Report Documents 30-Year Abortion Trends
A new report released today documents 30-year abortion trends and provides in-depth analysis of the demographics of women who obtained abortion care between 1974 and 2004. The findings were gathered from data collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by periodic surveys of abortion providers conducted by the Guttmacher Institute.
According to the report, the rate of abortion in the U.S. is at its lowest level since 1974 and the proportion of abortions at seven weeks or earlier has increased substantially from 16% in 1994 to 28% in 2004. This shift is most likely due to greater availability of early surgical procedures and increased use of medical abortion, which is not usually an option after nine weeks. These findings demonstrate that with greater availability of medical abortion more women can obtain abortion care earlier in pregnancy. The FDA approved the mifepristone and misoprostol combination for medical abortion in September 2000.
>Read the full report.
Labels: medical abortion, studies
