Is there really an abortion every 30 seconds in this country?

[proud2BlibKansan]

Found this site. Anyone know if this is credible?

Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States

05/2006
INCIDENCE OF ABORTION

Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion.<1> Twenty-four percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.<2>

In 2002, 1.29 million abortions took place, down from 1.36 million in 1996. From 1973 through 2002, more than 42 million legal abortions occurred.<3>

Each year, two out of every 100 women aged 15–44 have an abortion; 48% of them have had at least one previous abortion.<4>

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html

[sandnsea]

1. Too many unplanned pregnancies

It would be wise to start focusing on that than to continue this sharade of concern about women needing late term medical procedures.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Been there done that

I am in the middle of a debate with a right winger and we already went back and forth about the lack of birth control and the failure of abstinence only programs. I won that round. He admitted that abstinence only does not work. So now he tells me there is an abortion every 30 seconds in the USA and I don't believe him. That is just incredible.

[still_one]

6. In that same article you posted you will notice that the graph also shows abortions declining

In addition the article also points out the following:

The risk of abortion complications is minimal; fewer than 0.3% of abortion patients experience a complication that requires hospitalization.<24>

Abortions performed in the first trimester pose virtually no long-term risk of such problems as infertility, ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) or congenital malformation (birth defect), and little or no risk of preterm or low-birth-weight deliveries. <25>

Exhaustive reviews by panels convened by the U.S. and British governments have concluded that there is no association between abortion and breast cancer. There is also no indication that abortion is a risk factor for other types of cancer.<26>

In repeated studies since the early 1980s, leading experts have concluded that abortion does not pose a hazard to women’s mental health.<27>

The risk of death associated with abortion increases with the length of pregnancy, from one death for every one million abortions at or before eight weeks to one per 29,000 at 16–20 weeks—and one per 11,000 at 21 or more weeks.<28>

The risk of death associated with childbirth is about 12 times as high as that associated with abortion.<29>

Fifty-eight percent of abortion patients say they would have liked to have had their abortion earlier. Nearly 60% of women who experienced a delay in obtaining an abortion said it was because of the time it took to make arrangements and raise money.<30>

Teens are more likely than older women to delay having an abortion until after 15 weeks of pregnancy, when the medical risks associated with abortion are significantly higher.<31>

[sandnsea]

7. It's true, to my knowledge

25% of pregnancies are aborted, that's the figures I've been seeing in state after state.

Here's the thing. Most contraception is 97% effective. That means there WILL be women getting pregnant ON contraception. 3%?? Does that correlate with the number of women getting abortions? 3 out of 100?

If that's the problem - is it possible it can't be fixed?

[Rosemary2205]

9. Your answer here.

60 seconds in a minute
60 minutes in an hour = 3600 seconds in an hour
24 hours in a day = 86400 seconds in a day
365 days a year = 31,536,000 seconds in a year
1,290,000 abortions in a year. = 24.4 seconds.

[Swamp Rat]

25. Red Herring

Ask him to provide proof of his claim.

Nevertheless, the number of 'abortions per second' is irrelevent to the debate - a Red Herring for you to chase - because spontaneous abortions occur much more often than induced abortions (approx. 20% of all pregnancies end up as miscarriages, and that figure is low since many are not reported and statistics are not well-publicized).

[ljm2002]

29. Thank you!

That is a point that needs making.

Most terminations are induced by Nature. Or God if you prefer.

Furthermore, one of the defining characteristics of humankind is that we take control of our environment.

Not allowing women to take control of their reproduction is relegating them to a status that is less than that of Man.

And they always told me that "Man" was a generic term.

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. Yes I wonder if that stat includes miscarriages

[eggman67]

34. According to your OP it does not.

Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion.<1> Twenty-four percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.<2>

[still_one]

3. If I understand your point, you are referring to contraception

which I agree, that is where the focus should be put

Not trying to ban a procedure that is between a woman, her doctor, and family

[sandnsea]

10. Yes

I am so pro-choice I don't care if somebody calls me pro abortion. I refuse to make any woman feel guilty for choosing to do what nature does on its own, all the time.

Even women using contraception get pregnant. When we have sex and don't want a child, we need to consider we are risking an abortion, no matter how minimal the risk. It's just reality.

