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Fact Sheet: Charlotte Lozier Institute: Reasons for Abortion
January 14, 2023
lozierinstitute.org/fact-sheet-reasons-for-abortion
by Tessa Longbons : BA in Communications Thomas Edison University, Trenton NJ
Originally published on August 17, 2022, and has been updated on January 14, 2023.
Condensed from article; see complete article at:
Assessing the number of abortions performed for various reasons can be challenging due to the poor quality of U.S. abortion data because of inconsistent reporting requirements. Periodic surveys by pro- abortion organizations have been done of women visiting abortion centers, but none have been published for several years with the most frequently referenced papers being published in 2005 and 2013.[1],[2] However, these surveys do not provide a detailed look at abortions performed for common exceptions.
The most recent available data is from eight states (AZ, FL, LA, MN, NB, OK, SD, UT)that collect and report women’s reasons for choosing abortion. These eight states account for approximately 122,000 abortions each year, 13% of the U.S. total.[3],[4] Some of these states allow women to report multiple reasons for an abortion or to write in a particular reason, while other states ask women to select the top reason or choose from a predetermined list. Additionally, definitions vary from state to state, with some states providing more precise reasons than others. To develop an estimate of the percent of abortions performed for a given reason, data was combined from each state reporting that particular reason.
Overall, common exceptions to abortion restrictions are estimated to account for less than 5% of all abortions.
Rape and incest: 0.3%[5]
Risk to the woman’s life or a major bodily function: 0.2%[6]
Other physical health concerns: 2.5%[7]
Abnormality in the unborn baby: 1.3%[8]
Elective and unspecified reasons: 95.7%[9]
Of the eight states that reported reasons for abortion, two (Florida and Utah) reported reasons by week of gestation. In these two states, abortions for common exceptions to abortion restrictions made up approximately 12 percent of second trimester abortions.
This could underestimate the number of abortions performed for each of these reasons because in some states a significant percentage of women declined to share a reason. Conversely, abortions for these reasons could be overestimated, since in states that permit multiple reasons to be reported, a single abortion could have been performed for more than one of these reasons. However, in Florida, which allows only one reason for each abortion and requires an abortion provider to list a reason before the abortion report form can be submitted, abortions for reasons commonly given as exceptions accounted for less than 3% of the total in 2021.
Due to the voluntary nature of state abortion reporting, the total number of abortions estimated by the Guttmacher Institute is 45% higher than the official U.S. total for 2019 (the most recent year of data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which monitors U.S. abortion trends).[10] CDC does not request information on reasons for abortion from the states, and so this data is not included in the national reports. As the Dobbs decision results in a shift in where and why abortions are performed and the complications that are associated with them, CDC should strengthen reporting requirements and request additional data from the states.[11]
References: (10 listed as references but only two are actual studies. the other 8 are notes with additional information or are criticisms of other studies)
A greater collection of debate fallacies, outright lies, and twisted reasoning I cannot imagine.
January 14, 2023
lozierinstitute.org/fact-sheet-reasons-for-abortion
by Tessa Longbons : BA in Communications Thomas Edison University, Trenton NJ
Originally published on August 17, 2022, and has been updated on January 14, 2023.
Condensed from article; see complete article at:
Fact Sheet: Reasons for Abortion - Lozier Institute
Originally published on August 17, 2022, this fact sheet was updated on January 14, 2023, and again on May 24, 2024. After the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, states across the country have enacted laws that limit abortion. Frequently, these state laws make...
Assessing the number of abortions performed for various reasons can be challenging due to the poor quality of U.S. abortion data because of inconsistent reporting requirements. Periodic surveys by pro- abortion organizations have been done of women visiting abortion centers, but none have been published for several years with the most frequently referenced papers being published in 2005 and 2013.[1],[2] However, these surveys do not provide a detailed look at abortions performed for common exceptions.
The most recent available data is from eight states (AZ, FL, LA, MN, NB, OK, SD, UT)that collect and report women’s reasons for choosing abortion. These eight states account for approximately 122,000 abortions each year, 13% of the U.S. total.[3],[4] Some of these states allow women to report multiple reasons for an abortion or to write in a particular reason, while other states ask women to select the top reason or choose from a predetermined list. Additionally, definitions vary from state to state, with some states providing more precise reasons than others. To develop an estimate of the percent of abortions performed for a given reason, data was combined from each state reporting that particular reason.
Overall, common exceptions to abortion restrictions are estimated to account for less than 5% of all abortions.
Rape and incest: 0.3%[5]
Risk to the woman’s life or a major bodily function: 0.2%[6]
Other physical health concerns: 2.5%[7]
Abnormality in the unborn baby: 1.3%[8]
Elective and unspecified reasons: 95.7%[9]
Of the eight states that reported reasons for abortion, two (Florida and Utah) reported reasons by week of gestation. In these two states, abortions for common exceptions to abortion restrictions made up approximately 12 percent of second trimester abortions.
This could underestimate the number of abortions performed for each of these reasons because in some states a significant percentage of women declined to share a reason. Conversely, abortions for these reasons could be overestimated, since in states that permit multiple reasons to be reported, a single abortion could have been performed for more than one of these reasons. However, in Florida, which allows only one reason for each abortion and requires an abortion provider to list a reason before the abortion report form can be submitted, abortions for reasons commonly given as exceptions accounted for less than 3% of the total in 2021.
Due to the voluntary nature of state abortion reporting, the total number of abortions estimated by the Guttmacher Institute is 45% higher than the official U.S. total for 2019 (the most recent year of data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which monitors U.S. abortion trends).[10] CDC does not request information on reasons for abortion from the states, and so this data is not included in the national reports. As the Dobbs decision results in a shift in where and why abortions are performed and the complications that are associated with them, CDC should strengthen reporting requirements and request additional data from the states.[11]
References: (10 listed as references but only two are actual studies. the other 8 are notes with additional information or are criticisms of other studies)
A greater collection of debate fallacies, outright lies, and twisted reasoning I cannot imagine.