abortions are related only to a few broad age groups of the women at risk, the size of those age groups is not normally stated, and the age and marital status groupings employed differ from those used for comparable data about trends in child bearing. By matching demographic data on trends in pregnancies which are deliberately terminated (abortion) and those which are not (fertility), this note attempts a) to assess the true impact of abortion among women living in England and Wales during 1973-76, and b) to consider whether the annual volume of abortions may increase over the next decade and what such an increase might signify.

Abortion trends in European socialist countries and in the United States.

Book reviewed in this article: Available abortion statistics from Czechoslovakia and Hungary are compared with findings from the United States. Cultural and psychosocial factors are believed to account for some of the observed differences in abortion-seeking behavior. It is likely that in the foreseeable future such differences will diminish rather than widen.