Legal Abortions and Legal Abortion Ratios in the U.S.

Updated February 12, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

According to Selected Characteristics, 1973–2009

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Characteristic197319751980198519901995199811999120002 2009
Number of legal abortions reported in thousands
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
6168551,2981,3291,4291,211884862857 785
Alan Guttmacher Institute37451,0341,5541,5891,6091,3591,3191,3151,313 n.a.
Abortions per 100 live births4
Total19.627.235.935.434.431.126.425.624.5 22.7
Age
Under 15 years123.7119.3139.7137.681.866.475.070.970.8 83.8
15–19 years53.954.271.468.851.139.939.137.536.1 33.3
20–24 years29.428.939.538.637.834.832.931.630.0 28.6
25–29 years20.719.223.721.721.822.021.620.819.8 18.5
30–34 years28.025.023.719.919.016.415.715.214.5 13.8
35–39 years45.142.241.033.627.322.320.019.318.1 17.2
40 years and over68.466.880.762.350.638.533.832.930.1 27.4
Race
White532.627.733.227.725.820.318.917.716.7 13.1
Black or African American642.047.654.347.253.753.151.252.950.3 40.5
Hispanic origin7
Hispanic or Latino27.127.326.122.5 20.6
Not Hispanic or Latino27.927.125.223.3 17.0
Marital status
Married7.69.610.58.08.77.67.17.06.5 15.011
Unmarried139.8161.0147.6117.486.364.562.760.457.085.011
Previous live births8
043.738.445.745.136.028.625.524.322.6 40.2
123.522.020.221.622.722.021.420.619.4 26.6
236.836.829.529.931.530.630.029.027.4 19.7
346.947.729.818.230.130.730.529.828.5 8.6
4 or more944.743.524.321.526.623.724.324.223.7 5.0
Percent distribution10
Period of gestation
Under 9 weeks36.1%44.6%51.7%50.3%51.6%54.0%55.7%57.6%58.1% 64%12
9–10 weeks29.428.426.226.625.323.121.520.219.8 27.712
11–12 weeks17.914.912.212.511.710.910.910.210.2 3.412
13–15 weeks6.95.05.15.96.46.36.46.26.2 1.812
16–20 weeks8.06.13.93.94.04.34.14.34.3 1.812
21 weeks and over1.71.00.90.81.01.41.41.51.4 1.3
Previous induced abortions
081.967.660.157.155.153.853.754.7 55.3
114.923.525.726.926.927.027.126.4 25.2
22.56.69.810.110.911.411.511.3 11.4
3 or more0.72.34.45.97.17.87.77.6 8.1
(—) = Data not available. NOTE: Latest data available.
1. In 1998 and 1999 Alaska, California, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma did not report abortion data to CDC. For comparison, in 1997 the 48 corresponding reporting areas reported about 900,000 legal abortions.
2. In 2000, Alaska, California, and New Hampshire did not report abortion data to CDC.
3. No surveys were conducted in 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998. Data for these years were estimated by interpolation.
4. For calculation of ratios by each characteristic, abortions with characteristic unknown were distributed in proportion to abortions with characteristic known.
5. For 1989 and later years, white race includes women of Hispanic ethnicity.
6. Before 1989 black race includes races other than white.
7. Reporting area increased from 20–22 States, the District of Columbia (DC), and New York City (NYC) in 1991–95 to 31 States and NYC in 2002. California, Florida, Illinois, and Arizona, states with large Hispanic populations, do not report Hispanic ethnicity.
8. For calculation of percent distribution by each characteristic, abortions with characteristic unknown were excluded.
9. For 1975, data refer to four previous live births, not four or more. For five or more previous live births, the ratio is 47.3.
10. For calculation of percent distribution by each characteristic, abortions with characteristic unknown were excluded.
11. For 2009, data on marital status were reported as a percentage, not a ratio.
12. For 2009, gestational age categories were different from prior years: less than or equal to 8; 9–13; 14–5; 16–17; 18–20.
Source: Health, United States, 2005; Abortion Surveillance, United States, 2009 Surveillance Summaries, November 23, 2012. Web: www.cdc.gov .

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