Two Day Magazine

An interesting look as to who requests this legal medical service...

Think you know who gets abortions in the United States? There seems to be a lot of prejudice surrounding abortions and who actually receives one. The Guttmacher Institute is committed to ensuring that the debate that rages on about abortion in this country is based upon actual evidence, and not people’s perceptions.

Here are some interesting stats about abortion. It may surprise you.

• By the time women reach 45 years of age, almost 1 in 3 have had an abortion.

• Most women (58%) who have an abortion, are in their 20s.

• Teenage women only account for 2 in 10 of all abortions, and most of these teens are 18-19 years of age.

• 6 in 10 women who have an abortion already have a child. (And many have two or more and know what it means to have a child, and realize they just don’t have the resources to care for another child.

• 3 out of 4 women who have abortions consider themselves to be religiously affiliated.

• In 2008, 4 in 10 abortions were given to women who live below the federal poverty line.

• White women account for 1 in 3 abortions, which is more than any other group.

No matter what rhetoric you hear on the radio, television or internet about the evils of abortion, the truth of the matter is, women need access to basic health care, including safe abortions.

Perhaps if we had free birth control that was easily accessible to women everywhere in the United States, you would see a dramatic decrease in the number of abortions performed. Perhaps if we took away the stigma of having an abortion, women would be able to share their stories and experiences with one another, and we would all begin to realize that more women that we previously thought needed an abortion for one reason or another, and therefore these procedures would not be questioned by private or public health insurers. Perhaps if we just realized that we don’t know what it is like to live in another’s person’s shoes, we would stop demonizing women.

Thoughts?