Abortion statistics
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/
Copyright © 2003 to 2010 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2003-JAN-4
Latest update: 2010-JUN-11
Author: B.A. Robinson
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