[still_one]

19. I agree 100%, and I am a guy who has no business telling a woman what to do with decisions

that concern her

[wuushew]

4. I don't understand how anyone would get that data?

Is every medical procedure preformed during a year recorded in a central database somewhere?

I can understand keeping records in case of medical liability, but perhaps such figures should not be published as to deprive the anti-choice crowd of figures and goals that give them purpose.

Were there 10 abortions or 10,000, with such ambiguity would the same effort be expended? I think not.

[Tunkamerica]

12. so you think less information is better

we shouldn't have the truth so that we might make better decisions? censor the statistics because they don't fit in with what you think?
I think you're mistaken.

[wuushew]

13. nobody cares how many heart operations there are in the U.S.

there is no political movement in the United States to ban it.

Women would be better served by a weakening of the anti-choice movement. Medical studies could be done of the data in other countries. What are the other reasons for publishing the figures?

I think abortions could come with non-disclosure agreements like other legal contracts.

Think of the demoralizing effect on the anti-choice crowd. How many abortions were there? Answer: "we don't know". How does this year compare to last year? Answer: "we don't know".

Politically it would be the equivalent of Iraq syndrome where people get burnt out not seeing signs of progress. Plus it would be a big victory for privacy.

[Tunkamerica]

21. general statistics don't violate anyone's privacy

so that's not a big victory. And, truthfully, I can't believe I'm the only one so far who's taken issue with your idea that the government should refuse to publish statistics on a legally obtained medical procedure on the thin argument that it would hurt one side of the argument to have to estimate or guess at abortion numbers than to have the exact statistics (run-on sentence). If you think people need to be shielded from the truth, then you must not trust us and you must not trust that your arguments will hold up under scrutiny. I do think the case can be, and has been, made for legal abortions and the numbers don't detract from those arguments.

In fact I'd like to see more statistics, more detailed. What types of people are getting them when? how has the price of abortions changed over the years? How have price changes affected numbers? How many girls want abortions but don't get them? why? That would do more to take away from the anti-choice crowds arguments.

[Tunkamerica]

24. oh, and lots of people care how many heart operations

occur each year. Heart surgeons, patients, families of patients, people who like to stay informed, hospitals, insurance companies. That's just off the top of my head.

[sandnsea]

26. Yes, people do

There are databases that will tell you which hospitals have the best success rates with a variety of heart operations - and which hospitals will kill you. http://www.jointcommission.org/

[sandnsea]

23. Yes

Hospitals have a record of every procedure. Most of it is paid for through insurance, medicaid, medicare. Anybody can compile some good statistics from that alone. I don't know what all is reported to the CDC - but cancer, airborne illnesses, births, most certainly are. We also can't analyze prenatal and neonatal care if we don't know why pregnancies are ending. I don't think the intention is to track abortions, but you can't track the rest without having that data.

[mike_c]

5. many more than that, I'd think....

Most zygotes probably abort spontaneously, fail to implant, etc. Of course the fundies don't want to talk about that. Every sexually active woman who is ovulating normally has probably aborted numerous times.

[RC]

8. 15,778,800 a year at that rate.

That seems kind of high to me. That works out to be over 10% of the female population of all ages. Up to a quarter of all women of child bearing age.


The problem isn't the sex, it is ignorance, poverty and the lack of birth control.

google is your friend.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Some stats

http://www.nationmaster.com/red/pie/hea_abo-health-abortions

Health Statistics > Abortions by country

Russia 48.3%
United States 21.1%
India 10.4%
Japan 6%
France 2.8%
Italy 2.3%
Germany 1.7%
Bulgaria 1.7%
Cuba 1.5%
Hungary 1.3%
Canada 1.2%
Sweden 0.7%
Israel 0.3%
Norway 0.2%
New Zealand 0.2%
Finland 0.2%
Greece 0%
Iceland 0%
Poland 0%


Rank Countries Amount (top to bottom)
#1 Russia: 2,766,360
#2 United States: 1,210,880
#3 India: 596,345
#4 Japan: 343,024
#5 France: 161,129
#6 Italy: 134,137
#7 Germany: 97,936
#8 Bulgaria: 97,023
#9 Cuba: 83,963
#10 Hungary: 76,957
#11 Canada: 70,549
#12 Sweden: 37,489
#13 Israel: 15,509
#14 Norway: 13,672
#15 New Zealand: 11,173
#16 Finland: 9,884
#17 Greece: 1,216
#18 Iceland: 807
#19 Poland: 559
Total: 5,728,612
Weighted average: 301,505.9

[irish.lambchop]

16. Am really surprised

that the UK isn't listed there. Women from the Republic of Ireland go to the UK for abortions as it's not legal in Ireland. Am not surprised, though, as the catholic church still rules Ireland. It was only a couple of decades ago that condoms became 'legal' in Ireland. Prior to that, they were smuggled in from the UK.

