Marital status and abortion

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Demographic Studies
• Public Health

Background:

• Historical trends in abortion access and utilization.
• The demographic profile of women seeking abortions.
• The intersection of marital status and reproductive choices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the marital status of women obtaining abortions in Canada between 1974 and 1994.
• To specifically investigate trends among married and common-law women.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from Statistics Canada's abortion publications and in-patient hospital morbidity data.
• Incorporated reports from the United States for comparative analysis.
• Calculated crude and age-standardized abortion rates stratified by marital status from 1974 to 1994.

Main Results:

• While single women had the highest abortion rates, married women (including common-law and separated) constituted over 25% of all abortions in 1994.
• The age-standardized abortion rate among married women aged 15-44 nearly doubled, increasing from 6.6 to 11.2 per 1,000 women between 1974 and 1994.
• For the majority of married women undergoing abortion, it was their first abortion, and most had previously completed at least one pregnancy.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights a significant increase in abortion rates among married women over a 20-year period.
• Reproductive health services and policies should consider the evolving needs of married women seeking abortions.
• Further research could explore the factors contributing to these trends in marital status and abortion.