Characteristics of abortion patients in the United States, 1979 and 1980

An analysis of the characteristics of women who obtained abortions in 1980 indicates that as in previous years, they were mainly young, white and unmarried. Thirty percent were under age 20 and one percent were under 15; 70 percent were white; 79 percent were unmarried; 58 percent were childless; and 67 percent had had no previous abortions. Ninety-one percent of abortions occurred within the first 12 weeks of gestation, and fewer than one percent occurred past 20 weeks. Between 1977 and 1980, abortion rates rose for unmarried women and white women, but remained about constant or fell among women aged 35 and over, married women and nonwhites. Compared to other Western industrialized countries for which complete abortion data are available, the United States has a high concentration of abortions among younger women and unmarried women. These are the groups toward whom efforts should be directed to increase the prevalence and effectiveness of contraceptive practice. On average, U.S. women aged 35 and over have fewer abortions than women of these ages in the comparison countries, possibly because a larger proportion of U.S. couples who have achieved their desired family size are protected by contraceptive sterilization, the most effective method. According to data from nine states, about 14 percent of U.S. women aged 20 and over obtaining abortions are college graduates, and another 24 percent have attended college. When age differences are taken into account, it appears that women at all educational levels above the eighth grade have abortions at about the same rate. Women aged 20 and over who have had no more than eight years of education have fewer abortions than better educated women. The nonwhite abortion rate is more than twice the white rate because nonwhites have more unintended pregnancies. When faced with an unintended pregnancy, however, nonwhites choose abortion only slightly more often than whites. In spite of their higher abortion rate, nonwhites have a fertility rate 37 percent higher than that of whites. Although hospital abortions are usually more expensive and less convenient than abortions performed in clinics and physician's offices, and the proportion of abortions performed in hospitals has declined, hospitals are still an important source of abortion services for nonwhite women and women with little education, particularly in states which pay for Medicaid abortions. In these states, a large proportion of hospitals offer abortion services, and many low-income women utilize these services.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)