[Richardo]

17. Where the hell is China?

You can;t tell me there were <500 abortions in China.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. Here's some stats I found on China.

http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/sandt/estnews1020.htm

How Many Abortions in China?

How many abortions are there in China? Statistics compiled by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the State Family Planning Commission (SFPC) have diverged sharply since 1992. In 1992, both government agencies put the number of abortions at 10 million. But by 1994, MOH reported 9.46 million abortions, and the SFPC only 6.28 million. By 1998, the gap had grown to 7.38 million (MOH) vs. 2.63 million (SFPC).

The authors of an April 2000 report funded by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences point to two reasons for the much lower SFPC figures: SFPC figures do not include unmarried women who have abortions and have serious reporting gaps. The abortion pill RU-486 is now widely used as a prescription drug for early term abortions in Chinese cities, and unmarried women can buy RU-486 without a prescription (illegally) from some private clinics and drugstores for about $15. (Shangwu Morning Post (Chengdu), July 2000)

[Bluerthanblue]

18. where are Great Britian and China??

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

22. Here's some for GB

//www.fpa.org.uk/information/factsheets/documents_and_pdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=510

England and Wales (resident women)9

In 2005:

*
the total number of abortions was 186,416, an increase of 0.4% over 2004
*
the abortion rate was 17.8 per 1,000 women aged 15–44, the same as in 2004
*
the abortion rate was highest, at 32.0 per 1,000, for women aged 20–24
*
teenage abortion rates were the same as in 2004: the under-16 rate was 3.7 and the under-18 rate was 17.8
*
89% of abortions were carried out under 13 weeks gestation, and 67% under ten weeks
*
less than 2% were carried out over 20 weeks gestation. This percentage has remained fairly consistent over the last ten years
*
medical abortion accounted for one in four (24%) of all abortions, compared with 19% in 2004
*
about one in three early abortions were medical: 30% of those carried out under ten weeks gestation
*
four out of five (84%) abortions were either provided or funded by the National Health Service (NHS), compared with 82% in 2004. NHS provision varied between primary care organisations (PCOs), and ranged from just over 50% to over 90%
*
nearly two-thirds (63%) of all NHS-funded abortions were carried out under ten weeks. This varied between PCOs, and ranged from 33% to 83%.

Scotland10

In 2005:

*
the total number of abortions was 12,603, an increase of 1.2% over 2004
*
the abortion rate was 11.9 per 1,000 women aged 15–44, compared with 11.8 in 2004
*
the abortion rate was highest for women aged 16–19 (23.1) and 20–24 (22.9)
*
92.3% of abortions were carried out under 14 weeks gestation, and 66.5% under ten weeks. This proportion has remained relatively stable over the last five years
*
about 0.5% were carried out over 20 weeks gestation
*
medical abortion accounted for 58.8% of all abortions, compared with 55.8% in 2004
*
two out of three (66.6%) abortions carried out at under ten weeks, were medical. This varied between NHS Boards from 30% to 96%
*
the vast majority (99.1%) of abortions were NHS funded and carried out in NHS premises.

Northern Ireland (see separate factsheet on abortion in Northern Ireland for more detail)

Law



*
The 1967 Abortion Act does not extend to Northern Ireland, and women from Northern Ireland are not entitled to an NHS abortion in Great Britain.
*
Abortion is only legal in exceptional circumstances – if the life or the mental or physical health of the woman is at serious or grave risk. In the absence of clear guidelines, the law remains ambiguous and the provision of abortion is often determined by the moral views of individual doctors or by an unwillingness to test the law.
*
In June 2001, fpa won the right to the first Judicial Review of medical practice relating to abortion and the provision of abortion services in Northern Ireland. The Review took place in March 2002 and in July 2002 Mr Justice Kerr concluded that the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) was not failing in its statutory duty to issue guidelines, but he thought it prudent if they did. fpa immediately lodged an appeal and in October 2004 Belfast High Court of Appeal ruled that the DHSSPS had failed to perform its statutory duties. In response to this, in 2005 the DHSSPS instigated a formal investigation into the provision of abortion services in Northern Ireland, which is ongoing.

