Minority women disproportionately abort even as overall rate declines, study says

A study of abortion trends in the U.S. claims that the abortion rate is now at its lowest level since 1974, though minority groups did see as large of a drop in abortions. One critic of the study suggests it ignores both the “purposeful” placement of abortion clinics in African-American areas and the manner in which abortion is promoted to black women.

The Allan Guttmacher Institute’s study “Trends in the Characteristics of Women Obtaining Abortions, 1974 to 2004” reports that the abortion rate has declined from its 1980 peak of 29 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 to 20 per 1,000 in 2004, a decline of about 33 percent.

According to a statement on the Allan Guttmacher Institute’s website, the study reports marked differences between ethnic groups. Between 1994 and 2004 the abortion rate for non-Hispanic white women declined 30 percent from 15 to 11 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, while among Hispanics the abortion rate fell by 20 percent from 35 to 28 abortions per 1,000 women in the same age group.

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New Report Finds Black, Older, Poor Women More Likely to Have Abortions