Problem/condition: CDC conducts abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions and number of abortion-related deaths in the United States.
Period Covered: 2020.
Description Of System: Each year, CDC requests abortion data from the central health agencies for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City. For 2020, a total of 49 reporting areas voluntarily provided aggregate abortion data to CDC. Of these, 48 reporting areas provided data each year during 2011-2020. Census and natality data were used to calculate abortion rates (number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years) and ratios (number of abortions per 1,000 live births), respectively. Abortion-related deaths from 2019 were assessed as part of CDC's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS).
Results: A total of 620,327 abortions for 2020 were reported to CDC from 49 reporting areas. Among 48 reporting areas with data each year during 2011-2020, in 2020, a total of 615,911 abortions were reported, the abortion rate was 11.2 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years, and the abortion ratio was 198 abortions per 1,000 live births. From 2019 to 2020, the total number of abortions decreased 2% (from 625,346 total abortions), the abortion rate decreased 2% (from 11.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years), and the abortion ratio increased 2% (from 195 abortions per 1,000 live births). From 2011 to 2020, the total number of reported abortions decreased 15% (from 727,554), the abortion rate decreased 18% (from 13.7 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years), and the abortion ratio decreased 9% (from 217 abortions per 1,000 live births).In 2020, women in their 20s accounted for more than half of abortions (57.2%). Women aged 20-24 and 25-29 years accounted for the highest percentages of abortions (27.9% and 29.3%, respectively) and had the highest abortion rates (19.2 and 19.0 abortions per 1,000 women aged 20-24 and 25-29 years, respectively). By contrast, adolescents aged <15 years and women aged ≥40 years accounted for the lowest percentages of abortions (0.2% and 3.7%, respectively) and had the lowest abortion rates (0.4 and 2.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged <15 and ≥40 years, respectively). However, abortion ratios were highest among adolescents (aged ≤19 years) and lowest among women aged 25-39 years.Abortion rates decreased from 2011 to 2020 among all age groups. The decrease in abortion rate was highest among adolescents compared with any other age group. From 2019 to 2020, abortion rates decreased or did not change for all age groups. Abortion ratios decreased from 2011 to 2020 for all age groups, except adolescents aged 15-19 years and women aged 25-29 years for whom abortion ratios increased. The decrease in abortion ratio was highest among women aged ≥40 years compared with any other age group. From 2019 to 2020, abortion ratios decreased for adolescents aged <15 years and women aged ≥35 and increased for women 15-34 years.In 2020, 80.9% of abortions were performed at ≤9 weeks' gestation, and nearly all (93.1%) were performed at ≤13 weeks' gestation. During 2011-2020, the percentage of abortions performed at >13 weeks' gestation remained consistently low (≤9.2%). In 2020, the highest percentage of abortions were performed by early medical abortion at ≤9 weeks' gestation (51.0%), followed by surgical abortion at ≤13 weeks' gestation (40.0%), surgical abortion at >13 weeks' gestation (6.7%), and medical abortion at >9 weeks' gestation (2.4%); all other methods were uncommon (<0.1%). Among those that were eligible (≤9 weeks' gestation), 63.9% of abortions were early medical abortions. In 2019, the most recent year for which PMSS data were reviewed for pregnancy-related deaths, four women died as a result of complications from legal induced abortion.
Interpretation: Among the 48 areas that reported data continuously during 2011-2020, overall decreases were observed during 2011-2020 in the total number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions. From 2019 to 2020, decreases also were observed in the total number and rate of reported abortions; however, a 2% increase was observed in the total abortion ratio.
Public Health Action: Abortion surveillance can be used to help evaluate programs aimed at promoting equitable access to patient-centered quality contraceptive services in the United States to reduce unintended pregnancies.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9707346 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss7110a1 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
The ACA Medicaid expansions and abortion rates among young adults.
Eur J Health Econ
January 2025
Arkansas Tech University, Arkansas, USA.
This paper examines whether the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which increases access to contraceptives to low-income childless women and allows them more autonomy to determine the timing of their pregnancies and births, is associated with lower abortion rates during the period 2008-2017. Using state-level data from the Guttmacher Institute and employing a difference-in-differences method, we find that Medicaid expansion is associated with a meaningful reduction in the abortion rate among women ages 18-24, presumably through increased use of contraceptives among low-income young adults. Our estimates imply that Medicaid expansion is associated with a relative decrease in the abortion rate among this age group, approximately 1-2 per 1000 women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPreferences for the delivery of early abortion services in Australia: a discrete choice experiment.
Sex Health
December 2024
Department of General Practice, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
Background Abortion is a common procedure in Australia; it is estimated that the rate is between 15 and 17 per 1000 women. Surgical and medical abortion options are available; however, the use of medical abortion is not as common as in other similar countries. The aim of this study is to understand preferences for the provision of early abortion services in Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFertility and abortion: A population-based comparison between women with cancer and those in childbearing age.
Tumori
December 2024
National Centre for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy.
Objectives: Concurrence of pregnancy and cancer diagnosis is increasingly frequent in Italy. The study aimed to compare women with pregnancy-associated cancers (PACs) to those of childbearing age, focusing on fertility, induced abortion, and miscarriage.
Methods: The population-based study included women aged 15-49 years, both with and without PAC, who were residents in the area covered by the 19 participating Cancer Registries between 2003 and 2015 and identified by individual deterministic linkage with the Hospital Discharge Database.
Analysis of Risk Factors and Establishment of a Risk Prediction Model for Severe Postpartum Haemorrhage.
Br J Hosp Med (Lond)
November 2024
Maternity Ward, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Severe postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is a dangerous condition, characterized by rapid progression and poor prognosis. It remains the leading preventable cause of maternal death worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors for severe PPH and establish a prediction model to identify severe PPH early, allowing for early intervention reduce maternal death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFData storage based on the absence of nucleotides using a bacteriophage abortive infection system reverse transcriptase.
Lab Chip
November 2024
Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
DNA molecules are a promising data storage medium for the future; however, effective synthesis of DNA using an enzyme that catalyzes the polymerization of natural nucleoside triphosphates in a user-defined manner, without the need for multiple injections of polymerase, remains a challenge. In the present study, we demonstrated that the bacteriophage abortive infection system reverse transcriptase AbiK from facilitates such an approach. We employed surface plasmon resonance to monitor the polymerization of the DNA strand with a user-defined sequence of multiple segments through a sequential buffer exchange process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!