U.S. abortion numbers by year.
U.S. abortion rate by year.
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The number of abortions in the U.S. each year:
CDC data is available starting in 1973. This was the year when the U.S.
Supreme Court made first trimester abortions freely available in the U.S. Prior
to that, legal abortions were only legal in certain liberal states, like New
York and California.
The CDC reported in 2006 that:
"During 1990--1997, the number of legal induced abortions gradually
declined. When the same 47 reporting areas are compared, the number of
abortions decreased during 1996--2001, then slightly increased in 2002 and
again decreased in 2003." 1
Between 2004 and 2006, the numbers decreased and then went back to the 2003 level.
Of course, since 1973, the number of women who might become pregnant has gradually increased due to the general increase in the population of the U.S. , so that the abortion rate had decreased.
CDC data, with percentage changes rounded to the nearest percent:
Year
Number of abortions
Change from previous year
Reference used
1973
615,831
-
1974
763,476
+ 24%
1975
854,853
+ 12%
1976
988,267
+ 16%
1977
1,079,430
+ 9%
1978
1,157,776
+ 7%
1979
1,251,921
+ 8%
1980
1,297,606
+ 4%
1981
1,300,760
+ 0.2%
1982
1,303,980
+ 0.2%
1983
1,268,987
- 3%
1984
1,333,521
+ 5%
1985
1,328,570
- 4%
1986
1,328,112
±0%
1987
1,353,671
+2%
1988
1,371,285
+ 1%
1989
1,396,658
+ 2%
1990
1,429,247
+ 2%
1991
1,388,937
- 3%
1992
1,359,146
- 2%
1993
1,330,414
- 2%
1994
1,267,415
- 5%
1995
1,210,883
- 4%
1996
1,225,937
+ 1%
1997
1,186,039
- 3%
1998
884,273
-25%
1999
861,789
- 3%
2000
857,475
- 1%
2001
853,485
±0%
2002
854,122
±0%
2003
848,163
- 1%
2004
838,226
- 1%
2
2005
820,151
- 2%
3
2006
846,181
+3%
4
2007 data should be available in late 2010-NOV.
However, comparing two yearly values can be like equating apples and oranges.
Data for 1997 came from 52 reporting areas (the 50 states, District of Columbia and
New York City). Data for 1998 was derived from only 48 reporting areas. Alaska,
California, New Hampshire and Oklahoma did not release the number of abortions in
their state. A better way to compare the total number of abortions from year to year is to
look at data from the 48 jurisdictions that reported data in both years. For
example:
Item
1997
1998
Change
Numbers of abortions, less four states
900,171
884,273
- 1.8%
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The abortion rate:
The total number of reported legal abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years was: 1
Year
Abortion rate
Change from previous year
Reference used
1973
14
-
1974
17
+3
1975
18
+1
1976
21
+3
1977
22
+1
1978
23
+1
1979
24
+1
1980
25
+1
1981
24
-1
1982
24
0
1983
23
-1
1984
24
+1
1985
24
0
1986
23
-1
1987
24
+1
1988
24
0
1989
24
0
1990
24
0
1991
24
0
1992
23
-1
1993
23
0
1994
21
-2
1995
20
-1
1996
21
+1
1997
20
-1
1998
17
-3
1999
17
0
2000
16
-1
2001
16
0
2002
16
0
2003
16
0
2004
16
0
2
2005
15
-1
3
2006
16
+1
4
2007 data should be available in late 2010-NOV.
If one were to accept all of the data that the
CDC was able to collect, then the abortion rate -- the number of abortions
performed per thousand women of childbearing age (15 to 44) -- shows a significant drop from 20 in 1997 to 17 in 1998. This is a reduction
of 15%! However, the apples and oranges problem occurs here as well. Analyzing
data for only the 48 jurisdictions which reported both years, we find:
Item
1997
1998
Change
Abortion rate
17
17
No change
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
Abortion Surveillance --- United States, 1998," CDC, 2002-JUN-7, at: http://www.cdc.gov
Abortion Surveillance --- United States, 2004," CDC, 2007-NOV-23, at: http://www.cdc.gov/
Abortion Surveillance --- United States, 2005," CDC, 2008-NOV-28, at: http://www.cdc.gov/
Abortion Surveillance --- United States, 2006," CDC, 2009-NOV-27, at: http://www.cdc.gov/
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