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Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: mmwrq@cdc.gov. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail. Abortion Surveillance -- United States, 1996Lisa M. Koonin, M.N., M.P.H.; Lilo T. Strauss, M.A. Abstract Problem/Condition: In 1969, CDC began abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions, to monitor unintended pregnancy, and to assist efforts to identify and reduce preventable causes of morbidity and mortality associated with abortions. Reporting Period Covered: This report summarizes and reviews information reported to CDC regarding legal induced abortions obtained in the United States in 1996. This report also includes recently reported abortion-related deaths that occurred in 1992. Description of System: For each year since 1969, CDC has compiled abortion data received from 52 reporting areas in the United States: 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City. Results: In 1996, a total of 1,221,585 legal abortions were reported to CDC, representing a 0.9% increase from the number reported for 1995. The abortion ratio was 314 legal induced abortions per 1,000 live births, and as in 1995, the abortion rate was 20 per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years. Women who were undergoing an abortion were more likely to be young (i.e. aged less than 25 years), white, and unmarried; most were obtaining an abortion for the first time. More than one half of all abortions (55%) were performed at less than or equal to 8 weeks of gestation, and approximately 88% were performed before 13 weeks. Approximately 16% of abortions were performed at the earliest weeks of gestation (less than or equal to 6 weeks), approximately 17% at 7 weeks of gestation, and approximately 21% at 8 weeks of gestation. Few abortions were provided after 15 weeks of gestation -- approximately 4% of abortions were obtained at 16-20 weeks, and 1.5% were obtained at greater than or equal to 21 weeks. Younger women (i.e., women aged less than or equal to 24 years) were more likely to obtain abortions later in pregnancy than were older women. In 1992, 10 women died as a result of complications from legal induced abortion, and no deaths were reported associated with illegal abortion. In 1992, the case-fatality rate of legal induced abortion was 0.7 abortion-related deaths per 100,000 legal induced abortions. Interpretation: From 1990 through 1995, the number of abortions declined each year; in 1996, the number of abortions in the United States stabilized. As in previous years, deaths related to legal induced abortions occurred rarely (i.e., approximately one death per 100,000 legal induced abortions). Actions Taken: The number and characteristics of women who obtain abortions in the United States should continue to be monitored so that trends in induced abortion can be assessed, efforts to prevent unintended pregnancy can be evaluated, and the preventable causes of morbidity and mortality associated with abortions can be identified and reduced. INTRODUCTION In 1969, CDC began abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions, to monitor unintended pregnancy, and to assist efforts to identify and reduce preventable causes of morbidity and mortality associated with abortions. This report is based on abortion data for 1996 provided to CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Division of Reproductive Health. METHODS For 1996, CDC compiled data from 52 reporting areas in the United States: 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City. Legal induced abortion was defined as a procedure, performed by a licensed physician or someone acting under the supervision of a licensed physician, that was intended to terminate a suspected or known intrauterine pregnancy and to produce a nonviable fetus at any gestational age (1,2). The total number of legal induced abortions was available from all reporting areas; however, not all of these areas collected information regarding the characteristics of women who obtained abortions. The availability of information about characteristics of women who obtained an abortion in 1996 varied by state. Most reporting areas (44 states and New York City) collected and reported adequate abortion data (i.e., data of sufficient quality to be used for analysis) by age of the woman, whereas only 22 states and New York City collected and reported adequate abortion data by Hispanic ethnicity. In the "Results" section of this report, all of the percentage data for each characteristic represent only women with known characteristics; unknowns have not been distributed for the calculation of these percentages (Tables 4, 6-13). Areas were excluded from the analysis if data regarding a given characteristic were unknown for greater than 15% of women (Tables 1, 4-18). For 48 reporting areas, data concerning the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions were provided by the central health agency*; for the other four areas, data were provided by hospitals and other medical facilities (3). Because information concerning the residence of women who obtained abortions was not available from some states, the procedures were reported by the state in which they were performed. However, for two reporting areas (i.e., the District of Columbia and Wisconsin), characteristics of women who were nonresidents and who obtained abortions in 1996 were unavailable. For analysis by age, women who obtained legal induced abortions were grouped by 5-year age groups. Both ratios (i.e., the number of abortions per 1,000 live births per year) and rates (the number of abortions per 1,000 women per year) are presented by age group in this report. Starting with 1996, ratios were calculated by using the number of live births to residents of each area reported to CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, and rates were calculated by using the number of women residents of each area reported in special unpublished tabulations provided by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Because almost all (94%) abortions among women aged less than 15 years in 1988 (4) occurred among those aged 13-14 years, the population of women aged 13-14 years was used as the denominator for calculating abortion rates for women aged less than 15 years. Rates for women aged greater than or equal to 40 years were based on the number of women aged 40-44 years, whereas rates for all women who obtained abortions were based on the population of women aged 15-44 years. Race was categorized by three groups (i.e., a] white, b] black, and c] all other races) or two groups (i.e., a] white and b] black and all other races). "Other" races included Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian, Alaskan Native, and women classified as "other" race. As in previous reports, Hispanic ethnicity and race were evaluated separately, and rates and ratios were presented by both race and Hispanic ethnicity. Marital status was reported as either married (which included women who were married or separated) or unmarried (which included those who were never married, divorced, or widowed, except where noted). Reporting of marital status differed somewhat by state, particularly for the data used as denominators to calculate abortion ratios by marital status; therefore, abortion ratios by marital status should be interpreted cautiously. Most areas (37 of 40) that reported adequate data on week of gestation at the time of abortion also reported abortions performed at less than or equal to 6, 7, and 8 weeks of gestation. Gestational age (in weeks) at the time of abortion was reported by approximately one half of the areas from estimates derived from the time elapsed since the woman's last menstrual period. In 1996, for 18 other states, gestational age was reported on the basis of the physician's estimate for each reported abortion or when information regarding the last menstrual period was missing or unreliable. Physician's estimates for gestational age also could have included information from the clinical examination as well as the time elapsed since the last menstrual period. CDC has periodically reported information on abortion-related deaths; 1972 was the first year for which such data were available (5). Sources for such information included national and state vital records, maternal mortality review committees, surveys, private citizens, the media, health-care providers, medical examiners' reports, and, more recently, computerized searches of several full-text newspaper databases. For each reported case, clinical records and autopsy reports were requested and reviewed by two medical epidemiologists to determine the cause of death and verify that the death was abortion-related. An abortion-related death was defined as a death resulting from a) a direct complication of an abortion, b) an indirect complication caused by the chain of events initiated by the abortion, or c) aggravation of a preexisting condition by the physiologic or psychologic effects of the abortion (2). Each abortion-related death was then categorized as legal induced, illegal induced, spontaneous, or unknown. Deaths that did not satisfy the criteria of the case definition were classified as not abortion-related.** This report includes reported abortion-related deaths that occurred in 1992. National case-fatality rates were calculated as the number of legal induced abortion-related deaths per 100,000 legal induced abortions. Trends in case-fatality rates for legal induced abortions during 1972-1992 are reported. RESULTS In 1996, a total of 1,221,585 legal induced abortions were reported to CDC, representing a slight increase of 0.9% from the number reported for 1995 (6) (Table 1). From 1970 through 1982, the reported number of legal abortions in the United States increased every year (Table 2; Figure 1); the largest percentage increase occurred from 1970 to 1971. From 1976 through 1982, the annual increase declined and reached a low of 0.2% during 1980-1981 and during 1981-1982. From 1983 through 1990, the number of abortions increased again, although moderately (less than or equal to 5% from year to year). However, despite the slight increase in the number of abortions in 1996 compared with 1995, during 1990-1995, the annual number of abortions decreased each year. The national legal induced abortion ratio (number of legal abortions per 1,000 live births) increased from 1970 through 1980, peaked at 364 per 1,000 live births in 1984, and began to decline steadily in 1987, from 356 per 1,000 to 311 per 1,000 in 1995 (Figure 1; Table 2). From 1995 to 1996, the national abortion ratio increased slightly, from 311 to 314. The national legal induced abortion rate increased from five abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years in 1970 to 25 per 1,000 in 1980. From 1981 through 1992, the rate remained stable at 23-24 abortions per 1,000 women, then declined to 22 in 1993, to 21 in 1994, and to 20 in 1995. In 1996, the abortion rate remained stable at 20 abortions per 1,000 women. In 1996, as in previous years, most legal induced abortions were performed in California, New York City, Texas, and Florida; the fewest were performed in Wyoming, South Dakota, Idaho, and North Dakota (Table 3) (6). For women whose state of residence was known, approximately 92% had obtained the abortion within the state in which they resided. The percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents ranged from approximately 50% in the District of Columbia to less than 0.5% in Hawaii. For 1996, eight reporting areas could not provide data concerning abortions obtained by out-of-state residents. Women aged 20-24 years obtained approximately one third (32%) of all abortions; women aged less than 15 years obtained less than 1% of all abortions (Table 4). Abortion ratios were highest for the youngest women (i.e., 723 abortions per 1,000 live births for women aged less than 15 years and 415 per 1,000 for women aged 15-19 years) and for the oldest women (376 per 1,000 live births for women aged 40-44 years). The ratio was lowest for women aged 30-34 years (165 per 1,000 live births) (Figure 2; Table 4). Among adolescents, the abortion ratio was highest for those aged less than 15 years and lowest for those aged 19 years (Table 5). In contrast to abortion ratios, abortion rates were highest for women aged 20-24 years (38 abortions per 1,000 women) and lowest for women at the extremes of reproductive-age (i.e., two abortions per 1,000 women aged less than 15 years [i.e., 13-14 years] and two per 1,000 women aged 40-44 years) (Table 4). For women in most age groups, the abortion ratio increased from 1974 through the early 1980s and declined thereafter, particularly for the youngest and oldest reproductive-aged women (Figure 3). Abortion ratios for women aged less than 15 years have been and remain higher than those for the other age groups. Although abortion ratios increased slightly for women aged less than 15 and 15-19 years from 1995 to 1996, these ratios remained among the lowest ever recorded for these age groups. The abortion ratio for women aged 20-34 years (i.e., the group with the highest fertility rate) (7) has remained stable since the mid-1980s. In 1996, approximately 54% of reported legal induced abortions were obtained at less than or equal to 8 weeks of gestation, and approximately 87% at less than 13 weeks (Table 6). Approximately 16% of abortions were performed during the earliest weeks of gestation (less than or equal to 6 weeks), approximately 17% at 7 weeks, and approximately 21% at 8 weeks (Table 7). Few abortions were provided after 15 weeks of gestation -- approximately 4% of abortions were obtained at 16-20 weeks, and 1.5% were obtained at greater than or equal to 21 weeks (Figure 4; Table 6). Almost all (98%) abortions were performed by curettage and less than 0.5% by intrauterine saline or prostaglandin instillation (Table 8). Hysterectomy and hysterotomy were used in fewer than 0.01% of abortions. Approximately 57% of women who obtained legal induced