Fact Sheet: Who Has Abortions?

"There aren’t ‘women who have abortions’ and ‘women who have babies’. Those are the same women at different points in their lives." - Rachel Atkins, PA, MPH, Executive Director, Vermont Women’s Health Center

Women of all ages, races, ethnic, economic and religious backgrounds have abortions for many different reasons every year; each reason is as compelling and legitimate as the next. Women have abortions because their contraceptive methods fail, because of their health, age, rape, because they cannot afford a child, or because they don’t feel ready to become a parent at the time of the unplanned pregnancy.

  • 43% of American women will have at least one abortion by the age of 45.¹

  • 6 in 10 women seeking abortions experienced contraceptive failure.¹

  • Each year 3 out of 100 women between ages 15-44 have abortions; 47% of these will have had at least one prior abortion and 55% will have had a previous birth.¹

  • 1 out of 6 abortion patients describes herself as born-again or an evangelical Christian. 33% of women who have abortions and disclose their religious affiliation describe themselves as Catholic.²

  • 70% of U.S. abortions are obtained by white women, 20% of U.S. abortions are obtained by black women, and 10% are obtained by other women of color.³

  • 20% of women receiving abortions are 11 - 19 years old. 52% are younger than 25.¹

  • 61% of teens having abortions do so with their parents’ knowledge.4

  • 31% of women obtaining abortions are in school; 68% of women who have abortions are employed.²

  • 33% of women who obtain abortions have family incomes under $11,000 annually, 11% of abortions are obtained by women whose household incomes are $50,000 or more. Poor women are three times more likely to have abortions than those who are financially better off.²



    Sources: 1. "Facts in Brief: Induced Abortion", Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2000, 2. "Women Who Have Abortions, National Abortion Federation, Oct. 1990, 3. Loretta Ross, "Emergency Memorandum to Women of Color" in From Abortion to Reproductive Freedom, p. 149., 4. "Abortion in the U.S.", Guttmacher, 1993.


    Used with permission from the Abortion Access Project. Copyright 1998-2002, Abortion Access Project. All rights reserved. Other copyrights may also apply. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Abortion Access Project - 552 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 215 - Cambridge, MA 02139 USA phone: (617) 661-1161 - fax: (617) 492-1915