Advisory: Life Dynamics Inc. Confirms Guttmacher Findings, Then Attempts to Move the Goalposts (August 31, 2011 )

Abstract / Summary

In the United States, abortion is a legal and constitutionally protected medical procedure—one which almost a third of U.S. women will have by age 45. African American and Hispanic women have higher abortion rates than white women because of their higher unintended pregnancy rates, which in turn reflect their lower access to and use of effective contraceptives, as well as significant health, social and economic inequities. Antiabortion activists, however, have routinely claimed (but never documented) that the higher abortion rates are the result of abortion providers “targeting” black women by mostly locating in predominantly black neighborhoods. In January 2011, Guttmacher investigated the claim and found it to be without merit: Only 9% of abortion providers are located in predominantly black neighborhoods, compared with 12% in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods and 63% in predominantly white neighborhoods.