abortions were white (Table 9). The abortion ratio for black women was 555 per 1,000 live births; this was approximately 2.7 times the ratio for white women (202 per 1,000 live births). The abortion ratio for women of other races (360 per 1,000 live births) was approximately 1.8 times the ratio for white women. In addition, the abortion rate for black women (31 per 1,000 women) was approximately 2.6 times the rate for white women (12 per 1,000 women). Twenty-two states and New York City*** reported data concerning the Hispanic ethnicity of women who obtained legal induced abortions (Table 10). The percentage of abortions obtained by Hispanic women in these reporting areas ranged from less than 1% in several states to approximately 44% in New Mexico. For Hispanic women in these reporting areas, the abortion ratio was 276 per 1,000 live births -- slightly lower than the ratio for non-Hispanics in the same areas (282 per 1,000 live births). However, the abortion rate per 1,000 Hispanic women (20 per 1,000 women) was greater than the rate per 1,000 non-Hispanic women (15 per 1,000 women). Seventy-eight percent of women who obtained abortions were unmarried (Table 11). The abortion ratio for unmarried women was approximately eight times the ratio for married women (655 versus 78 abortions per 1,000 live births). Approximately 43% of women who obtained legal induced abortions had had no previous live births, and approximately 87% had had two or fewer previous live births (Table 12). The abortion ratio was highest for women who had had three previous live births and lowest for women who had had one previous live birth. In 1996, of women who obtained an abortion, 54% of women obtained an abortion for the first time. Approximately 18% of women had had at least two previous abortions (Table 13). The age distribution of women who obtained a legal abortion differed slightly by race (Table 14). However, for women of black or other races, the percentage who were aged less than 15 years, although small (1.0%), was almost twice the percentage for white women (0.6%). The percentage of women of black or other races who were unmarried (83%) also was slightly higher than the percentage of white women (77%). Few differences were found by age and Hispanic ethnicity (Table 15). Of those women who had obtained an abortion, a slightly higher percentage of non-Hispanic women were unmarried (80%) in comparison with Hispanic women (77%). Most (approximately 88%) women who obtained an abortion had their procedure during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy (Table 16 and Table 17). The percentage of women who obtained an abortion early in pregnancy (i.e., less than or equal to 8 weeks of gestation) increased with age, and the percentage who obtained an abortion very late in pregnancy (at greater than or equal to 21 weeks of gestation) decreased with age for women up to 30-34 years of age and remained stable for women in older age groups (Figure 5; Table 16). Black women were more likely to obtain an abortion later in pregnancy than were white women or women of other races (Table 16 and Table 17). Of all women who obtained an abortion, Hispanic women were slightly more likely than non-Hispanic women to have had an abortion at less than or equal to 8 weeks of gestation and less likely to have had an abortion late in pregnancy (greater than or equal to 21 weeks). However, the overall differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women in the timing of abortions were minimal (Table 16). More than 99% of abortions at less than or equal to 12 weeks of gestation were performed by using curettage (primarily suction procedures) (Table 18). After 12 weeks of gestation, the most frequently used procedure also was curettage, although it usually was performed as a dilatation and evacuation (D&E). Intrauterine instillations involved the use of saline or prostaglandin; these procedures were used primarily at greater than or equal to 16 weeks of gestation. CDC received reports of 43 possible abortion-related deaths for 1992 (the most recent year for which data are available). A review of these cases indicated that 27 of the 43 women died of abortion-related causes (Table 19). Ten of the deaths were associated with legal induced abortion, and 17 deaths were associated with spontaneous abortions. No deaths were associated with illegal induced abortions. Possible abortion-related deaths that occurred during 1993-1996 are being investigated. The case-fatality rate for legal induced abortion in 1992 was 0.7 deaths per 100,000 legal induced abortions. During 1980-1992, annual case-fatality rates for legal induced abortion-related deaths were less than or equal to 1.2 deaths per 100,000 legal induced abortions (Table 19; Figure 6). DISCUSSION From 1990 (i.e., the year in which the number of abortions was highest) through 1995, the annual number of abortions in the United States decreased by 15% (Table 2) (6,8). From 1995 to 1996, the number of abortions differed only slightly (an increase of 0.9%). Therefore, in 1996, the number of abortions in this country appears to have stabilized. In addition, the number of live births in 1996 was also stable from that recorded for 1995, a decrease of 0.2% (7). The abortion ratio had increased steadily from 1970 through 1980, decreased slightly during 1980-1983, increased to its highest level in 1984, remained fairly stable until 1987, and then declined each subsequent year through 1995 (Table 2; Figure 1). Despite a slight increase in the abortion ratio from 1995 to 1996 (from 311 to 314 abortions per 1,000 live births), the ratio for these 2 years were at the lowest recorded level since 1976 (6,9). The slight ratio increase in 1996 occurred because the numerator of this ratio (the number of abortions) increased slightly, and the denominator (the number of live births) decreased slightly for that year (7). In both 1995 and 1996, the national abortion rate was 20 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44, the lowest recorded rate since 1975 (10). This trend in the abortion rate might reflect multiple factors, including the decreasing number of unintended pregnancies; a shift in the age distribution of reproductive-aged women towards the older and less fertile ages; reduced access to abortion services; and changes in contraceptive practices, including an increased use of contraception, particularly an increased use of condoms among young women (6, 11-14). In this report, the induced abortion rate in the United States was higher than recent rates reported for Australia, Canada, and Western European countries and lower than rates reported for China, Cuba, most Eastern European countries, and several of the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union (15,16). Abortion and birth rates for teenagers are higher in the United States than in most Western European countries and some Eastern European countries (17). As in previous years, the abortion ratio in 1996 varied substantially by age (6). Although the ratio was highest for adolescents, the percentage of legal induced abortions obtained by women aged less than or equal to 19 years has decreased since the mid-1980s (i.e., from 26% in 1984 to 22% in 1990 and to 20% in 1992) and has remained at that level (8,18). From 1984 through 1995, the abortion ratio declined for women aged 15-19 years to the lowest abortion ratio ever recorded for that age group (Figure 3). In 1996, the ratio for this group rose slightly. Other studies have indicated a decrease in pregnancy rates for women aged 15-19 years from 1992 through 1995 and a decrease in teenage birth rates from 1995 to 1996 (7,19). Several factors might have influenced this decline over time in the abortion ratios among adolescents. First, teenage pregnancies decreased and the decline in abortions was even greater than for live births. Second, the age distribution of reproductive-aged women obtaining abortions shifted from younger women to older women (20). Third, access to abortion services changed (12,13), including the passage of abortion laws that affect adolescents (e.g., parental consent or notification laws and mandatory waiting periods) (21,22). In 1996, as in 1995, the abortion ratio for black women was more than two and one half times (2.8) the ratio for white women; this differential has increased since 1989 (23). In addition, the abortion rate for black women was approximately 2.7 times the rate for white women. Race-specific differences in legal induced abortion ratios and rates might reflect differences in factors such as socioeconomic status, contraceptive use, incidence of unintended pregnancies, and access to family-planning and contraceptive services. The abortion-to-live-birth ratio for Hispanic women during 1996 was slightly lower than that for non-Hispanic women. Another report, which describes characteristics of women who obtain abortions supports this finding (24). However, the abortion rate per 1,000 Hispanic women was higher than the rate for non-Hispanic women, which is consistent with several other studies (24,25). For women in all age groups, fertility was substantially higher for Hispanic than for non-Hispanic women (7). In 1996, a total of 38 areas, including the District of Columbia and New York City, reported Hispanic ethnicity of women who obtained abortions. Because of concerns regarding the completeness of such information (greater than 15% unknown data) for Hispanic ethnicity in some states, data from only 22 states and New York City were evaluated to determine the number and percentage of abortions obtained by women of Hispanic ethnicity in 1996. These geographical areas represent approximately 34% of all reproductive-aged Hispanic women in the United States in 1996 (CDC, unpublished data). Thus, the number of Hispanic women who obtain abortions might be underestimated (24), and the number, ratio, and rate of abortions for Hispanic women in this report might not be representative of the overall Hispanic population in the United States (i.e., these data might reflect utilization of abortion services only in the areas included in this analysis). Since 1980, the percentage distribution of abortions by gestational age has been stable, with slight percentage increases toward the earliest and latest gestational ages. Since 1992, there have been slight percentage decreases for abortions performed at 8 and 9-10 weeks and increases in the percentage of abortions performed at the early weeks of gestation (i.e., less than or equal to 6 and 7 weeks). Recently, interest has increased in surveillance for abortions performed late in pregnancy (i.e., greater than or equal to 21 weeks) (26,27). Data are compiled and reported to assist in monitoring trends in legal abortions as new medical (nonsurgical) methods of terminating pregnancy are implemented because these new methods are used primarily to terminate pregnancies at less than or equal to 8 weeks of gestation (28-30). Since 1992, most reporting areas have reported abortions by gestational age, in weeks of gestation, for abortions performed at less than or equal to 6, 7, and 8 weeks. For 1997, most states are expected to collect and report data on abortions performed by medical (nonsurgical) procedures (31). During 1994-1995, approximately 2,000 women in the United States aged greater than 18 years participated in clinical trials testing mifepristone, a medication used for medical (nonsurgical) abortion (32). This medication has not yet been fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use and distribution in the United States (Population Council, Personal Communication, 1999). However, other medications (e.g., methotrexate and misoprostol) are currently being used to perform early medical (nonsurgical) abortions (30,33). In this and previous reports, age was inversely associated with timing of abortion (6). As in previous years, younger women were more likely to obtain an abortion later in gestation than were older women. In addition to the age of the woman, marital status, level of education, availability and accessibility of services, timing of confirmation of pregnancy, personal decision-making, level of fear and denial of pregnancy, and other considerations impact the timing of abortion (34,35). From 1972 through 1996, the percentage of abortions performed by curettage (which includes D&E) increased from 89% to 99% (Table 1), and the percentage of abortions performed by intrauterine instillation and hysterectomy and hysterotomy declined sharply (from 10% to 0.4% and from 0.6% to less than 0.01%, respectively [5]). From 1974 through 1996, the percentage of second-trimester abortions performed by D&E (curettage) increased from 31% to 93%; the percentage of second-trimester abortions performed by intrauterine instillation decreased from 57% to 2% (36). The continued reliance on D&E probably has resulted from the lower risk for complications associated with the procedure (37,38). From 1972 through 1992, the annual number of deaths associated with legal induced abortion has decreased by 58% (5). In 1972, 24 women died from causes associated with legal abortion, and 39 women died from illegal abortions (5). In 1992, 10 women died as a result of legal induced abortion, and none died as a result of illegal abortion. The case-fatality rate decreased by 82% between 1972 and 1992. These rates, consistent with previously published data for the 1970s and mid-1980s, indicate that the risk for death from legal induced abortion continues to be extremely low (39-42). In 1992, 17 reported deaths were associated with spontaneous abortion. This number was greater than in previous years; spontaneous abortion-related deaths have been relatively stable at less than 10 deaths per year since 1978. The reason for this increase in reported spontaneous abortion-related deaths is unclear at this time and is under investigation. The number, ratio, and rate of abortions from this analysis are conservative estimates because the numbers of legal abortions reported to CDC for 1996 were probably lower than the numbers