Abortion surveillance - United States, 2010

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Reproductive Health

Background:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has monitored legal induced abortions in the United States since 1969.
• Surveillance data document the number and characteristics of women obtaining abortions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions in the United States for 2010.
• To analyze trends in abortion rates and ratios from 2001 to 2010.

Main Methods:

• Abortion data were collected from 49 reporting areas for 2010.
• Trend analysis utilized data from 46 areas reporting annually from 2001-2010.
• Abortion rates and ratios were calculated using census and natality data.

Main Results:

• A total of 765,651 abortions were reported for 2010.
• The abortion rate was 14.6 per 1,000 women (15-44 years); the ratio was 228 per 1,000 live births.
• Both the number and rate of abortions decreased by 3% from 2009 to 2010, reaching the lowest levels in the 2001-2010 period. Abortion rates declined across most age groups, with an increase in early gestational age procedures.
• Early medical abortion use increased by 13% from 2009 to 2010.

Conclusions:

• The gradual decrease in reported abortions continued, with significant declines from 2008-2010.
• Unintended pregnancy is a primary driver of abortion; increased access to effective reversible contraception can further reduce abortion rates.
• Data can inform prevention efforts and identify populations at higher risk for unintended pregnancy.