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Abortion surveillance--United States, 2003.
Lilo T Strauss1, Sonya B Gamble, Wilda Y Parker
1Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries (Washington, D.C. : 2002)
|November 23, 2006
Summary
Legal induced abortions in the US saw a slight decline in 2003, with the abortion ratio decreasing. Data show most abortions occurred in younger, unmarried women, with early gestational ages being most common.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Reproductive Health
Background:
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has monitored legal induced abortions since 1969.
- Surveillance aims to document the number and characteristics of women undergoing legal abortions.
- This data is crucial for understanding reproductive health trends and outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize and analyze data on legal induced abortions in the United States for the year 2003.
- To identify trends in abortion numbers, ratios, and rates.
- To describe the characteristics of women obtaining abortions and the gestational ages at which procedures were performed.
Main Methods:
- Data were voluntarily reported to the CDC from 49 reporting areas in the United States for 2003.
- Abortion surveillance data has been compiled annually by the CDC since 1969.
- Reporting areas varied slightly year to year, with 49 areas reporting in 2003.
Main Results:
- A total of 848,163 legal induced abortions were reported in 2003, a 0.7% decrease from 2002.
- The abortion ratio was 241 per 1,000 live births, and the abortion rate was 16 per 1,000 women aged 15-44.
- The majority of abortions were obtained by unmarried (82%), white (55%) women under 25 (51%), with 61% performed at or before 8 weeks' gestation.
Conclusions:
- Legal induced abortion numbers have shown gradual declines and fluctuations over recent years.
- Deaths related to legal induced abortions remain rare.
- Continued surveillance provides essential data for public health policy and program planning to improve women's health.