actually performed. Totals provided by central health agencies might be lower than those obtained by direct surveys of abortion providers (3). For example, the total number of abortions reported to CDC for 1996 was approximately 12% lower than that reported for 1996 by The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a private organization that directly contacts abortion providers to obtain information concerning the total number of abortions performed (13). In addition, not all states collected and/or reported information (e.g., age, race, and gestational age) concerning women obtaining a legal induced abortion in 1996; therefore, the numbers, percentages, rates, and ratios derived from this analysis might not be representative of all women who obtained abortions in that year. Despite these limitations, findings from ongoing national surveillance for legal induced abortion are useful for several purposes. First, public health agencies use data from abortion surveillance that characterize women who are at high risk for unintended pregnancy. Second, ongoing annual surveillance is used to monitor trends in the number, ratio, and rate of abortions in the United States. Third, statistics on the number of pregnancies ending in abortion are used in conjunction with birth and fetal death statistics to estimate pregnancy rates (e.g., pregnancy rates among teenagers) (4) and other outcome rates (e.g., the rate of ectopic pregnancies per 1,000 pregnancies). Fourth, abortion and pregnancy rates can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of family-planning programs and programs for preventing unintended pregnancy. Fifth, ongoing surveillance provides data for assessing changes in clinical practice patterns related to abortion (e.g., longitudinal changes in the types of procedures and trends in gestational age at the time of abortion). Finally, abortion data are used as the denominator in calculating abortion morbidity and mortality rates. Induced abortions usually are linked to unintended pregnancies, which often occur despite use of contraception (14,43,44). In 1995, data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) indicated that approximately 31% of live births were associated with unintended pregnancy (i.e., either mistimed or unwanted at conception) (11). Unintended pregnancy is not a problem just for adolescents, unmarried women, or for poor women; it is a pervasive public health problem for all women of reproductive age (11). In a study of abortion patients conducted during 1994 and 1995, 58% of patients reported that they "currently used" contraception during the month of their last menstrual period; however, their use of contraception might have been inconsistent or incorrect (25). In 1995, when the most recent NSFG was conducted, approximately 29% of sexually active U.S. women who used only oral contraceptives for birth control reported that they missed a birth-control pill one or more times during the 3 months before their NSFG interview. In addition, approximately 33% of U.S. women who were using only coitus-dependent contraceptive methods**** during the 3 months before the interview used these methods inconsistently (11). At present, not all health insurance plans provide full contraceptive benefits (45). Therefore, education regarding improved contraceptive use and practices as well as access to and education regarding safe, effective, and affordable contraception and family-planning services might help reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancy and, therefore, might reduce the use of legal induced abortion in the United States (46,47). Recently passed welfare-reform legislation -- the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996***** -- has increased the interest in accurate state-based surveillance for induced abortion. In addition, some states have instituted programs that emphasize the prevention of unintended pregnancy, particularly among adolescents. To help guide these efforts, an ongoing, accurate assessment of induced abortion is needed in all states to determine the number and characteristics of women who obtain these procedures. Additional statistical and epidemiologic information about legal induced abortions is available from CDC's automated Reproductive Health Information System. This system provides information by fax, voice recordings, or mail; telephone (888) 232-2306. Copies of MMWR reports containing statistical and epidemiologic information about abortions also can be obtained through the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/ nccdphp/drh/surv_abort.htm. Acknowledgments The authors thank Mary M. Goodwin, MPH, and Karen S. Colberg, both with the Division of Reproductive Health, NCCDPHP, CDC; and David A. Gilbertz, MS, TRW, Inc., Atlanta, GA, for their critical work with data compilation and computer programming for this surveillance project. References
* Includes state health departments and the health departments of New York City and the District of Columbia. ** These terms were defined in detail in CDC's abortion surveillance reports for 1977 and 1978 (1,2). *** After excluding 15 areas for which data was unknown for greater than 15% of women who obtained an abortion. **** Coitus-dependent contraceptive methods include male or female condoms, diaphragm, sponge, cream, jelly, or other methods that must be used at the time intercourse occurs. ******* Section 103 of P.L. 104-193 provides for additional welfare funding for as many as five states if a) the birth rate of infants to unwed mothers is decreased and b) the rate of induced pregnancy terminations is less than the rate for 1995 (the baseline year). Table 1 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 1. Characteristics of women who obtained legal abortions -- United States, selected years, 1972-1996
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Characteristic 1972 1973 1976 1980 1985 1990 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
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Reported no. of legal abortions 586,760 615,831 988,267 1,297,606 1,328,570 1,429,577 1,359,145 1,330,414 1,267,415 1,210,883 1,221,585
Percent distribution*
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Residence
In-state 56.2 74.8 90.0 92.6 92.4 91.8 92.0 91.4 91.5 91.7 91.9
Out-of-state 43.8 25.2 10.0 7.4 7.6 8.2 8.0 8.6 8.5 8.3 8.1
Age (yrs)
<=19 32.6 32.7 32.1 29.2 26.3 22.4 20.1 20.0 20.2 20.1 20.3
20-24 32.5 32.0 33.3 35.5 34.7 33.2 34.5 34.4 33.5 32.5 31.9
>=25 34.9 35.3 34.6 35.3 39.0 44.4 45.4 45.6 46.3 47.4 47.9
Race
White 77.0 72.5 66.6 69.9 66.7 64.8 61.5 60.9 60.5 59.5 59.1
Black 23.0+ 27.5+ 33.4+ 30.1+ 29.8 31.8 33.9 34.9 34.7 35.0 35.2
Other& -- -- -- -- 3.5 3.4 4.6 4.2 4.8 5.5 5.7
Hispanic origin
Hispanic -- -- -- -- -- 9.8 15.2 14.7 14.5 15.4 16.1
Non-Hispanic -- -- -- -- -- 90.2 84.8 85.3 85.5 84.6 83.9
Marital Status
Married 29.7 27.4 24.6 23.1 19.3 21.7 20.8 20.4 19.9 19.7 19.6
Unmarried 70.3 72.6 75.4 76.9 80.7 78.3 79.2 79.6 80.1 80.3 80.4
No. of live births@
0 49.4 48.6 47.7 58.4 56.3 49.2 45.9 46.3 46.2 45.2 44.2
1 18.2 18.8 20.7 19.4 21.6 24.4 25.9 26.0 25.9 26.5 26.8
2 13.3 14.2 15.4 13.7 14.5 16.9 18.0 17.8 17.8 18.0 18.4
3 8.7 8.7 8.3 5.3 5.1 6.1 6.7 6.6 6.7 6.8 7.0
>=4 10.4 9.7 7.9 3.2 2.5 3.4 3.5 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6
Type of procedure
Curettage 88.6 88.4 92.8 95.5 97.5 98.8 98.9 99.0 99.1 98.9 98.8
Suction curettage 65.2 74.9 82.6 89.8 94.6 96.0 97.0 96.4 96.5 96.6 96.5
Sharp curettage 23.4 13.5 10.2 5.7 2.9 2.8 1.9 2.6 2.6 2.3 2.3
Intrauterine instillation 10.4 10.4 6.0 3.1 1.7 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.4
Other** 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.4 0.8 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.8
Weeks of gestation
<=8 34.0 36.1 47.0 51.7 50.3 51.6 52.1 52.3 53.7 54.0 54.6
<=6 -- -- -- -- -- -- 14.3++ 14.7&& 15.7@@ 15.7@@ 16.4***
7 -- -- -- -- -- -- 15.6++ 16.2&& 16.5@@ 17.1@@ 17.4***
8 -- -- -- -- -- -- 22.2++ 21.6&& 21.6@@ 21.2@@ 20.9***
9-10 30.7 29.4 28.1 26.2 26.6 25.3 24.2 24.4 23.5 23.1 22.6
11-12 17.5 17.9 14.4 12.2 12.5 11.7 12.0 11.6 10.9 10.9 11.0
13-15 8.4 6.9 4.5 5.1 5.9 6.4 6.0 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.0
16-20 8.2 8.0 5.1 3.9 3.9 4.0 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.3 4.3
>=21 1.2 1.7 0.9 0.9 0.8 1.0 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Based on known values in data from all areas reporting a given characteristic with no more than 15% unknowns. The number of areas reporting a
given characteristic varied. For 1996, the number of areas included for residence was 45; age, 45; race, 35; ethnicity, 23; marital status, 34;
the number
of live births, 39; type of procedure, 41; and weeks of gestation, 40.
+ Reported as black and other races.
& Includes all other races.
@ For 1972-1976, data indicate number of living children.
** Includes hysterotomy and hysterectomy, medical (nonsurgical) procedures, and procedures reported as "other."
++ Data are for 36 of 39 areas reporting weeks of gestation.
&& Data are for 38 of 41 areas reporting weeks of gestation.
@@ Data are for 38 of 40 areas reporting weeks of gestation.
*** Data are for 37 of 40 areas reporting weeks of gestation.
-- Not available.
==================================================================================================================================================================
Return to top. Figure 1  Return to top. Table 2 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 2. Number, ratio,* and rate+ of legal abortions and source of reporting, by year
-- United States, 1970-1996
=================================================================================================
No. of areas reporting
----------------------------
Total no. of Central health Hospital/
Year legal abortions Ratio Rate agency& Facilities@
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1970 193,491 52 5 18 7
1971 485,816 137 11 19 7
1972 586,760 180 13 21 8
1973 615,831 196 14 26 26
1974 763,476 242 17 37 15
1975 854,853 272 18 39 13
1976 988,267 312 21 41 11
1977 1,079,430 325 22 46 6
1978 1,157,776 347 23 48 4
1979 1,251,921 358 24 47 5
1980 1,297,606 359 25 47 5
1981 1,300,760 358 24 46 6
1982 1,303,980 354 24 46 6
1983 1,268,987 349 23 46 6
1984 1,333,521 364 24 44 8
1985 1,328,570 354 24 44 8
1986 1,328,112 354 23 43 9
1987 1,353,671 356 24 45 7
1988 1,371,285 352 24 45 7
1989 1,396,658 346 24 45 7
1990 1,429,577 345 24 46 6
1991 1,388,937 339 24 47 5
1992 1,359,145 335 23 47 5
1993 1,330,414 334 22 47 5
1994 1,267,415 321 21 47 5
1995 1,210,883 311 20 48 4
1996 1,221,585 314** 20 48 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Number of abortions per 1,000 live births.
+ Number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years.
& Abortion data reported by central health agencies, which include state health departments
and the health departments of New York City and the District of Columbia.
@ Abortion data reported by hospitals and/or other medical facilities in state.
** Beginning in 1996, the ratio is based on births reported by CDC's National Center for Health
Statistics.
=================================================================================================
Return to top. Figure 2  Return to top. Table 3 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 3. Reported number,* ratio,+ and rate& of legal abortions and percentage of
abortions obtained by out-of-state residents,@ by state of occurrence -- United States,
1996
=============================================================================================
Percentage of legal
Total no. of abortions obtained by
State legal abortions Ratio Rate out-of-state residents
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama 13,826 229 14 14.6
Alaska 2,139 213 15 0.8
Arizona 11,016 146 11 1.3
Arkansas 5,882 162 11 9.3
California 280,180** 519 39 --
Colorado 9,710 174 11 10.2
Connecticut 14,094 317 20 3.7
Delaware 4,482 441 26 --
Dist. of Columbia 13,674 --++ --&& 49.9
Florida 80,040 423 27 --
Georgia 35,790 314 20 9.4
Hawaii 4,916 267 19 0.3
Idaho 1,022 55 4 5.9
Illinois 53,613 293 20 7.2
Indiana 13,341 160 10 3.5
Iowa 7,602@@ 205 12 --
Kansas 10,685 292 19 40.9
Kentucky 7,000 133 8 20.6
Louisiana 11,865 182 12 --
Maine 2,615 190 9 2.9
Maryland 12,363 173 10 5.6
Massachusetts 29,293 365 21 5.9
Michigan 30,208 226 14 4.3
Minnesota 14,193 223 13 9.2
Mississippi 4,206 103 7 5.3
Missouri 11,629 158 10 10.9
Montana 2,763 255 15 16.7
Nebraska 5,214 224 14 19.8
Nevada 6,965 267 20 11.4
New Hampshire 2,300@@ 158 8 --
New Jersey 31,860 279 18 2.2
New Mexico 5,033 185 13 4.3
New York 152,991 580 37 --
City 109,331*** 889 -- 6.1+++
State 43,660 310 -- 4.9+++
North Carolina 33,554 321 20 10.8
North Dakota 1,291 155 9 33.2
Ohio 36,530 241 15 7.4
Oklahoma 6,769@@ 147 10 --
Oregon 13,767 315 20 12.2
Pennsylvania 38,004 256 15 4.9
Rhode Island 5,437 430 24 18.5
South Carolina 9,326 182 11 6.2
South Dakota 901 86 6 22.8
Tennessee 17,989 244 15 18.9
Texas 91,470 277 21 4.3
Utah 3,639 86 8 9.8
Vermont 2,139 316 16 20.9
Virginia 25,770 279 16 5.8
Washington 26,138 335 21 4.7
West Virginia 2,470 119 6 12.8
Wisconsin 13,673 204 12 4.1
Wyoming 208 33 2 6.3
Total 1,221,585 314 20 8.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Abortion data reported by central health agencies unless otherwise specified.
+ Abortions per 1,000 live births. Number of live births was obtained from CDC's National
Center for Health Statistics (7).
& Abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years. The number of women in this age group
was obtained from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (special
unpublished tabulations).
@ Based on number of abortions for which residence of women was known.
** CDC estimate.
++ 1,000 abortions per 1,000 live births.
&& 100 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years.
@@ Reported by hospitals and/or other medical facilities in state.
*** Reported by the New York City Department of Health.
+++ Percentage based on number reported as "out-of-reporting area."
-- Not available.
