Trends in abortion in the United States
Jones, R.K.; Kost, K.; Singh, S.; Henshaw, S.K.; Finer, L.B.
Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology 52(2): 119-129
2009
ISSN/ISBN: 1532-5520 PMID: 19407518 DOI: 10.1097/grf.0b013e3181a2af8fDocument Number: 563167
The US abortion rate peaked soon after 1973, remained fairly constant through the 1980s, and began a steady decline to 2005. A substantial drop in the abortion rates of teenagers and women ages 20 to 24 accounts for much of the decline from 1989 to 2004. All race and ethnic groups experienced declines in abortion rates over the past 30 years, but the rate of black, and to a lesser extent Hispanic, women remains higher than that of non-Hispanic whites. The number of abortion providers has declined in recent decades, but the introduction of early medical abortion may have slowed this trend.