Abortion in Numbers

I came across some statistics and really was shocked. I didn´t knew that abortions (especially in the US) were so common. Here are the facts:

Each year, women have an estimated 46 million abortions worldwide. Of these, 20 million are clandestine abortions and are generally unsafe. More than three-quarters of all abortions occur in developing countries. (The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), Sharing Responsibility: Women, Society and Abortion Worldwide, New York: AGI, 1999, Chart 1.1.)

In 2003, 1.29 million abortions were performed in the United States. From 1973 through 2003, more than 43 million legal abortions occurred in the United States. (Finer LB and Henshaw SK, Estimates of U.S. Abortion Incidence in 2001–2003, 2006, , accessed Nov. 29, 2006.)

The abortion ratio is the proportion of pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) ending in abortion. In 2003, the abortion ratio was 24%, meaning that about one-quarter of all U.S. pregnancies ended in abortion. (Finer LB and Henshaw SK, Estimates of U.S. Abortion Incidence in 2001–2003, 2006, , accessed Nov. 29, 2006.)

On the basis of current abortion rates, one in three American women will have had an abortion by age 45. (AGI, State facts about abortion, 2003, , accessed December 6, 2006.)

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Nearly half of all pregnancies to American women are unintended; four in 10 of these end in abortion.

About half of American women have experienced an unintended pregnancy

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Although abortion rates and ratios (the number of abortions for every 100 births) in Eastern Europe have fallen significantly in recent years, they remain higher than in any other region. In 2003, there were more abortions than births in that region (105 abortions for every 100 births).(Sedgh G, Henshaw S, Singh S, Åhman E, Shah IH. Induced abortion: rates and trends worldwide. Lancet 2007; 370: 1338–45.)

The lowest abortion rate in the world is in Western Europe (12 per 1,000 women aged 15–44). The rate is 17 in Northern Europe and 21 in Northern America (Canada and the United States of America).(Sedgh G, Henshaw S, Singh S, Åhman E, Shah IH. Induced abortion: rates and trends worldwide. Lancet 2007; 370: 1338–45.)

More than one-third of the approximately 205 million pregnancies that occur worldwide annually are unintended, and about 22% of all pregnancies end in induced abortion. (Sedgh G, Henshaw S, Singh S, Åhman E, Shah IH. Induced abortion: rates and trends worldwide. Lancet 2007; 370: 1338–45., The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), Sharing Responsibility: Women, Society and Abortion Worldwide, New York: AGI, 1999., Population Division, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, World population prospects: the 2004 revision, New York: United Nations, 2005., Leridon H, Human Fertility: The Basic Components, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977.)

Of the 23 million pregnancies that occur in developed countries, more than 40% are unintended, and 28% end in induced abortion. (Sedgh G, Henshaw S, Singh S, Åhman E, Shah IH. Induced abortion: rates and trends worldwide. Lancet 2007; 370: 1338–45., The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), Sharing Responsibility: Women, Society and Abortion Worldwide, New York: AGI, 1999., Population Division, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, World population prospects: the 2004 revision, New York: United Nations, 2005., Leridon H, Human Fertility: The Basic Components, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977.)

Of the 182 million pregnancies that occur in developing countries, more than one-third are unintended, and 19% end in induced abortion (8% are safe procedures and 11% are unsafe).(Sedgh G, Henshaw S, Singh S, Åhman E, Shah IH. Induced abortion: rates and trends worldwide. Lancet 2007; 370: 1338–45., The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), Sharing Responsibility: Women, Society and Abortion Worldwide, New York: AGI, 1999., Population Division, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, World population prospects: the 2004 revision, New York: United Nations, 2005., Leridon H, Human Fertility: The Basic Components, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977.)

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"Highlights" for me were the incredible 1 in 3 women that abort in the USA once in their lifetime, the 40% unintended pregnancies in the developed world and the incredible rate in Eastern Europe (105 abortions - 100 births).