=============================================================================================
Return to top. Figure 3  Return to top. Table 4 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 4. Reported legal abortions, by age group of women who obtained abortions and state of occurrence -- selected
states,* United States, 1996
======================================================================================================================================================================
Age group (yrs)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<15 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 >=40 Unknown Total+
----------- --------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- ------------- ------------- ------------ ---------------
State No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama 174 1.3 2,957 21.4 5,008 36.2 2,855 20.6 1,628 11.8 906 6.6 283 2.0 15 0.1 13,826 100.0
Alaska 9 0.4 377 17.6 770 36.0 472 22.1 305 14.3 153 7.2 50 2.3 3 0.1 2,139 100.0
Arizona 72 0.7 2,134 19.4 3,293 29.9 2,418 21.9 1,434 13.0 938 8.5 245 2.2 482 4.4 11,016 100.0
Arkansas 98 1.7 1,329 22.6 2,008 34.1 1,194 20.3 667 11.3 411 7.0 100 1.7 75 1.3 5,882 100.0
Colorado 78 0.8 2,207 22.7 2,905 29.9 2,006 20.7 1,286 13.2 879 9.1 281 2.9 68 0.7 9,710 100.0
Connecticut 103 0.7 3,042 21.6 4,344 30.8 3,151 22.4 1,918 13.6 1,070 7.6 294 2.1 172 1.2 14,094 100.0
Georgia 410 1.1 6,776 18.9 11,417 31.9 8,476 23.7 5,077 14.2 2,673 7.5 748 2.1 213 0.6 35,790 100.0
Hawaii 38 0.8 1,093 22.2 1,496 30.4 1,028 20.9 670 13.6 447 9.1 142 2.9 2 0.0 4,916 100.0
Idaho 15 1.5 265 25.9 284 27.8 194 19.0 135 13.2 95 9.3 34 3.3 0 0.0 1,022 100.0
Illinois 488 0.9 11,474 21.4 17,244 32.2 11,870 22.1 6,875 12.8 3,999 7.5 1,302 2.4 361 0.7 53,613 100.0
Indiana 119 0.9 2,838 21.3 4,583 34.4 2,798 21.0 1,681 12.6 952 7.1 270 2.0 100 0.7 13,341 100.0
Kansas 94 0.9 2,500 23.4 3,373 31.6 2,262 21.2 1,318 12.3 873 8.2 255 2.4 10 0.1 10,685 100.0
Kentucky 72 1.0 1,507 21.5 2,360 33.7 1,543 22.0 807 11.5 481 6.9 136 1.9 94 1.3 7,000 100.0
Louisiana 143 1.2 2,487 21.0 4,075 34.3 2,549 21.5 1,413 11.9 875 7.4 278 2.3 45 0.4 11,865 100.0
Maine 21 0.8 607 23.2 768 29.4 546 20.9 326 12.5 243 9.3 75 2.9 29 1.1 2,615 100.0
Maryland 129 1.0 2,405 19.5 3,862 31.2 3,028 24.5 1,765 14.3 936 7.6 238 1.9 0 0.0 12,363 100.0
Massachusetts 148 0.5 4,465 15.2 8,230 28.1 6,553 22.4 4,572 15.6 2,652 9.1 896 3.1 1,777 6.1 29,293 100.0
Michigan 218 0.7 6,188 20.5 9,777 32.4 6,888 22.8 4,023 13.3 2,381 7.9 701 2.3 32 0.1 30,208 100.0
Minnesota 79 0.6 2,632 18.5 4,389 30.9 3,268 23.0 2,030 14.3 1,320 9.3 392 2.8 83 0.6 14,193 100.0
Mississippi 60 1.4 806 19.2 1,596 37.9 879 20.9 519 12.3 258 6.1 85 2.0 3 0.1 4,206 100.0
Missouri 118 1.0 2,166 18.6 3,659 31.5 2,552 21.9 1,740 15.0 1,054 9.1 317 2.7 23 0.2 11,629 100.0
Montana 20 0.7 663 24.0 841 30.4 529 19.1 387 14.0 236 8.5 87 3.1 0 0.0 2,763 100.0
Nebraska 25 0.5 1,138 21.8 1,749 33.5 1,087 20.8 659 12.6 424 8.1 122 2.3 10 0.2 5,214 100.0
Nevada 56 0.8 1,197 17.2 1,902 27.3 1,654 23.7 1,108 15.9 703 10.1 212 3.0 133 1.9 6,965 100.0
New Jersey 198 0.6 6,041 19.0 10,218 32.1 7,513 23.6 4,533 14.2 2,503 7.9 818 2.6 36 0.1 31,860 100.0
New Mexico 55 1.1 1,139 22.6 1,574 31.3 1,040 20.7 651 12.9 401 8.0 149 3.0 24 0.5 5,033 100.0
New York 1,106 0.7 27,955 18.3 44,467 29.1 37,150 24.3 24,436 16.0 13,447 8.8 3,986 2.6 444 0.3 152,991 100.0
City 784 0.7 18,561 17.0 31,144 28.5 27,444 25.1 18,367 16.8 9,825 9.0 2,870 2.6 336 0.3 109,331 100.0
State 322 0.7 9,394 21.5 13,323 30.5 9,706 22.2 6,069 13.9 3,622 8.3 1,116 2.6 108 0.2 43,660 100.0
North Carolina 284 0.8 6,584 19.6 11,419 34.0 7,578 22.6 4,085 12.2 2,300 6.9 704 2.1 600 1.8 33,554 100.0
North Dakota 5 0.4 329 25.5 421 32.6 245 19.0 145 11.2 109 8.4 37 2.9 0 0.0 1,291 100.0
Ohio 200 0.5 6,382 17.5 12,200 33.4 8,733 23.9 4,695 12.9 3,055 8.4 1,020 2.8 245 0.7 36,530 100.0
Oregon 88 0.6 3,020 21.9 4,221 30.7 3,052 22.2 1,869 13.6 1,129 8.2 367 2.7 21 0.2 13,767 100.0
Pennsylvania 338 0.9 7,098 18.7 12,121 31.9 8,749 23.0 5,319 14.0 3,335 8.8 1,044 2.7 0 0.0 38,004 100.0
Rhode Island 36 0.7 1,037 19.1 1,729 31.8 1,197 22.0 797 14.7 484 8.9 155 2.9 2 0.0 5,437 100.0
South Carolina 95 1.0 1,949 20.9 3,108 33.3 1,971 21.1 1,271 13.6 726 7.8 201 2.2 5 0.1 9,326 100.0
South Dakota 6 0.7 253 28.1 279 31.0 144 16.0 107 11.9 88 9.8 23 2.6 1 0.1 901 100.0
Tennessee 175 1.0 3,514 19.5 6,217 34.6 4,085 22.7 2,347 13.0 1,266 7.0 381 2.1 4 0.0 17,989 100.0
Texas 395 0.4 16,586 18.1 30,500 33.3 21,990 24.0 12,213 13.4 7,159 7.8 2,349 2.6 278 0.3 91,470 100.0
Utah 29 0.8 737 20.3 1,156 31.8 812 22.3 534 14.7 270 7.4 97 2.7 4 0.1 3,639 100.0
Vermont 11 0.5 492 23.0 676 31.6 387 18.1 273 12.8 218 10.2 82 3.8 0 0.0 2,139 100.0
Virginia 164 0.6 5,110 19.8 7,965 30.9 6,020 23.4 3,691 14.3 2,084 8.1 607 2.4 129 0.5 25,770 100.0
Washington 165 0.6 5,275 20.2 7,839 30.0 5,986 22.9 3,757 14.4 2,321 8.9 755 2.9 40 0.2 26,138 100.0
West Virginia 31 1.3 613 24.8 851 34.5 487 19.7 280 11.3 158 6.4 50 2.0 0 0.0 2,470 100.0
Wisconsin& 87 0.7 2,596 19.8 4,348 33.2 2,921 22.3 1,781 13.6 1,053 8.0 322 2.5 0 0.0 13,108 100.0
Wyoming 2 1.0 45 21.6 61 29.3 37 17.8 31 14.9 27 13.0 5 2.4 0 0.0 208 100.0
Total 6,257 0.8 160,008 19.4 261,303 31.6 189,897 23.0 115,158 13.9 67,092 8.1 20,695 2.5 5,563 0.7 825,973 100.0
Ratio@ 723 415 355 227 165 220 376 271
Rate** 2 22 38 26 14 8 2 16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 44 states and New York City; excludes one area where unknown age was 15%.
+ Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
& Includes residents only.
@ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given age group per 1,000 live births to women of the same age group for these
states. For each state, data for women of unknown age were distributed according to the known age distribution for that state.
** Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given age group per 1,000 women of the same age group for these states. For
each state, data for women of unknown age were distributed according to the known age distribution for that state.
======================================================================================================================================================================
Return to top. Figure 4  Return to top. Table 5 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 5. Reported legal abortions obtained by adolescents, by known age and state of occurrence -- selected states,* United
States, 1996
=========================================================================================================================================================
Age (yrs)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<15 15 16 17 18 19 Total+
----------- -------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- -------------- ---------------
State No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama 174 5.6 226 7.2 402 12.8 482 15.4 841 26.9 1,006 32.1 3,131 100.0
Alaska 9 2.3 19 4.9 68 17.6 67 17.4 100 25.9 123 31.9 386 100.0
Arizona 72 3.3 168 7.6 305 13.8 424 19.2 584 26.5 653 29.6 2,206 100.0
Arkansas 98 6.9 109 7.6 168 11.8 241 16.9 403 28.2 408 28.6 1,427 100.0
Colorado 78 3.4 174 7.6 338 14.8 443 19.4 594 26.0 658 28.8 2,285 100.0
Connecticut 103 3.3 200 6.4 430 13.7 698 22.2 836 26.6 878 27.9 3,145 100.0
Georgia 410 5.7 556 7.7 937 13.0 1,212 16.9 1,932 26.9 2,139 29.8 7,186 100.0
Hawaii 38 3.4 106 9.4 146 12.9 229 20.2 288 25.5 324 28.6 1,131 100.0
Idaho 15 5.4 21 7.5 37 13.2 41 14.6 92 32.9 74 26.4 280 100.0
Indiana 119 4.0 201 6.8 379 12.8 426 14.4 855 28.9 977 33.0 2,957 100.0
Kansas 94 3.6 195 7.5 403 15.5 488 18.8 680 26.2 734 28.3 2,594 100.0
Kentucky 72 4.6 126 8.0 191 12.1 262 16.6 412 26.1 516 32.7 1,579 100.0
Louisiana 143 5.4 207 7.9 329 12.5 435 16.5 732 27.8 784 29.8 2,630 100.0
Maine 21 3.3 42 6.7 86 13.7 112 17.8 162 25.8 205 32.6 628 100.0
Maryland 129 5.1 198 7.8 336 13.3 440 17.4 659 26.0 772 30.5 2,534 100.0
Massachusetts 148 3.2 286 6.2 556 12.1 766 16.6 1,316 28.5 1,541 33.4 4,613 100.0
Michigan 218 3.4 485 7.6 785 12.3 1,160 18.1 1,832 28.6 1,926 30.1 6,406 100.0
Minnesota 79 2.9 177 6.5 374 13.8 470 17.3 781 28.8 830 30.6 2,711 100.0
Mississippi 60 6.9 65 7.5 115 13.3 99 11.4 243 28.1 284 32.8 866 100.0
Missouri 118 5.2 175 7.7 303 13.3 345 15.1 653 28.6 690 30.2 2,284 100.0
Montana 20 2.9 48 7.0 95 13.9 133 19.5 194 28.4 193 28.3 683 100.0
Nebraska 25 2.1 66 5.7 159 13.7 187 16.1 350 30.1 376 32.3 1,163 100.0
Nevada 56 4.5 80 6.4 186 14.8 240 19.2 331 26.4 360 28.7 1,253 100.0
New Jersey 198 3.2 409 6.6 742 11.9 1,269 20.3 1,711 27.4 1,910 30.6 6,239 100.0
New Mexico 55 4.6 101 8.5 161 13.5 263 22.0 285 23.9 329 27.6 1,194 100.0
New York 1,106 3.8 1,991 6.9 3,721 12.8 5,674 19.5 7,799 26.8 8,770 30.2 29,061 100.0
City 784 4.1 1,387 7.2 2,496 12.9 3,747 19.4 5,104 26.4 5,827 30.1 19,345 100.0
State 322 3.3 604 6.2 1,225 12.6 1,927 19.8 2,695 27.7 2,943 30.3 9,716 100.0
North Carolina 284 4.1 508 7.4 848 12.3 1,121 16.3 1,872 27.3 2,235 32.5 6,868 100.0
North Dakota 5 1.5 24 7.2 52 15.6 62 18.6 85 25.4 106 31.7 334 100.0
Ohio 200 3.0 380 5.8 841 12.8 1,203 18.3 1,745 26.5 2,213 33.6 6,582 100.0
Oregon 88 2.8 200 6.4 444 14.3 585 18.8 816 26.3 975 31.4 3,108 100.0
Pennsylvania 338 4.5 549 7.4 838 11.3 1,070 14.4 2,121 28.5 2,520 33.9 7,436 100.0
Rhode Island 36 3.4 52 4.8 100 9.3 131 12.2 373 34.8 381 35.5 1,073 100.0
South Carolina 95 4.6 149 7.3 242 11.8 426 20.8 536 26.2 596 29.2 2,044 100.0
South Dakota 6 2.3 15 5.8 37 14.3 71 27.4 59 22.8 71 27.4 259 100.0
Tennessee 175 4.7 321 8.7 459 12.4 588 15.9 993 26.9 1,153 31.3 3,689 100.0
Texas 395 2.3 931 5.5 1,999 11.8 3,150 18.6 4,681 27.6 5,825 34.3 16,981 100.0
Utah 29 3.8 42 5.5 85 11.1 109 14.2 244 31.9 257 33.6 766 100.0
Vermont 11 2.2 35 7.0 63 12.5 101 20.1 130 25.8 163 32.4 503 100.0
Virginia 164 3.1 357 6.8 675 12.8 921 17.5 1,573 29.8 1,584 30.0 5,274 100.0
Washington 165 3.0 400 7.4 735 13.5 1,127 20.7 1,420 26.1 1,593 29.3 5,440 100.0
West Virginia 31 4.8 50 7.8 88 13.7 111 17.2 172 26.7 192 29.8 644 100.0
Wisconsin& 87 3.2 192 7.2 349 13.0 462 17.2 773 28.8 820 30.6 2,683 100.0
Wyoming 2 4.3 5 10.6 8 17.0 14 29.8 10 21.3 8 17.0 47 100.0
Total 5,769 3.7 10,641 6.9 19,615 12.7 27,858 18.1 42,268 27.4 48,152 31.2 154,303 100.0
Ratio@ 708 511 446 388 423 382 416
Rate** 2 8 14 20 32 35 16
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 43 states and New York City.
+ Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
& Includes residents only.
@ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given age per 1,000 live births to women of the same age group for these states.
For each state, data for women of unknown age were distributed according to the known age distribution for that state.
** Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given age per 1,000 women of the same age group for these states. For each state,
data for women of unknown age were distributed according to the known age distribution for that state.
