Abortion

Reasons Women Choose Abortion

In the United States, about 6 million women become pregnant per year.³ Half of all pregnancies are unintended, and of all births, about 1 in 10 newborns have been reported as "unwanted."⁴

Each year, nearly 1.3 million American women have an abortion to end a pregnancy.⁵ This number reflects a declining abortion rate, in part because more women are using emergency contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy in the first days after unprotected sex.

The most common reasons women consider abortion are:

• Birth control (contraceptive) failure. Over half of all women who have an abortion used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant.⁵
• Inability to support or care for a child.
• To end an unwanted pregnancy.
• To prevent the birth of a child with birth defects or severe medical problems. Such defects are often unknown until routine second-trimester tests are done.
• Pregnancy resulting from rape or incest.
• Physical or mental conditions that endanger the woman's health if the pregnancy is continued.

In the United States, 9 out of 10 abortions are performed in the first 12 weeks (first trimester) of pregnancy. The majority of these are done within the first 8 weeks of pregnancy.⁵

Very few abortions are done after 16 weeks of pregnancy. Of those abortions that are done after the first trimester, almost half have been delayed by trouble with affording, finding, or traveling to an abortion specialist.^{4, 5}

Illegal abortion

An abortion is legal, with some restrictions, in the United States (up to 24 weeks of pregnancy). Many states require women to wait 24 hours or longer after a first informational appointment. Contact your closest Planned Parenthood or other family planning clinic for more information about restrictions in your state, as well as neighboring states.

An abortion performed without professional medical care (illegally) has a much greater risk of complications than one performed legally with good medical care.

Teen pregnancy

About 30% of pregnant teens choose to have an abortion.⁶ About 60% of women under age 18 having an abortion have a parent who knows of the abortion; the majority of these parents support their daughters' decision.⁶ (In the United States, some states require a parent's consent for women under the age of 18 before they can have an abortion. In these states, however, a minor has the right to seek a court order allowing an abortion without a parent's consent. For more information, contact your closest Planned Parenthood or other family planning clinic.)

The most common reasons that teens and young women choose to have an abortion include:⁶

• Awareness that they are not mature enough to have a child.
• Knowledge that they are financially not able to support or care for a child.
• Concern that having a baby would change their lives and compromise their (and a child's) future—many young mothers don't ever manage to get the education and employment necessary to raise their child above the poverty line.

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Author:	Healthwise Medical Writer	Last Updated: October 6, 2006
Medical Review:	Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH - Family Medicine Lori A. Boardman, MD, ScM - Obstetrics and Gynecology
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