Michigan
Christians for Life
Abortion Statistics
ABORTIONS WORLDWIDE
Number
of abortions per year: Approximately 42 Million
Number of abortions per day: Approximately 115,000
Where abortions
occur:
83%
of all abortions are obtained in developing countries and 17% occur in
developed countries.
Abortions in the United States:
Average
Number of abortions per year: 1.37 Million
Average Number of abortions per day: Approximately 3,700
Who's having abortions (age)?
52%
of women obtaining abortions in the U.S. are younger than 25: Women
aged 20-24 obtain 32% of all abortions; Teenagers obtain 20% and girls
under 15 account for 1.2%.
Who's having abortions (race)?
While
white women obtain 60% of all abortions, their abortion rate is well
below that of minority women. Black women are more than 3 times as
likely as white women to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are
roughly 2 times as likely.
Who's having
abortions (marital status)?
64.4%
of all abortions are performed on never-married women; Married women
account for 18.4% of all abortions and divorced women obtain 9.4%.
Who's having
abortions (religion)?
Women
identifying themselves as Protestants obtain 37.4% of all abortions in
the U.S.; Catholic women account for 31.3%, Jewish women account for
1.3%, and women with no religious affiliation obtain 23.7% of all
abortions. 18% of all abortions are performed on women who identify
themselves as "Born-again/Evangelical".
Who's having
abortions (income)?
Women
with family incomes less than $15,000 obtain 28.7% of all abortions;
Women with family incomes between $15,000 and $29,999 obtain 19.5%;
Women with family incomes between $30,000 and $59,999 obtain 38.0%;
Women with family incomes over $60,000 obtain 13.8%.
Why women have
abortions
1%
of all abortions occur because of rape or incest; 6% of abortions occur
because of potential health problems regarding either the mother or
child, and 93% of all abortions occur for social reasons (i.e. the
child is unwanted or inconvenient).
At what
gestational ages are abortions performed:
52%
of all abortions occur before the 9th week of pregnancy, 25% happen
between the 9th & 10th week, 12% happen between the 11th and 12th
week, 6% happen between the 13th & 15th week, 4% happen between the
16th & 20th week, and 1% of all abortions (16,450/yr.) happen after
the 20th week of pregnancy.
Likelihood of
abortion:
An
estimated 43% of all women will have at least 1 abortion by the time
they are 45 years old. 47% of all abortions are performed on women who
have had at least one previous abortion.
Abortion
coverage:
48%
of all abortion facilities provide services after the 12th week of
pregnancy. 9 in 10 managed care plans routinely cover abortion or
provide limited coverage. About 14% of all abortions in the United
States are paid for with public funds, virtually all of which are state
funds. 16 states (CA, CT, HI, ED, IL, MA , MD, MD, MN, MT, NJ, NM, NY,
OR, VT, WA and WV) pay for abortions for some poor women.
The Pill –
Progesterone only, low dose combination pills
The
Physician’s Desk Reference
lists the above hormonal contraceptives as having three mechanisms of
action: 1) Prevent ovulation, 2) Thicken the cervical mucous to prevent
sperm from entering the uterus and fallopian tube, and 3) Alter the
lining of the uterus so implantation cannot take place. The third
action, if and when it occurs, is abortifacient (meaning a human life
has begun but cannot continue to develop without the nourishment
provided through the mother’s uterine wall). Although pro-life
physicians continue to debate if and how often hormonal contraceptives
interfere with the implantation of an embryo, it is important to
educate ourselves and our clients about this potential action of the
Pill. Those who seek to protect the sanctity of human life from the
point of fertilization should be cautious about taking any drug which
could end the developing child’s life.
RU-486
When
a woman is given RU-486 (also called Mifepristone), it kills her baby
by interfering with progesterone, the hormone which keeps the baby
implanted in the wall of the mother’s uterus. Two days later, the woman
returns to the clinic to receive a prostaglandin drug which induces
labor and expels the dead embryo (RU-486 is used until 7 weeks after
the first day of her last menstrual period). If the baby hasn’t been
expelled by the time the woman makes her third visit to the doctor, she
will require a surgical abortion procedure (5-8% likelihood). Raymond,
Klein & Dumble, the pro-abortion authors of RU486
Misconceptions, Myths and Morals,
(IWT Pub, 1991) stress that RU-486 is not safe for women and list the
following contraindications (reasons a person should not take RU-486):
under age 18 or over 35; menstrual irregularities; history of fibroids,
abnormal menstrual bleeding or endometriosis cervical incompetence,
previous abortion, or abnormal pregnancies; pelvic inflammatory
disease; recent use of IUD or the pill 3 months.
Methotrexate &
Misoprostol
Two drugs that
were developed for cancer (methotrexate) and ulcer
(misoprostol) treatment are now being used in combination to kill
babies. Methotrexate is used to poison the baby and then Misoprostol
empties the uterus of the baby. Keep in mind that Methotrexate is a
chemotherapy drug with the potential for serious toxicity, which can
result in the death of the mother as well as the baby. (Methotrexate
& Misoprostol to Terminate Early Pregnancy, R. Hausknecht, New
England Journal of Medicine, Vol.333, No. 9, 8/31/95, Pg. 537 and
“Methotrexate & Misoprostol,” M. Creinin et al., JAMA, Oct. 19,
1994 and Physicians Desk Reference)