=========================================================================================================================================================
Return to top. Figure 5  Return to top. Table 6 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 6. Reported legal abortions, by weeks of gestation* and state of occurrence -- selected states,+ United States, 1996
==========================================================================================================================================================
Weeks of gestation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<=8 9-10 11-12 13-15 16-20 >=21 Unknown Total&
-------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- ---------------
State No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama 6,895 49.9 3,391 24.5 1,597 11.6 1,290 9.3 478 3.5 91 0.7 84 0.6 13,826 100.0
Alaska@ 933 43.6 566 26.5 387 18.1 214 10.0 23 1.1 9 0.4 7 0.3 2,139 100.0
Arizona** 5,529 50.2 2,652 24.1 1,151 10.4 920 8.4 428 3.9 34 0.3 302 2.7 11,016 100.0
Arkansas 2,926 49.7 1,233 21.0 631 10.7 352 6.0 233 4.0 15 0.3 492 8.4 5,882 100.0
Colorado 3,598 37.1 3,131 32.2 1,490 15.3 809 8.3 470 4.8 147 1.5 65 0.7 9,710 100.0
Connecticut** 7,673++ 54.4 3,173++ 22.5 1,540++ 10.9 950 6.7 348 2.5 6 0.0 404 2.9 14,094 100.0
Dist. of Columbia 2,760 41.0 1,938 28.8 1,007 15.0 480 7.1 218 3.2 3 0.0 328 4.9 6,734 100.0
Georgia 16,823 47.0 8,382 23.4 4,584 12.8 2,322 6.5 2,239 6.3 1,290 3.6 150 0.4 35,790 100.0
Hawaii** 2,375 48.3 1,221 24.8 559 11.4 290 5.9 264 5.4 39 0.8 168 3.4 4,916 100.0
Idaho 523 51.2 312 30.5 135 13.2 35 3.4 10 1.0 5 0.5 2 0.2 1,022 100.0
Indiana 8,490 63.6 2,935 22.0 1,306 9.8 222 1.7 133 1.0 0 0.0 255 1.9 13,341 100.0
Kansas** 6,019 56.3 1,596 14.9 987 9.2 563 5.3 552 5.2 895 8.4 73 0.7 10,685 100.0
Kentucky 3,383 48.3 1,563 22.3 886 12.7 485 6.9 424 6.1 123 1.8 136 1.9 7,000 100.0
Louisiana 4,657 39.2 3,370 28.4 1,626 13.7 1,078 9.1 687 5.8 335 2.8 112 0.9 11,865 100.0
Maine** 1,422 54.4 874 33.4 291 11.1 16 0.6 1 0.0 1 0.0 10 0.4 2,615 100.0
Maryland** 7,837 63.4 2,524 20.4 1,282 10.4 501 4.1 211 1.7 8 0.1 0 0.0 12,363 100.0
Michigan 18,639 61.7 5,335 17.7 2,719 9.0 2,029 6.7 1,259 4.2 213 0.7 14 0.0 30,208 100.0
Minnesota** 8,406 59.2 2,561 18.0 1,471 10.4 814 5.7 649 4.6 105 0.7 187 1.3 14,193 100.0
Mississippi 1,918 45.6 1,208 28.7 633 15.0 337 8.0 41 1.0 13 0.3 56 1.3 4,206 100.0
Missouri&& 5,473 47.1 3,286 28.3 1,676 14.4 703 6.0 396 3.4 87 0.7 8 0.1 11,629 100.0
Montana** 1,765 63.9 426 15.4 286 10.4 118 4.3 107 3.9 42 1.5 19 0.7 2,763 100.0
Nevada 3,857 55.4 1,339 19.2 911 13.1 450 6.5 327 4.7 41 0.6 40 0.6 6,965 100.0
New Jersey 16,445 51.6 5,845 18.3 2,168 6.8 2,963 9.3 3,250 10.2 798 2.5 391 1.2 31,860 100.0
New York 81,844 53.5 31,490 20.6 14,650 9.6 7,645 5.0 6,895 4.5 2,917 1.9 7,550 4.9 152,991 100.0
City 61,385 56.1 21,877 20.0 10,314 9.4 5,761 5.3 5,968 5.5 2,705 2.5 1,321 1.2 109,331 100.0
State 20,459 46.9 9,613 22.0 4,336 9.9 1,884 4.3 927 2.1 212 0.5 6,229 14.3 43,660 100.0
North Dakota** 750 58.1 258 20.0 153 11.9 119 9.2 8 0.6 1 0.1 2 0.2 1,291 100.0
Oregon** 8,105 58.9 2,796 20.3 1,249 9.1 713 5.2 642 4.7 242 1.8 20 0.1 13,767 100.0
Pennsylvania 19,152 50.4 9,653 25.4 4,640 12.2 2,639 6.9 1,628 4.3 280 0.7 12 0.0 38,004 100.0
Rhode Island 3,049 56.1 1,297 23.9 557 10.2 316 5.8 174 3.2 16 0.3 28 0.5 5,437 100.0
South Carolina 5,605 60.1 2,552 27.4 1,044 11.2 32 0.3 32 0.3 26 0.3 35 0.4 9,326 100.0
South Dakota 474 52.6 235 26.1 192 21.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 901 100.0
Tennessee** 9,468 52.6 4,821 26.8 2,780 15.5 773 4.3 60 0.3 30 0.2 57 0.3 17,989 100.0
Texas** 51,208 56.0 18,745 20.5 9,368 10.2 6,015 6.6 4,071 4.5 1,559 1.7 504 0.6 91,470 100.0
Utah 1,985 54.5 938 25.8 347 9.5 187 5.1 154 4.2 5 0.1 23 0.6 3,639 100.0
Vermont 1,341 62.7 499 23.3 214 10.0 74 3.5 5 0.2 6 0.3 0 0.0 2,139 100.0
Virginia** 16,354 63.5 5,907 22.9 2,585 10.0 381 1.5 252 1.0 80 0.3 211 0.8 25,770 100.0
Washington** 13,463 51.5 6,042 23.1 2,858 10.9 1,815 6.9 1,334 5.1 500 1.9 126 0.5 26,138 100.0
West Virginia@ 532 21.5 1,064 43.1 528 21.4 210 8.5 45 1.8 2 0.1 89 3.6 2,470 100.0
Wisconsin@@ 6,854 52.3 3,217 24.5 1,565 11.9 762 5.8 542 4.1 168 1.3 0 0.0 13,108 100.0
Wyoming@ 116 55.8 57 27.4 30 14.4 5 2.4 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 208 100.0
Total 358,646 53.6 148,432 22.2 72,083 10.8 39,627 5.9 28,590 4.3 10,132 1.5 11,960 1.8 669,470 100.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data for legal abortions obtained at <=8 weeks of gestation are presented in Table 7 by single weeks of gestation.
+ Data from 38 states, the District of Columbia ,and New York City; excludes three states where unknown gestational age was 15%.
& Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
@ Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates only if date of last menstrual period was unknown.
** Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates.
++ Number obtained at <=12 weeks of gestation was redistributed based on the national average.
&& Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates only if date of last menstrual period was unknown or unreliable.
@@ Includes residents only.
==========================================================================================================================================================
Return to top. Figure 6  Return to top. Table 7 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 7. Reported legal abortions obtained at <=8 weeks of gestation, by known weeks of gestation and state of occurrence
-- selected states,* United States, 1996
====================================================================================================================================================
Weeks of gestation
------------------------------------------------- Total obtained
<=6 7 8 at <=8 weeks of gestation+
-------------- -------------- -------------- --------------------------
State No. % No. % No. % No. %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama 2,099 15.2 2,457 17.8 2,339 16.9 6,895 49.9
Alaska& 132 6.2 412 19.3 389 18.2 933 43.7
Arizona@ 918 8.3 2,067 18.8 2,544 23.1 5,529 50.2
Arkansas 912 15.5 1,065 18.1 949 16.1 2,926 49.7
Colorado 813 8.4 948 9.8 1,837 18.9 3,598 37.1
Georgia 3,133 8.8 7,030 19.6 6,660 18.6 16,823 47.0
Hawaii@ 348 7.1 846 17.2 1,181 24.0 237 48.3
Idaho 139 13.6 158 15.5 226 22.1 523 51.2
Indiana 3,791 28.4 2,382 17.9 2,317 17.4 8,490 63.7
Kansas@ 2,213 20.7 2,181 20.4 1,625 15.2 6,019 56.3
Kentucky 1,024 14.6 1,228 17.5 1,131 16.2 3,833 48.3
Louisiana 927 7.8 1,238 10.4 2,492 21.0 4,657 39.2
Maine@ 134 5.1 515 19.7 773 29.6 1,422 54.4
Maryland@ 3,502 28.3 1,748 14.1 2,587 20.9 7,837 63.3
Michigan 7,290 24.1 5,461 18.1 5,888 19.5 18,639 61.7
Minnesota@ 1,988 14.0 3,461 24.4 2,957 20.8 8,406 59.2
Mississippi 262 6.2 781 18.6 875 20.8 1,918 45.6
Missouri** 1,275 11.0 2,124 18.3 2,074 17.8 5,473 47.1
Montana@ 954 34.5 409 14.8 402 14.5 1,765 63.8
Nevada 516 7.4 1,625 23.3 1,716 24.6 3,857 55.3
New Jersey 6,016 18.9 3,957 12.4 6,472 20.3 16,445 51.6
New York 27,312 17.9 26,134 17.1 28,398 18.6 81,844 53.6
City 21,696 19.8 18,456 16.9 21,233 19.4 61,385 56.1
State 5,616 12.9 7,678 17.6 7,165 16.4 20,459 46.9
North Dakota@ 93 7.2 376 29.1 281 21.8 750 58.1
Oregon@ 1,620 11.8 3,029 22.0 3,456 25.1 8,105 58.9
Pennsylvania 4,874 12.8 5,383 14.2 8,895 23.4 19,152 50.4
Rhode Island 748 13.8 1,122 20.6 1,179 21.7 3,049 56.1
South Carolina 1,969 21.1 1,576 16.9 2,060 22.1 5,605 60.1
South Dakota 42 4.7 217 24.1 215 23.9 474 52.7
Tennessee@ 1,881 10.5 3,207 17.8 4,380 24.3 9,468 52.6
Texas@ 17,262 18.9 15,247 16.7 18,699 20.4 51,208 56.0
Utah 752 20.7 645 17.7 588 16.2 1,985 54.6
Vermont 372 17.4 530 24.8 439 20.5 1,341 62.7
Virginia@ 3,625 14.1 4,083 15.8 8,646 33.6 16,354 63.5
Washington@ 3,127 12.0 4,853 18.6 5,483 21.0 13,463 51.6
West Virginia 17 0.7 67 2.7 448 18.1 532 21.5
Wyoming& 18 8.7 46 22.1 52 25.0 116 55.8
Total 102,098 16.1 108,608 17.1 130,653 20.6 341,359 53.8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 36 states and New York City; excludes three areas where unknown gestational age was 15% and three areas that were included in Table 6
but did not provide single weeks of gestation for abortions obtained at <=8 weeks.
+ Percentages might not add to total percentage obtained at <=8 weeks because of rounding.
& Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates only if date of last menstrual period was unknown.
@ Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates.
** Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates only if date of last menstrual period was unknown or unreliable.
