Guttmacher Report Documents 30-Year Low In Abortion Rates, Major Shift In Abortion Demographics

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 24 Sep 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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A Guttmacher Institute analysis of 30 years of data since the Supreme Court's 1973 ruling on Roe v. Wade found that the U.S. abortion rate is at its lowest level since 1974 and that the decline has been more significant among white women and teenagers than among blacks and Hispanic and older women, the Los Angeles Times reports (Engel, Los Angeles Times, 9/23). Rachel Jones, a senior research associate at Guttmacher, said, "There's been a real change in the picture of women who get abortions," adding, "This is the first time anyone has looked at this in a comprehensive way."

For the report, Jones and her colleagues analyzed annual data collected by CDC and by periodic surveys that Guttmacher has conducted of abortion providers between 1974 and 2004. The analysis verified previous reports that had found the abortion rate fell to its lowest level since 1974, dropping by 33% from a high of 29 abortions per 1,000 women between ages 15 to 44 in 1980 to 20 abortions per 1,000 women in that age group in 2004.

The proportion of abortions obtained by women younger than 20 during that time steadily declined, falling from 33% in 1974 to 17% in 2004. Among those younger than 18, the proportion of abortions fell from 15% of all abortions in 1974 to 6% in 2004. The proportion of abortions obtained by women in their 20s rose from 50% to 57% and increased from 18% to 27% among women age 30 and older (Stein, Washington Post, 9/23).

According to the report, the decline in teen pregnancies began before the emphasis on abstinence-only education and largely is a result of more effective and widespread use of contraception. However, the report also said the decrease in the abortion rate among teens has been accompanied by an increase in teen births in part because of a greater societal acceptance of unwed mothers, increased difficulty in obtaining abortions in some parts of the country and changing attitudes toward abortion (Los Angeles Times, 9/23). Jones said, "We've made the most important progress in reducing teen pregnancy and abortion rate, [rather] than reducing unintended pregnancy in older women."

The report also found that the proportion of all abortions performed for women who already had a child increased from 46% in 1974 to 60% in 2004, reflecting the trend of women turning to abortion when they cannot afford to support another child, Jones said (Washington Post, 9/23).

Data on Racial Disparities

The report found that abortion rates have fallen among all racial and ethnic groups, but large disparities between groups remain. Hispanic women obtain abortions at three times the rate of white women and black women at five times the rate of white women, according to the report (Los Angeles Times, 9/23).

In 2004, there were 10.5 abortions per 1,000 white women ages 15 to 44, 28 abortions per 1,000 Hispanic women, and 50 abortions per 1,000 black women of the same age. According to the Post, these statistics mean that about 1% of white women had an abortion in 2004, compared with 3% of Hispanic women and 5% of black women. Furthermore, the proportion of all abortions obtained by white women decreased from 45% in 1994 to 34% in 2004, while the proportion of all abortions increased from 16% to 22% among Hispanics and from 35% to 37% among blacks (Washington Post, 9/23).

According to the Times, the Guttmacher analysis found that the disparities in abortion rates partly reflected differing pregnancy and child-bearing patterns. About 70% of all pregnancies among African-American women were unintended, compared with 48% across all racial groups, according to the report. The report also found that Hispanic women had higher pregnancy and birth rates than white women (Los Angeles Times, 9/23).

Comments

Claire Brindis, a professor of pediatrics and health policy at the University of California-San Francisco and co-director of the Brindis Center for Global Reproductive Health, said the disparity in the abortion rate is more the result of income than race or ethnicity. "Many of these women are low-income women who tend to have a higher rate of unintended pregnancy," Bixby said, adding, "Oftentimes, living in poverty they experience so many other challenges in their lives that they don't always know that they're eligible for family planning services or have transportation to services." However, Day Gardner, founder and president of the National Black Pro-Life Union, said the higher rate of abortions among minorities is a result of the number of inner-city clinics that perform the procedure. "It doesn't have as much to do with poverty as that the abortion facilities are there, ingrained in the neighborhoods," Gardner said, adding, "We as a community don't talk about this. ... This is a silent killer among us" (Los Angeles Times, 9/23).

According to Jones, the findings indicate "we need to figure out efforts to reduce unintended pregnancy, not only among teenagers but among all women, and in particularly women of color. A lot of policymakers are stuck 30 years back when most women getting abortions were teenagers and college students, and that isn't so much the case these days." Laurie Rubiner, vice president for public policy at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said that birth control is the most effective way to prevent unintended pregnancies. "Unfortunately, there's a large number of uninsured people in this country, and if you are uninsured you are less likely to have access to affordable health care, including affordable birth control."

In terms of the overall drop in teenage pregnancies, Michael New, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Alabama who works with the Family Research Council, said it was the result of several factors, including increased contraceptive use, more teenagers delaying sex and state laws requiring parental consent for minors seeking abortions. "The states with the most pro-life laws have seen the biggest abortion declines," New said (Washington Post, 9/23).

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