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Ten Facts About Abortion

Statistics on women choosing abortion in the U.S.

By Linda Lowen, About.com

The following annual statistics for abortion in the United States - as reported by the Guttmacher Institute in May 2006 - are helpful in understanding the basis of the pro-life pro-choice debate:

1. Unintended pregnancies account for almost half of all pregnancies.

2. Four out of ten unintended pregnancies end in abortion.

3. Out of the total number of pregnancies, 24% end in abortion.

4. For women ages 15-44, two out of every hundred have an abortion.

Of these, 48% have had one or more abortions previously.

5. For women choosing abortion, 52% are under 25.

Teenagers account for 19%, and women 20-24 account for 33%.

6. Black women are almost four times as likely to have an abortion as white women.

For Latino women, the number is 2.5 times.

7. Women who have never been married account for 2/3rds of all abortions.

8. The majority of women who choose abortions have already given birth.

Mothers who have had one or more children comprise over 60% of all abortions.

9. Women who have never used any birth control method account for 8% of abortions.

10. For women having abortions, 43% are Protestant and 27% identify as Catholic.

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