====================================================================================================================================================
Return to top. Table 8 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 8. Reported legal abortions, by type of procedure and state of occurrence - selected states,* United States, 1996
=========================================================================================================================================================================================
Procedure
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intrauterine
Suction Sharp saline Prostaglandin Hysterotomy/
curettage curettage All curettage instillation instillation Hysterectomy Other+ Unknown Total&
--------------- ------------- --------------- ------------- -------------- -------------- ------------ ------------ ---------------
State No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama 13,279@ 96.0 11 0.1 13,290 96.1 7 0.1 15 0.1 0 0.0 15 0.1 499 3.6 13,826 100.0
Arizona 10,935 99.3 0 0.0 10,935 99.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 81 0.7 11,016 100.0
Arkansas 5,845@ 99.4 30 0.5 5,875 99.9 2 0.0 3 0.1 0 0.0 2 0.0 0 0.0 5,882 100.0
Colorado 9,298@ 95.8 4 0.0 9,302 95.8 1 0.0 10 0.1 1 0.0 295 3.0 101 1.0 9,710 100.0
Connecticut 13,996 99.3 81 0.6 14,077 99.9 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0.0 16 0.1 14,094 100.0
Dist. of
Columbia** 6,732 100.0 0 0.0 6,732 100.0 0 0.0 2 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 6,734 100.0
Georgia 35,663@ 99.6 24 0.1 35,687 99.7 9 0.0 44 0.1 0 0.0 50 0.1 0 0.0 35,790 100.0
Hawaii 4,898 99.6 6 0.1 4,904 99.8 0 0.0 2 0.0 0 0.0 5 0.1 5 0.1 4,916 100.0
Idaho 1,005@ 98.3 2 0.2 1,007 98.5 1 0.1 3 0.3 1 0.1 10 1.0 0 0.0 1,022 100.0
Indiana 12,772@ 95.7 122 0.9 12,894 96.6 0 0.0 1 0.0 0 0.0 219 1.6 227 1.7 13,341 100.0
Kansas 9,590@ 89.8 338 3.2 9,928 91.0 0 0.0 3 0.0 0 0.0 706 6.4 48 0.4 10,685 100.0
Kentucky 6,755@ 96.5 123 1.8 6,878 98.3 6 0.1 3 0.0 0 0.0 2 0.0 111 1.6 7,000 100.0
Louisiana 10,534 88.8 15 0.1 10,549 88.9 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 10 0.1 1,306 11.0 11,865 100.0
Maine 2,562@ 98.0 4 0.2 2,566 98.1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 0.2 45 1.7 2,615 100.0
Maryland 12,163 98.4 79 0.6 12,242 99.0 11 0.1 25 0.2 0 0.0 85 0.7 0 0.0 12,363 100.0
Massachusetts 28,055 95.8 111 0.4 28,166 96.2 103 0.4 838 2.9 0 0.0 186 0.6 0 0.0 29,293 100.0
Michigan 29,727 98.4 405 1.3 30,132 99.7 0 0.0 54 0.2 0 0.0 22 0.1 0 0.0 30,208 100.0
Minnesota 14,109@ 99.4 6 0.0 14,115 99.5 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 8 0.1 70 0.5 14,193 100.0
Mississippi 4,155@ 98.8 1 0.0 4,156 98.8 0 0.0 21 0.5 1 0.0 28 0.7 0 0.0 4,206 100.0
Missouri 11,576@ 99.5 4 0.0 11,580 99.6 0 0.0 3 0.0 0 0.0 24 0.2 22 0.2 11,629 100.0
Montana 2,752@ 99.6 1 0.0 2,753 99.6 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 7 0.3 3 0.1 2,763 100.0
Nebraska 5,161 89.5 550 9.5 5,711 99.1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 49 0.9 4 0.1 5,764++ 100.0
Nevada 6,495 93.3 442 6.3 6,937 99.6 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 27 0.4 6,965 100.0
New Jersey 18,758@ 58.9 12,217 38.3 27,705 97.2 261 0.8 86 0.3 10 0.0 7 0.0 521 1.6 31,860 100.0
New Mexico 4,973@ 98.8 32 0.6 5,005 99.4 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 27 0.5 1 0.0 5,033 100.0
New York 148,370@ 97.0 1,690 1.1 150,060 98.1 637 0.4 261 0.2 3 0.0 743 0.5 1,291 0.8 152,995++ 100.0
City 106,336@ 97.3 1,500 1.4 107,836 98.6 617 0.6 104 0.1 3 0.0 175 0.1 596 0.5 109,331 100.0
State 42,034@ 96.3 190 0.4 42,224 96.7 20 0.0 157 0.4 -- -- 568&& 1.3 695 1.6 43,664++ 100.0
North Carolina 31,381@ 93.5 72 0.2 31,453 93.7 95 0.3 36 0.1 8 0.0 201 0.6 1,766 5.3 33,554 100.0
North Dakota 1,289 99.8 0 0.0 1,289 99.8 0 0.0 2 0.2 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1,291 100.0
Oregon 13,679@ 99.4 3 0.0 13,682 99.4 1 0.0 1 0.0 1 0.0 80 0.6 2 0.0 13,767 100.0
Pennsylvania 37,468@ 98.6 13 0.0 37,481 98.6 7 0.0 13 0.0 1 0.0 502 1.3 0 0.0 38,004 100.0
Rhode Island 5,384@ 99.0 30 0.6 5,414 99.6 0 0.0 3 0.1 1 0.0 17 0.3 2 0.0 5,437 100.0
South Carolina 9,245@ 99.1 16 0.2 9,261 99.3 0 0.0 28 0.3 1 0.0 29 0.3 7 0.1 9,326 100.0
South Dakota 901 100.0 0 0.0 901 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 901 100.0
Tennessee 17,907@ 99.5 6 0.0 17,913 99.6 1 0.0 62 0.3 1 0.0 0 0.0 12 0.1 17,989 100.0
Texas 89,128@@ 97.4 0 0.0 89,128 97.4 0 0.0 254*** 0.3 11 0.0 1,947+++ 2.1 130 0.1 91,470 100.0
Utah 3,225@ 88.6 395 10.9 3,620 99.5 0 0.0 3 0.1 3 0.1 6 0.2 9 0.2 3,639 100.0
Vermont 2,124 99.3 1 0.0 2,125 99.3 0 0.0 2 0.1 0 0.0 12 0.6 0 0.0 2,139 100.0
Virginia 25,339@ 98.3 16 0.1 25,355 98.4 19 0.1 49 0.2 2 0.0 37 0.1 308 1.2 25,770 100.0
Washington 25,828@ 98.8 6 0.0 25,834 98.8 2 0.0 61 0.2 3 0.0 154 0.6 86 0.3 26,140++ 100.0
Wyoming 203 97.6 0 0.0 203 97.6 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 5 2.4 208 100.0
Total 693,259 95.6 16,856 2.3 710,115 97.9 1,164 0.2 1,888 0.3 41 0.0 5,490 0.7 6,705 0.9 725,403 100.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 39 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City; excludes two states where unknown type of procedure used was >15%.
+ Includes instillation procedures not reported as a specific category, procedures reported as medical (nonsurgical), and procedures reported as "other."
& Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
@ Includes dilatation and evacuation procedures.
** Includes residents only.
++ Does not add to total abortions reported because of some reported combination procedures.
&& Hysterotomy/hysterectomy included with "other."
@@ Includes all curettage.
*** Includes all chemical inductions.
+++ Hysterectomy included with "other."
-- Not reported.
=========================================================================================================================================================================================
Return to top. Table 9 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 9. Reported legal abortions, by race of women who obtained abortions and
state of occurrence -- selected states,* United States, 1996
========================================================================================================
Race
-----------------------------------------------------------------
White Black Other Unknown Total+
-------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- ---------------
State No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama 7,200 52.1 6,318 45.7 181 1.3 127 0.9 13,826 100.0
Arizona 8,466 76.9 553 5.0 837 7.6 1,160 10.5 11,016 100.0
Arkansas 3,745 63.7 1,992 33.9 92 1.6 53 0.9 5,882 100.0
Georgia 15,734 44.0 18,157 50.7 945 2.6 954 2.7 35,790 100.0
Hawaii 1,311 26.7 134 2.7 3,127 63.6 344 7.0 4,916 100.0
Idaho 971 95.0 9 0.9 39 3.8 3 0.3 1,022 100.0
Indiana 8,773 65.8 3,357 25.2 237 1.8 974 7.3 13,341 100.0
Kansas 8,215 76.9 1,821 17.0 595 5.6 54 0.5 10,685 100.0
Kentucky 5,183 74.0 1,397 20.0 288 4.1 132 1.9 7,000 100.0
Louisiana 5,663 47.7 5,925& 49.9 -- -- 277 2.3 11,865 100.0
Maine 2,420 92.5 28 1.1 103 3.9 64 2.4 2,615 100.0
Maryland 5,033 40.7 6,384 51.6 745 6.0 201 1.6 12,363 100.0
Minnesota 10,636 74.9 1,836 12.9 1,444 10.2 277 2.0 14,193 100.0
Mississippi 1,340 31.9 2,805 66.7 54 1.3 7 0.2 4,206 100.0
Missouri 7,271 62.5 3,839 33.0 472 4.1 47 0.4 11,629 100.0
Montana 2,375 86.0 10 0.4 201 7.3 177 6.4 2,763 100.0
Nevada 5,726 82.2 527 7.6 373 5.4 339 4.9 6,965 100.0
New Jersey 11,250 35.3 14,235 44.7 5,035 15.8 1,340 4.2 31,860 100.0
New Mexico 4,315 85.7 165 3.3 553 11.0 0 0.0 5,033 100.0
New York City 42,267 38.7 53,338 48.8 4,681 4.3 9,045 8.3 109,331 100.0
North Carolina 17,215 51.3 13,715 40.9 1,890 5.6 734 2.2 33,554 100.0
North Dakota 1,162 90.0 19 1.5 109 8.4 1 0.1 1,291 100.0
Ohio 22,438 61.4 11,563 31.7 1,522 4.2 1,007 2.8 36,530 100.0
Oregon 11,913 86.5 738 5.4 966 7.0 150 1.1 13,767 100.0
Pennsylvania 22,102 58.2 14,727 38.8 1,144 3.0 31 0.1 38,004 100.0
Rhode Island 4,306 79.2 730 13.4 294 5.4 107 2.0 5,437 100.0
South Carolina 5,086 54.5 4,037 43.3 202 2.2 1 0.0 9,326 100.0
South Dakota 796 88.3 20 2.2 85 9.4 0 0.0 901 100.0
Tennessee 10,441 58.0 7,018 39.0 466 2.6 64 0.4 17,989 100.0
Texas 64,064 70.0 19,591 21.4 4,140 4.5 3,675 4.0 91,470 100.0
Utah 2,936 80.7 66 1.8 388 10.7 249 6.8 3,639 100.0
Vermont 2,074 97.0 21 1.0 40 1.9 4 0.2 2,139 100.0
Virginia 14,205 55.1 9,687 37.6 1,585 6.2 293 1.1 25,770 100.0
West Virginia 2,202 89.1 234 9.5 34 1.4 0 0.0 2,470 100.0
Wisconsin@ 9,561 72.9 2,835 21.6 703** 5.4 9** 0.1 13,108 100.0
Total 348,395 57.0 207,831 34.0 33,570 5.5 21,900 3.6 611,696 100.0
Ratio++ 202 555&& 360&& 267
Rate@@ 12 31*** 25*** 15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 34 states and New York City; excludes six areas where unknown race was >15%.
+ Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
& Reported as black and "other" races.
@ Includes residents only.
** Women of some "other" races are included with "unknown."
++ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given race per 1,000
live births to women of the same race for these states. For each state, data for women of
unknown race were distributed according to the known racial distribution for that state.
&& Ratios for black and "other" races exclude Louisiana because abortions for blacks and
others were grouped together.
@@ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given race per 1,000
women aged 15-44 years of the same race for these states. For each state, data for women
of unknown race were distributed according to the known racial distribution for that state.
*** Rates for black and "other" races exclude Louisiana because abortions for blacks and
others were grouped together.
-- Not reported.
========================================================================================================
Return to top. Table 10 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 10. Reported legal abortions, by Hispanic ethnicity of women who obtained
abortions and state of occurrence -- selected states,* United States, 1996
================================================================================================
Ethnicity
----------------------------------------------------
Hispanic Non-Hispanic Unknown Total+
------------- -------------- ------------- ---------------
State No. % No. % No. % No. %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama 241 1.7 12,985 93.9 600 4.3 13,826 100.0
Arizona 2,693 24.4 7,163 65.0 1,160 10.5 11,016 100.0
Arkansas 47 0.8 5,457 92.8 378 6.4 5,882 100.0
Georgia 760 2.1 33,449 93.5 1,581 4.4 35,790 100.0
Idaho 96 9.4 918 89.8 8 0.8 1,022 100.0
Kansas 510 4.8 9,891 92.6 284 2.7 10,685 100.0
Minnesota 366 2.6 13,550 95.5 277 2.0 14,193 100.0
Mississippi 13 0.3 4,184 99.5 9 0.2 4,206 100.0
Missouri 211 1.8 11,043 95.0 375 3.2 11,629 100.0
New Jersey 5,930 18.6 24,602 77.2 1,328 4.2 31,860 100.0
New Mexico 2,195 43.6 2,838 56.4 0 0.0 5,033 100.0
New York City 29,237 26.7 66,716 61.0 13,378 12.2 109,331 100.0
North Dakota 25 1.9 1,142 88.5 124 9.6 1,291 100.0
Ohio 542 1.5 34,981 95.8 1,007 2.8 36,530 100.0
Oregon 991 7.2 12,727 92.4 49 0.4 13,767 100.0
Pennsylvania 1,391 3.7 36,591 96.3 22 0.1 38,004 100.0
South Carolina 121 1.3 9,203 98.7 2 0.0 9,326 100.0
South Dakota 25 2.8 876 97.2 0 0.0 901 100.0
Tennessee 191 1.1 17,769 98.8 29 0.2 17,989 100.0
Texas 27,157 29.7 60,638 66.3 3,675 4.0 91,470 100.0
Utah 397 10.9 3,173 87.2 69 1.9 3,639 100.0
Vermont 8 0.4 2,124 99.3 7 0.3 2,139 100.0
Wisconsin& 622 4.7 12,486 95.3 0 0.0 13,108 100.0
Total 73,769 15.3 384,506 79.7 24,362 5.0 482,637 100.0
Ratio@ 276 282 281
Rate** 20 15 15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 22 states and New York City; excludes 15 areas where unknown Hispanic ethnicity
was >15%.
+ Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
& Includes residents only.
@ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given ethnicity per
1,000 live births to women of the same ethnicity for these states. For each state, data for
women of unknown ethnicity were distributed according to the known ethnicity distribution
for that state.
** Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given ethnicity per
1,000 women aged 15-44 years of the same ethnicity for these states. For each state, data
for women of unknown ethnicity were distributed according to the known ethnicity
distribution for that state.
