Determinants of induced abortion and their policy implications in four counties in north China

A retrospective survey conducted in four counties in North China in 1991-92 shows that the probability of aborting a pregnancy is strongly related to parity. No induced abortions are found prior to the first live birth, and almost universal abortion is shown after the second. Women had a high risk of undergoing abortion after their first live birth because most (82 percent) had become pregnant again without meeting official requirements for late second births with long spacing between births. The likelihood that a pregnancy will be aborted is strongly determined by official family planning policy and regulations. Individual and household socioeconomic status plays a relatively insignificant role. Great variation in the prevalence of induced abortion exists at the county and village levels. In recent years, the incidence of induced abortion has increased among women with one living child. Even a two-child policy, with late childbearing and spacing, can have high social and health costs in a country where childbearing is universal and begins relatively early.