Statistics



*
In 2004/05, 64 women had a medical abortion in Northern Ireland (defined by the DHSSPS as ‘the interruption of pregnancy for legally acceptable, medically approved indications’)11.
*
No statistics are available to indicate the age of the women, the legal grounds, where the abortion was carried out, the stage of pregnancy or the type of abortion.
*
In 2005, 1,164 women travelled to England for an abortion9. This figure, based on the addresses given by clients, is likely to be an underestimate.
*
Over half (52%) of those travelling to England were in their twenties, and one in six (17.7%) were aged under 20.
*
86% of these abortions were carried out under 13 weeks gestation and 60% under ten weeks.

[Bluerthanblue]

14. some statistics I found and a link to the CDC

From the 2000 Census-
There were 6.2 million pregnancies of these:
3.96 million resulted in a live birth
1.31 million ended due to induced abortion
1 million ended due to miscarriage and stillbirth

Among married women 3out of 4 pregnancies resulted in live births 7% were ended by induced abortion.
Among unmarried women 1/2 resulted in live births 40% were ended by induced abortion.


In the 1990's (the Clinton years) the abortion rate dropped 25% among married and unmarried women.
In 1990 a pregnancy in an unmarried woman was more likely to end in abortion than live birth.

Interesting to note that during the "compassionate conservative years" there were more abortions-

many more statistics here:


http://pregnancy.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/20030625.html

[burythehatchet]

15. as long as I can breathe there will be...damn it.

as a liberal, killing babies is my life's blood.

[uppityperson]

27. Realize those statistics count "reported legal abortions" prior to 1973 there were many illegal ones

and only gradually did they start getting reported. And yes, Guttmacher.org has decent numbers, so far as they are reported. Here is a pdf "Estimates of U.S. Abortion Incidence, 2001-2003"
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/08/03/ab_incidence.pdf

Estimates of U.S. Abortion Incidence, 2001–2003
By Lawrence B. Finer and Stanley K. Henshaw
Guttmacher Institute
August 3, 2006
INTRODUCTION
After abortion was legalized nationwide in 1973, the U.S. abortion rate peaked in 1980.
From 1990 onward, the rate declined substantially, and by 2000, it was at its lowest level
since 1974.1 This report uses available data to assess trends in 2001–2003.
Since 1973, the Guttmacher Institute has estimated the number of abortions
performed in the United States by conducting a periodic survey of all known abortion
providers. The most recent such survey took place in 2001, collecting data covering 1999
and 2000.2 Abortion incidence is also tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), which aggregates reports from state statistical agencies (usually
health departments) for its annual abortion surveillance reports, the most recent of
which covered the year 2002.3 The CDC reports are incomplete, however, because state
reports vary in completeness, with some lacking information on as many as 40–50% of
the abortions that occur in the state.4 In addition, California and New Hampshire have
no abortion reporting systems and are not included in the CDC totals, and Alaska’s
reporting system began only in 2003.
The purpose of this report is to provide estimates of U.S. abortion numbers, rates
and ratios for 2001, 2002 and 2003, projected from Guttmacher’s total for 2000, using
state health department data that are reasonably complete and comparably reported
over time. Estimates for 2001 and 2002 were published in May 2005; this report updates
and replaces that publication with new estimates for 2003.

[FogerRox]

28. guttmacher embraced by right wingers

http://www.factcheck.org/society/the_biography_of_a_bad_statistic.html


http://www.firedupmissouri.com/node/2687

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-13-2004/0002275999

[uppityperson]

31. Lies, damned lies and statistics.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. Thanks Foger!

:hi:

[FogerRox]

35. THe real problem lies in numbers not being reported

with the same methodology.

Its hard to do a consistent national study because of that.

Guttmacher seems to lump 40 something states together, regardless that their methodology might be different. The other studies do use a smaller set of samples from 16 states that seem to report using the same methodology.

[valerief]

30. Looks like there are 3 births every 30 seconds then. nt