Decrease in number of abortions seen from 2013 to 2022 and in abortion rates among women aged 15 to 44 years
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) — From 2021 to 2022, there was a decrease in the number of abortions performed, as well as in the abortion rate and ratio, according to research published in the Nov. 28 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Stephanie Ramer, M.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues calculated abortion rates (number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years) and ratios (number of abortions per 1,000 live births) in 2022.
A total of 613,383 abortions were reported from 48 reporting areas for 2022. The researchers found that the abortion rate was 11.2 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years and the abortion ratio was 199 abortions per 1,000 livebirths among 47 reporting areas with data each year during 2013 to 2022. The total number of abortions decreased 2 percent from 2021 to 2022, while the abortion rate and ratio decreased 3 and 2 percent, respectively. From 2013 to 2022, there was a 5 percent decrease in the total number of reported abortions, a decrease of 10 percent in the abortion rate, and an increase of 1 percent in the abortion ratio. Women in their 20s accounted for 56.5 percent of abortions in 2022, with the highest percentages (28.3 and 28.2 percent) and highest abortion rates (18.1 and 18.7 per 1,000 women) for those aged 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 years, respectively.
“Abortion surveillance can be used to help evaluate programs aimed at promoting equitable access to patient-centered contraceptive care in the United States to reduce unintended pregnancies,” the authors write.
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