What Else Do The Numbers Tell Us?

* Differential Racial Impact - - While the overall number of abortions declined 17% from 1990 to 1997, CDC figures indicate an asymmetric racial impact. Abortions to whites decreased 25.2%, but the number of abortions obtained by blacks during this same time frame decreased just 6.7%. Abortions to "other" races actually increased during this time frame by 38.9%.

* Abortion "Access" - - While abortion advocates have often complained about abortion "access," claiming that more than 80% of U.S. counties have no "identified abortion provider," CDC statistics show that 92% of all abortions take place in a woman's state of residence. In spite of all the talk about "access" by pro- abortionists, this figure has fluctuated little over the past 20 years.

* The Appearance of Chemical Abortions - - While " curettage" still accounts for almost all abortion procedures (97.7%), what pro-abortionists like to call "medical" abortions (abortions that utilize powerful chemicals) accounted for 2,988 abortions in the CDC's latest statistics. These drugs include RU 486 and methotrexate, ordinarily used as a potent anti-cancer drug. (These were abortions done in trials sponsored by Lawrence Lader.)

* Age Breakdowns - - CDC figures show that teens (women 19 and under) accounted for 20.1% of all abortions in 1997. This percentage has remained relatively unchanged since 1992. Years ago, teen abortions accounted for nearly a third (32.1% in 1976) of all abortions before beginning to drop as a percentage of total abortions in the late 1970s and 1980s. By contrast, in 1997, women 25 and over accounted for 48.2% of all abortions, the highest percentage ever recorded for that age group. (In 1976, for example, the percentage was only 34.6%.) The 20-24 age group accounted for 31.7% of all abortions in 1997. Abortions to this age group have remained relatively stable from 1972-1997 - - generally between 32% and 35% of the annual total.

* Marital Status - - 81% of all abortions in 1997 were to unmarried women.

* Age of Unborn Baby - - 55.5% of all abortions in 1997 were performed on babies who were eight weeks gestation or younger, according to the CDC.