================================================================================================
Return to top. Table 11 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 11. Reported legal abortions, by marital status of women who obtained
abortions and state of occurrence -- selected states,* United States, 1996
================================================================================================
Marital status
-------------------------------------------------------
Married+ Unmarried& Unknown Total@
-------------- -------------- -------------- ---------------
State No. % No. % No. % No. %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama 2,219 16.0 11,550 83.5 57 0.4 13,826 100.0
Arkansas 1,156 19.7 4,569 77.7 157 2.7 5,882 100.0
Colorado 1,887 19.4 7,675 79.0 148 1.5 9,710 100.0
Georgia 6,584 18.4 28,960 80.9 246 0.7 35,790 100.0
Hawaii 978 19.9 3,898 79.3 40 0.8 4,916 100.0
Idaho 212 20.7 808 79.1 2 0.2 1,022 100.0
Illinois 9,145 17.1 42,971 80.2 1,497 2.8 53,613 100.0
Indiana 1,964 14.7 9,982 74.8 1,395 10.5 13,341 100.0
Kansas 2,258 21.1 8,379 78.4 48 0.4 10,685 100.0
Kentucky 1,152 16.5 5,651 80.7 197 2.8 7,000 100.0
Maryland 2,171 17.6 9,799 79.3 393 3.2 12,363 100.0
Michigan 5,009 16.6 25,046 82.9 153 0.5 30,208 100.0
Minnesota 2,744 19.3 11,135 78.5 314 2.2 14,193 100.0
Mississippi 609 14.5 3,580 85.1 17 0.4 4,206 100.0
Missouri 2,465 21.2 8,956 77.0 208 1.8 11,629 100.0
Montana 484 17.5 2,123 76.8 156 5.6 2,763 100.0
Nevada 1,694 24.3 5,184 74.4 87 1.2 6,965 100.0
New Jersey 5,801 18.2 25,925 81.4 134 0.4 31,860 100.0
New Mexico 834 16.6 4,164 82.7 35 0.7 5,033 100.0
New York City 21,770 19.9 81,300 74.4 6,261 5.7 109,331 100.0
North Dakota 251 19.4 1,039 80.5 1 0.1 1,291 100.0
Ohio 6,353 17.4 29,204 79.9 973 2.7 36,530 100.0
Oregon 3,135 22.8 10,419 75.7 213 1.5 13,767 100.0
Pennsylvania 6,615 17.4 31,365 82.5 24 0.1 38,004 100.0
Rhode Island 1,096 20.2 4,226 77.7 115 2.1 5,437 100.0
South Carolina 1,741 18.7 7,561 81.1 24 0.3 9,326 100.0
South Dakota 175 19.4 726 80.6 0 0.0 901 100.0
Tennessee 3,460 19.2 14,443 80.3 86 0.5 17,989 100.0
Texas 19,243 21.0 67,799 74.1 4,428 4.8 91,470 100.0
Utah 1,449 39.8 2,190 60.2 0 0.0 3,639 100.0
Vermont 457 21.4 1,557 72.8 125 5.8 2,139 100.0
West Virginia 433 17.5 2,037 82.5 0 0.0 2,470 100.0
Wisconsin** 2,634 20.1 10,457 79.8 17 0.1 13,108 100.0
Wyoming 31 14.9 177 85.1 0 0.0 208 100.0
Total 118,209 19.0 484,855 78.1 17,551 2.8 620,615 100.0
Ratio++ 78 655 268
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 33 states and New York City; excludes seven areas where unknown marital status
was >15%.
+ Includes married and separated.
& Includes never married, divorced, and widowed women.
@ Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
** Includes residents only.
++ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given marital status
per 1,000 live births to women of the same marital status for these states. For each state,
data for women of unknown marital status were distributed according to the known marital
status distribution for that state.
================================================================================================
Return to top. Table 12 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 12. Reported legal abortions, by number of previous live births and state of occurrence -- selected states,* United
States, 1996
==========================================================================================================================================================
No. of previous live births
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 1 2 3 >=4 Unknown Total+
-------------- -------------- -------------- ------------ ------------ ------------- ---------------
State No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama 6,427 46.5 4,004 29.0 2,372 17.2 684 4.9 247 1.8 92 0.7 13,826 100.0
Arizona 4,892 44.4 2,763 25.1 1,985 18.0 895 8.1 481 4.4 0 0.0 11,016 100.0
Arkansas 2,547 43.3 1,689 28.7 1,064 18.1 393 6.7 167 2.8 22 0.4 5,882 100.0
Colorado 5,551 57.2 1,973 20.3 1,439 14.8 508 5.2 239 2.5 0 0.0 9,710 100.0
Georgia 16,493 46.1 9,885 27.6 6,173 17.2 2,017 5.6 917 2.6 305 0.9 35,790 100.0
Hawaii 2,587 52.6 1,050 21.4 758 15.4 304 6.2 181 3.7 36 0.7 4,916 100.0
Idaho 529 51.8 208 20.4 170 16.6 86 8.4 23 2.3 6 0.6 1,022 100.0
Indiana& 5,661 42.4 3,713 27.8 2,555 19.2 877 6.6 374 2.8 161 1.2 13,341 100.0
Kansas 5,169 48.4 2,631 24.6 1,863 17.4 652 6.1 322 3.0 48 0.4 10,685 100.0
Kentucky 3,189 45.6 1,930 27.6 1,136 16.2 351 5.0 185 2.6 209 3.0 7,000 100.0
Maine 1,374 52.5 598 22.9 423 16.2 136 5.2 63 2.4 21 0.8 2,615 100.0
Maryland 5,408 43.7 3,657 29.6 2,149 17.4 794 6.4 355 2.9 0 0.0 12,363 100.0
Michigan 13,030 43.1 8,079 26.7 5,732 19.0 2,238 7.4 1,062 3.5 67 0.2 30,208 100.0
Minnesota 6,784 47.8 3,191 22.5 2,427 17.1 1,024 7.2 726 5.1 41 0.3 14,193 100.0
Mississippi 1,769 42.1 1,286 30.6 755 18.0 273 6.5 121 2.9 2 0.0 4,206 100.0
Missouri 4,887 42.0 3,150 27.1 2,276 19.6 882 7.6 434 3.7 0 0.0 11,629 100.0
Montana 1,502 54.4 569 20.6 417 15.1 178 6.4 96 3.5 1 0.0 2,763 100.0
Nebraska 2,520 48.3 1,222 23.4 865 16.6 392 7.5 215 4.1 0 0.0 5,214 100.0
Nevada 3,112 44.7 1,735 24.9 1,341 19.3 526 7.6 235 3.4 16 0.2 6,965 100.0
New Jersey 10,686 33.5 9,405 29.5 6,586 20.7 2,556 8.0 1,394 4.4 1,233 3.9 31,860 100.0
New Mexico 2,327 46.2 1,356 26.9 847 16.8 314 6.2 185 3.7 4 0.1 5,033 100.0
New York 53,804 35.2 38,773 25.3 29,335 19.2 12,576 8.2 7,656 5.0 10,847 7.1 152,991 100.0
City 34,976 32.0 30,156 27.6 22,736 20.8 9,986 9.1 6,420 5.9 5,057 4.6 109,331 100.0
State 18,828 43.1 8,617 19.7 6,599 15.1 2,590 5.9 1,236 2.8 5,790 13.3 43,660 100.0
North Carolina 15,247 45.4 8,532 25.4 4,805 14.3 1,580 4.7 663 2.0 2,727 8.1 33,554 100.0
North Dakota 689 53.4 274 21.2 191 14.8 90 7.0 47 3.6 0 0.0 1,291 100.0
Ohio 16,015 43.8 10,064 27.5 6,856 18.8 2,489 6.8 1,092 3.0 14 0.0 36,530 100.0
Oregon 6,578 47.8 3,365 24.4 2,500 18.2 878 6.4 408 3.0 38 0.3 13,767 100.0
Pennsylvania 16,426 43.2 10,271 27.0 7,071 18.6 2,722 7.2 1,476 3.9 38 0.1 38,004 100.0
Rhode Island& 2,635 48.5 1,290 23.7 956 17.6 342 6.3 176 3.2 38 0.7 5,437 100.0
South Carolina 4,507 48.3 2,477 26.6 1,611 17.3 521 5.6 201 2.2 9 0.1 9,326 100.0
South Dakota& 459 50.9 190 21.1 143 15.9 75 8.3 34 3.8 0 0.0 901 100.0
Tennessee 7,605 42.3 5,499 30.6 3,282 18.2 1,098 6.1 496 2.8 9 0.1 17,989 100.0
Texas 43,551 47.6 23,646 25.9 15,551 17.0 5,763 6.3 2,878 3.1 81 0.1 91,470 100.0
Utah 1,635 44.9 869 23.9 690 19.0 254 7.0 134 3.7 57 1.6 3,639 100.0
Vermont 1,205 56.3 428 20.0 342 16.0 121 5.7 42 2.0 1 0.0 2,139 100.0
Virginia 12,245 47.5 6,760 26.2 4,239 16.4 1,384 5.4 580 2.3 562 2.2 25,770 100.0
Washington 12,276 47.0 6,465 24.7 4,721 18.1 1,701 6.5 839 3.2 136 0.5 26,138 100.0
West Virginia 1,160 47.0 721 29.2 427 17.3 116 4.7 46 1.9 0 0.0 2,470 100.0
Wyoming 96 46.2 47 22.6 40 19.2 16 7.7 7 3.4 2 1.0 208 100.0
Total 302,577 43.1 183,765 26.2 126,093 18.0 47,806 6.8 24,797 3.5 16,823 2.4 701,861 100.0
Ratio@ 287 223 311 315 249 270
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 38 states and New York City; excludes three states where number of unknown previous live births was >15%.
+ Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
& Indicates number of living children.
@ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women with a given number of previous live births per 1,000 live births to women with the
same number of previous live births for these states. For each state, data for women whose number of previous live births was unknown were distributed
according to the known number of previous live births for that state. Ratios exclude Maryland and Rhode Island because the number of previous live
births was unknown for these areas.
==========================================================================================================================================================
Return to top. Table 13 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 13. Reported legal abortions, by number of previous legal induced abortions and state of occurrence -- selected
states,* United States, 1996
============================================================================================================================
No. of previous induced abortions
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 1 2 >=3 Unknown Total+
-------------- -------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- ---------------
State No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama 9,017 65.2 3,365 24.3 966 7.0 368 2.7 110 0.8 13,826 100.0
Arizona 6,804 61.8 2,841 25.8 914 8.3 457 4.1 0 0.0 11,016 100.0
Arkansas 3,899 66.3 1,420 24.1 378 6.4 154 2.6 31 0.5 5,882 100.0
Colorado 6,397 65.9 2,298 23.7 716 7.4 299 3.1 0 0.0 9,710 100.0
Georgia 20,070 56.1 9,896 27.7 3,556 9.9 1,892 5.3 376 1.1 35,790 100.0
Hawaii 1,689 34.4 1,708 34.7 858 17.5 619 12.6 42 0.9 4,916 100.0
Idaho 744 72.8 202 19.8 53 5.2 17 1.7 6 0.6 1,022 100.0
Indiana 8,307 62.3 3,366 25.2 982 7.4 449 3.4 237 1.8 13,341 100.0
Kansas 7,536 70.5 2,174 20.3 678 6.3 275 2.6 22 0.2 10,685 100.0
Kentucky 4,385 62.6 1,598 22.8 464 6.6 216 3.1 337 4.8 7,000 100.0
Maine 1,625 62.1 636 24.3 216 8.3 117 4.5 21 0.8 2,615 100.0
Maryland 3,712 30.0 4,564 36.9 2,534 20.5 1,553 12.6 0 0.0 12,363 100.0
Michigan 15,727 52.1 8,075 26.7 3,729 12.3 2,551 8.4 126 0.4 30,208 100.0
Minnesota 8,558 60.3 3,526 24.8 1,260 8.9 808 5.7 41 0.3 14,193 100.0
Mississippi 2,768 65.8 1,003 23.8 311 7.4 122 2.9 2 0.0 4,206 100.0
Missouri 6,917 59.5 3,159 27.2 1,048 9.0 505 4.3 0 0.0 11,629 100.0
Montana 1,587 57.4 741 26.8 264 9.6 169 6.1 2 0.1 2,763 100.0
Nebraska 3,139 60.2 1,282 24.6 445 8.5 338 6.5 10 0.2 5,214 100.0
Nevada 3,424 49.2 1,965 28.2 889 12.8 629 9.0 58 0.8 6,965 100.0
New Jersey 13,300 41.7 9,072 28.5 4,372 13.7 3,255 10.2 1,861 5.8 31,860 100.0
New Mexico 3,373 67.0 1,090 21.7 361 7.2 187 3.7 22 0.4 5,033 100.0
New York 62,018 40.5 41,260 27.0 23,561 15.4 19,258 12.6 6,894 4.5 152,991 100.0
City 39,624 36.2 31,560 28.9 19,445 17.8 16,833 15.4 1,869 1.7 109,331 100.0
State 22,394 51.3 9,700 22.2 4,116 9.4 2,425 5.6 5,025 11.5 43,660 100.0
North Carolina 19,751 58.9 8,314 24.8 2,561 7.6 1,160 3.5 1,768 5.3 33,554 100.0
North Dakota 904 70.0 269 20.8 80 6.2 38 2.9 0 0.0 1,291 100.0
Oregon 7,857 57.1 3,605 26.2 1,407 10.2 865 6.3 33 0.2 13,767 100.0
Pennsylvania 21,454 56.5 10,394 27.3 3,937 10.4 2,150 5.7 69 0.2 38,004 100.0
Rhode Island 3,103 57.1 1,379 25.4 573 10.5 318 5.8 64 1.2 5,437 100.0
South Carolina 6,010 64.4 2,327 25.0 725 7.8 264 2.8 0 0.0 9,326 100.0
South Dakota 671 74.5 186 20.6 32 3.6 12 1.3 0 0.0 901 100.0
Tennessee 10,369 57.6 4,832 26.9 1,812 10.1 962 5.3 14 0.1 17,989 100.0
Texas 57,328 62.7 22,950 25.1 7,280 8.0 3,531 3.9 381 0.4 91,470 100.0
Utah 2,372 65.2 809 22.2 272 7.5 151 4.1 35 1.0 3,639 100.0
Vermont 1,291 60.4 517 24.2 187 8.7 142 6.6 2 0.1 2,139 100.0
Virginia 15,020 58.3 7,078 27.5 2,373 9.2 1,026 4.0 273 1.1 25,770 100.0
Washington 13,701 52.4 7,111 27.2 3,001 11.5 2,165 8.3 160 0.6 26,138 100.0
West Virginia 1,678 67.9 566 22.9 168 6.8 58 2.3 0 0.0 2,470 100.0
Wyoming 135 64.9 45 21.6 16 7.7 10 4.8 2 1.0 208 100.0
Total 356,640 53.6 175,623 26.4 72,979 11.0 47,090 7.1 12,999 2.0 665,331 100.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 37 states and New York City; excludes four states where number of unknown previous induced abortions was >15%.
+ Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
============================================================================================================================
Return to top. Table 14 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 14. Reported legal abortions, by known race, age group, and marital status of
women who obtained abortions -- United States, 1996
============================================================================================
Race
---------------------------------
White Black/Other Total
Age group (yrs)/ --------------- --------------- ----------------
Marital status No. % No. % No. %
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age group
<15 2,019 0.6 2,500 1.0 4,519 0.8
15-19 69,406 20.0 43,073 17.9 112,479 19.2
20-24 109,177 31.5 79,378 33.0 188,555 32.1
25-29 77,783 22.4 59,270 24.7 137,053 23.3
30-34 48,371 13.9 33,950 14.1 82,321 14.0
35-39 30,403 8.8 17,223 7.2 47,626 8.1
>=40 9,631 2.8 5,036 2.1 14,667 2.5
Total* 346,790 100.0 240,430 100.0 587,220 100.0
Marital status
Married 68,398 23.2 34,294 17.0 102,692 20.7
Unmarried 226,303 76.8 167,126 83.0 393,429 79.3
Total+ 294,701 100.0 201,420 100.0 496,121 100.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 34 states and New York City; excludes four states where unknown race was >15%.
+ Data from 29 states and New York City; excludes six states where unknown race or marital
status was >15%.
============================================================================================
Return to top. Table 15 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 15. Reported legal abortions, by known Hispanic ethnicity, age group, and
marital status of women who obtained abortions -- United States, 1996
================================================================================================
Hispanic ethnicity
----------------------------------
Hispanic Non-Hispanic Total
Age group (yrs)/ -------------- --------------- ---------------
Marital status No. % No. % No. %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age group
<15 476 0.6 2,919 0.8 3,395 0.7
15-19 14,176 19.3 71,980 18.8 86,156 18.9
20-24 24,753 33.7 121,588 31.7 146,341 32.0
25-29 17,593 24.0 89,781 23.4 107,374 23.5
30-34 9,984 13.6 54,688 14.3 64,672 14.2
35-39 5,046 6.9 32,211 8.4 37,257 8.2
>=40 1,426 1.9 10,120 2.6 11,546 2.5
Total* 73,454 100.0 383,287 100.0 456,741 100.0
Marital status
Married 15,733 22.8 72,829 19.7 88,562 20.1
Unmarried 53,324 77.2 297,699 80.3 351,023 79.9
Total+ 69,057 100.0 370,528 100.0 439,585 100.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 22 states and New York City; excludes 13 states where unknown ethnicity was >15%.
+ Data from 21 states and New York City; excludes 11 states where unknown ethnicity or marital
status was >15%.
================================================================================================
Return to top. Table 16 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 16. Reported legal abortions, by known weeks of gestation, age group, race, and Hispanic ethnicity of women who
obtained abortions -- United States, 1996
===============================================================================================================================================
Weeks of gestation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age group (yrs)/ <=8 9-10 11-12 13-15 16-20 >=21 Total*
Race/Hispanic -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- ------------- ------------ ---------------
ethnicity No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age group
<15 1,741 35.9 1,080 22.3 760 15.7 560 11.5 462 9.5 246 5.1 4,849 100.0
15-19 55,869 45.2 29,902 24.2 16,931 13.7 10,172 8.2 7,697 6.2 3,113 2.5 123,684 100.0
20-24 107,128 53.2 46,629 23.1 23,363 11.6 12,824 6.4 8,535 4.2 2,945 1.5 201,424 100.0
25-29 86,139 58.5 32,232 21.9 14,216 9.7 7,463 5.1 5,306 3.6 1,846 1.3 147,202 100.0
30-34 54,252 60.3 19,068 21.2 8,232 9.1 4,157 4.6 3,205 3.6 1,092 1.2 90,006 100.0
35-39 31,823 61.1 10,826 20.8 4,546 8.7 2,238 4.3 2,032 3.9 652 1.3 52,117 100.0
>=40 10,072 63.3 3,091 19.4 1,200 7.5 647 4.1 705 4.4 200 1.3 15,915 100.0
Total+ 347,024 54.6 142,828 22.5 69,248 10.9 38,061 6.0 27,942 4.4 10,094 1.6 635,197 100.0
Race
White 158,278 55.9 64,049 22.6 29,677 10.5 15,504 5.5 11,289 4.0 4,235 1.5 283,032 100.0
Black 88,513 49.8 41,944 23.6 22,219 12.5 12,460 7.0 9,377 5.3 3,353 1.9 177,866 100.0
Other 17,557 61.5 5,394 18.9 2,226 7.8 1,495 5.2 1,405 4.9 451 1.6 28,528 100.0
Total& 264,348 54.0 111,387 22.8 54,122 11.1 29,459 6.0 22,071 4.5 8,039 1.6 489,426 100.0
Hispanic ethnicity
Hispanic 39,151 56.0 15,073 21.6 7,053 10.1 4,413 6.3 3,247 4.6 971 1.4 69,908 100.0
Non-Hispanic 179,583 54.2 73,057 22.0 35,949 10.8 20,777 6.3 15,757 4.8 6,257 1.9 331,380 100.0
Total@ 218,734 54.5 88,130 22.0 43,002 10.7 25,190 6.3 19,004 4.7 7,228 1.8 401,288 100.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
+ Data from 37 states and New York City; excludes three states where unknown gestational age was >15%.
& Data from 30 states and New York City; excludes six states where unknown gestational age or race was >15%.
@ Data from 19 states and New York City; excludes 14 states where unknown gestational age or Hispanic ethnicity was >15%.
===============================================================================================================================================
Return to top. Table 17 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 17. Reported legal abortions obtained at <=8 weeks of gestation, by known weeks of gestation, age group, race, and
Hispanic ethnicity of women who obtained abortions -- United States, 1996
===========================================================================================================================
Weeks of gestation
------------------------------------------------ Total obtained
Age group (yrs)/ <=6 7 8 at <=8 wks of gestation
Race/Hispanic -------------- -------------- -------------- ------------------------
ethnicity No. %* No. %* No. %* No. %*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age group
<15 430 9.0 527 11.1 753 15.8 1,710 35.9
15-19 14,374 11.9 17,038 14.1 23,326 19.3 54,738 45.3
20-24 30,290 15.4 33,252 16.9 41,381 21.0 104,923 53.3
25-29 26,139 18.1 27,072 18.8 31,301 21.7 84,512 58.6
30-34 17,090 19.4 17,065 19.3 19,050 21.6 53,205 60.3
35-39 10,060 19.7 10,099 19.8 11,053 21.6 31,212 61.1
>=40 3,403 21.8 3,137 20.1 3,330 21.4 9,870 63.3
Total + 101,786 16.4 108,190 17.4 130,194 20.9 340,170 54.7
Race
White 41,226 14.6 53,784 19.0 63,268 22.4 158,278 56.0
Black 24,812 13.9 26,816 15.1 36,885 20.7 88,513 49.7
Other 6,049 21.2 5,545 19.4 5,963 20.9 17,557 61.5
Total & 72,087 14.7 86,145 17.6 106,116 21.7 264,348 54.0
Hispanic ethnicity
Hispanic 12,449 17.8 11,941 17.1 14,761 21.1 39,151 56.0
Non-Hispanic 53,004 16.0 58,612 17.7 67,967 20.5 179,583 54.2
Total @ 65,453 16.3 70,553 17.6 82,728 20.6 218,734 54.5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Percentages were calculated using total number of abortions obtained at all known weeks of gestation.
+ Data from 36 states and New York City; excludes three states where unknown gestational age was >15%.
& Data from 30 states and New York City; excludes six states where unknown gestational age or race was >15%.
@ Data from 19 states and New York City; excludes 14 states where unknown gestational age or Hispanic ethnicity was >15%.
===========================================================================================================================
Return to top. Table 18 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 18. Reported legal abortions, by known weeks of gestation and type of procedure -- United States, 1996
===========================================================================================================================================================
Weeks of gestation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<=8 9-10 11-12 13-15 16-20 >=21 Total
--------------- --------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- ------------ ----------------
Type of procedure No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Curettage (suction
or sharp)* 336,369 99.6 137,093 99.9 66,237 99.7 36,114 98.4 24,795 91.1 7,803 78.9 608,411 98.9
Intrauterine saline
instillation 18 0.0+ 12 0.0+ 3 0.0+ 31 0.1 640 2.4 208 2.1 912 0.1
Intrauterine
prostaglandin
instillation 20 0.0+ 5 0.0+ 4 0.0+ 69 0.2 618 2.3 254 2.6 970 0.2
Hysterotomy/
Hysterectomy 9 0.0+ 9 0.0+ 5 0.0+ 2 0.0+ 4 0.0+ 7 0.1 36 0.0+
Other& 1,370 0.4 104 0.1 213 0.3 499 1.4 1,146 4.2 1,620 16.4 4,952 0.8
Total@ 337,786 100.0 137,223 100.0 66,462 100.0 36,715 100.0 27,203 100.0 9,892 100.0 615,281 100.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Includes dilatation and evacuation.
+ <0.05%.
& Includes instillation procedures not reported as a specific category, procedures reported as medical (nonsurgical), and procedures reported as "other."
@ Data from 34 states and New York City; excludes four states where unknown gestational age or type of procedure was >15%. Percentages might not add
to 100.0 because of rounding.
===========================================================================================================================================================
Return to top. Table 19 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.
TABLE 19. Number of deaths and case-fatality rates* for abortion-related deaths
reported to CDC, by type of abortion -- United States, 1972-1992
================================================================================================
No. of deaths
-----------------------------------------------
Type of abortion
---------------------------------------
Induced
--------------- Case-fatality
Year Legal Illegal Spontaneous+ Unknown Total rate*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1972 24 39 25 2 90 4.1
1973 25 19 10 3 57 4.1
1974 26 6 21 1 54 3.4
1975 29 4 14 1 48 3.4
1976 11 2 13 1 27 1.1
1977 17 4 16 0 37 1.6
1978 9 7 9 0 25 0.8
1979 22 0 8 0 30 1.8
1980 9 1 6 2 18 0.7
1981 8 1 3 0 12 0.6
1982 11 1 5 0 17 0.8
1983 11 1 7 0 19 0.9
1984 12 0 5 0 17 0.9
1985 11 1 8 1 21 0.8
1986 11 0 5 2 18 0.8
1987 7 2 8 0 17 0.5
1988 16 0 7 0 23 1.2
1989 12 1 3 0 16 0.9
1990 5 0 5 0 10 0.3
1991 11 1 6 0 18 0.8
1992 10 0 17 0 27 0.7
Total 297 90 201 13 601 1.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Legal induced abortion-related deaths per 100,000 legal induced abortions.
+ In 1978, CDC defined "spontaneous abortion-related deaths" as those deaths that occurred at
<20 weeks of estimated gestational age. Deaths that occurred at an estimated gestational age
of >=20 weeks were classified as stillbirths. Before 1978, criteria for gestational age were
unspecified.
================================================================================================
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