Abortion Statistics

All of the following statistics are from the Guttmacher Institute (GI) or the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or from Johnston's Archive (WRJ).  I have linked you to their source.

The Guttmacher Institute is the research arm of Planned Parenthood, who is the largest abortion provider in the United States.

Since 1973, when abortion was legalized, there have been approximately 50 million abortions in the United States.  (GI)

In 2005, the most recent year for which data is available, there were 1.21 million abortions performed in the United States.

That is 3,315 abortions per day.  (GI) (WRJ)

There were 4.14 million live births in 2005 in the United States.  Taking into account the 1.21 million abortions that same year, about 23% of all pregnancies ended in abortion.  (WRJ)

89% of abortions occur in the first trimester (first 12 weeks) of pregnancy.

before 9 weeks: 61.3% = 741,730

9-10 weeks: 17.8% = 21,380

11-12 weeks: 9.6% = 11,616

13-15 weeks: 6.7% = 81,070

16-20 weeks: 3.5% = 42,350

21+ weeks: 1.1% = 13,310

all abortions: 100% = 1.21 million

(GI)

Half of all abortions are performed on women 24 years old or younger.

less than age 15: 0.5%

age 15-19: 16.4%

age 20-24: 32.6%

age 25-29: 23.4%

age 30-34: 14.5%

age 35-39: 8.7%

age 40+: 3.2%

(CDC)

Blacks and Hispanics comprise 28% of the population, yet they account for nearly 60% of all abortions.  A black woman is three times as likely to have an abortion as a white woman.  A Hispanic woman is 2 1/2 times as likely to have an abortion as a white woman.

White: 34%

Black: 37%

Hispanic: 22%

Other: 7%

(GI)

Women living below the federal poverty line abort at a higher rate than women living above the poverty line.  A single woman having an annual income of about $11,000 is four times more likely to abort than a woman making at least $30,000 per year.  (GI)

Research indicates that 98%  of all abortions are related to issues of "personal choice".  The primary reasons women give for having an abortion include:

not feeling emotionally capable: 32%

not financially capable: 25%

having a child would drastically alter her life: 16%

(GI) (WRJ)

The three most frequently cited "hard cases" in which abortion might be justified are rape, incest, and protecting the life of the mother.  However, women rarely report that they are seeking an abortion for any of these reasons:

Rape: 0.3%

Incest: 0.03%

Protection of mother's life: 0.2%

Out of 1,000 women that seek an abortion only 3 cite rape as their reason, and only 2 cite protecting her life as the reason for abortion.  Out of 10,000 women that seek abortion only 3 cite incest as a reason.

(WRJ)

Four hundred and eighty physicians have signed a public declaration stating: "I agree that there is never a situation in the law or in the ethical practice of medicine where a preborn child's life need be intentionally destroyed by procured abortion for the purpose of saving the life of the mother."