The overall abortion rate in the United States decreased by 11% between 1994 and 2000, from 24 to 21 abortions each year per 1,000 women aged 15-44. This decline was not shared equally among all groups, and rates increased among economically disadvantaged women, according to a new analysis based on a survey of more than 10,000 women obtaining abortions in 2000-2001. The study, conducted by The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), found that:

• 56% of U.S. women who obtain abortions are in their 20s;

• 67% have never married;

• 61% have one or more children;

• 88% live in a metropolitan area;

• 57% are economically disadvantaged (living below 200% of poverty); and

• 78% report a religious affiliation (43% Protestant, 27% Catholic and 8% other religions).

Adolescents. Declines in abortion rates were especially steep among adolescents, particularly 15-17-year-olds. The rate for this group fell to 15 abortions per 1,000 women in 2000 from 24 abortions per 1,000 women in 1994, a decline of 39%. Both abortion rates and birth rates for adolescents have been declining since the early 1990s, reflecting that fewer teens are becoming pregnant. However, the proportion of adolescent pregnancies ending in abortion remained stable from 1994 to 2000. An AGI analysis examining reasons for declining teen pregnancy rates between 1988 and 1995 found that three-quarters of the decrease was due to improved contraceptive use, while one-quarter was due to delayed sexual activity.

Women with low incomes. Although abortion rates have declined for most women, they have increased among the economically disadvantaged. High levels of abortion among economically disadvantaged women reflect that these women have high pregnancy rates, as well as a greater likelihood than women with higher incomes of ending a pregnancy in abortion. Overall, women who are better-off have lower pregnancy and abortion rates than poor and low-income women. As a result of the increase in abortion rates among economically disadvantaged women and a decline among middle- and higher-income women, the gap in abortion rates has widened and abortion has become more concentrated among economically disadvantaged women.

"Patterns in the Socioeconomic Characteristics of Women Obtaining Abortions in 2000-2001" by Rachel K. Jones, Jacqueline E. Darroch and Stanley K. Henshaw of AGI, published in the September/October 2002 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, is based on data collected from AGI's third national survey of women obtaining abortions. The survey is part of a larger research effort aimed at understanding contraceptive failure rates among women experiencing an abortion or unplanned birth, and providing accurate estimates of contraceptive effectiveness and use by various subgroups. This research is funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health. Information on the contraceptive use of U.S. women obtaining abortions will appear in the November/December 2002 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Click here for graphs that show how women having abortions compare to the overall population.

Information on numbers of abortions and abortion provision in the United States will be available in the January/February 2003 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Also in the September/October 2002 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health:

• "Association of Early Childbearing and Low Cognitive Ability," by Darlene L. Shearer et al.;

• "Preventing Pregnancy and Improving Health Care Access Among Teenagers: An Evaluation of the Children's Aid Society--Carrera Program," by Susan Philliber et al.;

• "Family Characteristics and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Black Men in the United States," by Rosalie J. Bakken and Mary Winter; and

• "Legal and Ethical Considerations in Research with Sexually Active Adolescents: The Requirement to Report Statutory Rape," by Nancy Findholt and Linda C. Robrecht.