WASHINGTON, Sep 23, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Abortion demographics have changed
dramatically since the 1970s, with far more older U.S. women and non-whites now
undergoing the procedure, an analysis says.
In the first comprehensive study of who is getting abortions since 1974, the
Guttmacher Institute, a private nonprofit reproductive health research
organization, found that women in their 20s and 30s who already have children
are increasingly dominating the ranks of those who choose to abort their
pregnancies, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Also, while the overall number of abortions has been falling in recent years,
black and Hispanic women are making up a larger percentage of those who receive
them. A large racial disparity was evident, with non-whites having the procedure
at rates three to five times the rate of white women, the study found.
Teenagers make up 17 percent of abortions compared to 33 percent in 1974.
"We've made the most important progress in reducing teen pregnancy and abortion
rate, (rather) than reducing unintended pregnancy in older women," Rachel Jones,
a senior research associate with the Guttmacher Institute, told the Post.
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International