What Do the Abortion Numbers Tell Us?

Editor's note:Abortion statistics are notoriously slow to come in. But these 1997 numbers from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are extremely helpful in telling us who is getting abortions in what setting.

* 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%), abortions that utilize powerful chemicals (what pro-abortionists like to call "medical" abortions) accounted for 2,988 abortions in the CDC's latest statistics. These drugs include RU486 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.