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Abortion Surveillance -- United States, 1996

Lisa M. Koonin, M.N., M.P.H.; Lilo T. Strauss, M.A.
Camaryn E. Chrisman, M.P.H.; Myra A. Montalbano
Linda A. Bartlett, M.D., M.H.Sc.; Jack C. Smith, M.S.
Division of Reproductive Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion, CDC

Abstract

Problem/Condition: In 1969, CDC began abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions, to monitor unintended pregnancy, and to assist efforts to identify and reduce preventable causes of morbidity and mortality associated with abortions.

Reporting Period Covered: This report summarizes and reviews information reported to CDC regarding legal induced abortions obtained in the United States in 1996. This report also includes recently reported abortion-related deaths that occurred in 1992.

Description of System: For each year since 1969, CDC has compiled abortion data received from 52 reporting areas in the United States: 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City.

Results: In 1996, a total of 1,221,585 legal abortions were reported to CDC, representing a 0.9% increase from the number reported for 1995. The abortion ratio was 314 legal induced abortions per 1,000 live births, and as in 1995, the abortion rate was 20 per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years. Women who were undergoing an abortion were more likely to be young (i.e. aged less than 25 years), white, and unmarried; most were obtaining an abortion for the first time. More than one half of all abortions (55%) were performed at less than or equal to 8 weeks of gestation, and approximately 88% were performed before 13 weeks. Approximately 16% of abortions were performed at the earliest weeks of gestation (less than or equal to 6 weeks), approximately 17% at 7 weeks of gestation, and approximately 21% at 8 weeks of gestation. Few abortions were provided after 15 weeks of gestation -- approximately 4% of abortions were obtained at 16-20 weeks, and 1.5% were obtained at greater than or equal to 21 weeks. Younger women (i.e., women aged less than or equal to 24 years) were more likely to obtain abortions later in pregnancy than were older women.

In 1992, 10 women died as a result of complications from legal induced abortion, and no deaths were reported associated with illegal abortion. In 1992, the case-fatality rate of legal induced abortion was 0.7 abortion-related deaths per 100,000 legal induced abortions.

Interpretation: From 1990 through 1995, the number of abortions declined each year; in 1996, the number of abortions in the United States stabilized. As in previous years, deaths related to legal induced abortions occurred rarely (i.e., approximately one death per 100,000 legal induced abortions).

Actions Taken: The number and characteristics of women who obtain abortions in the United States should continue to be monitored so that trends in induced abortion can be assessed, efforts to prevent unintended pregnancy can be evaluated, and the preventable causes of morbidity and mortality associated with abortions can be identified and reduced.

INTRODUCTION

In 1969, CDC began abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions, to monitor unintended pregnancy, and to assist efforts to identify and reduce preventable causes of morbidity and mortality associated with abortions. This report is based on abortion data for 1996 provided to CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Division of Reproductive Health.

METHODS

For 1996, CDC compiled data from 52 reporting areas in the United States: 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City. Legal induced abortion was defined as a procedure, performed by a licensed physician or someone acting under the supervision of a licensed physician, that was intended to terminate a suspected or known intrauterine pregnancy and to produce a nonviable fetus at any gestational age (1,2). The total number of legal induced abortions was available from all reporting areas; however, not all of these areas collected information regarding the characteristics of women who obtained abortions.

The availability of information about characteristics of women who obtained an abortion in 1996 varied by state. Most reporting areas (44 states and New York City) collected and reported adequate abortion data (i.e., data of sufficient quality to be used for analysis) by age of the woman, whereas only 22 states and New York City collected and reported adequate abortion data by Hispanic ethnicity. In the "Results" section of this report, all of the percentage data for each characteristic represent only women with known characteristics; unknowns have not been distributed for the calculation of these percentages (Tables 4, 6-13). Areas were excluded from the analysis if data regarding a given characteristic were unknown for greater than 15% of women (Tables 1, 4-18).

For 48 reporting areas, data concerning the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions were provided by the central health agency*; for the other four areas, data were provided by hospitals and other medical facilities (3). Because information concerning the residence of women who obtained abortions was not available from some states, the procedures were reported by the state in which they were performed. However, for two reporting areas (i.e., the District of Columbia and Wisconsin), characteristics of women who were nonresidents and who obtained abortions in 1996 were unavailable.

For analysis by age, women who obtained legal induced abortions were grouped by 5-year age groups. Both ratios (i.e., the number of abortions per 1,000 live births per year) and rates (the number of abortions per 1,000 women per year) are presented by age group in this report. Starting with 1996, ratios were calculated by using the number of live births to residents of each area reported to CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, and rates were calculated by using the number of women residents of each area reported in special unpublished tabulations provided by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Because almost all (94%) abortions among women aged less than 15 years in 1988 (4) occurred among those aged 13-14 years, the population of women aged 13-14 years was used as the denominator for calculating abortion rates for women aged less than 15 years. Rates for women aged greater than or equal to 40 years were based on the number of women aged 40-44 years, whereas rates for all women who obtained abortions were based on the population of women aged 15-44 years.

Race was categorized by three groups (i.e., a] white, b] black, and c] all other races) or two groups (i.e., a] white and b] black and all other races). "Other" races included Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian, Alaskan Native, and women classified as "other" race. As in previous reports, Hispanic ethnicity and race were evaluated separately, and rates and ratios were presented by both race and Hispanic ethnicity.

Marital status was reported as either married (which included women who were married or separated) or unmarried (which included those who were never married, divorced, or widowed, except where noted). Reporting of marital status differed somewhat by state, particularly for the data used as denominators to calculate abortion ratios by marital status; therefore, abortion ratios by marital status should be interpreted cautiously.

Most areas (37 of 40) that reported adequate data on week of gestation at the time of abortion also reported abortions performed at less than or equal to 6, 7, and 8 weeks of gestation. Gestational age (in weeks) at the time of abortion was reported by approximately one half of the areas from estimates derived from the time elapsed since the woman's last menstrual period. In 1996, for 18 other states, gestational age was reported on the basis of the physician's estimate for each reported abortion or when information regarding the last menstrual period was missing or unreliable. Physician's estimates for gestational age also could have included information from the clinical examination as well as the time elapsed since the last menstrual period.

CDC has periodically reported information on abortion-related deaths; 1972 was the first year for which such data were available (5). Sources for such information included national and state vital records, maternal mortality review committees, surveys, private citizens, the media, health-care providers, medical examiners' reports, and, more recently, computerized searches of several full-text newspaper databases. For each reported case, clinical records and autopsy reports were requested and reviewed by two medical epidemiologists to determine the cause of death and verify that the death was abortion-related.

An abortion-related death was defined as a death resulting from a) a direct complication of an abortion, b) an indirect complication caused by the chain of events initiated by the abortion, or c) aggravation of a preexisting condition by the physiologic or psychologic effects of the abortion (2). Each abortion-related death was then categorized as legal induced, illegal induced, spontaneous, or unknown. Deaths that did not satisfy the criteria of the case definition were classified as not abortion-related.**

This report includes reported abortion-related deaths that occurred in 1992. National case-fatality rates were calculated as the number of legal induced abortion-related deaths per 100,000 legal induced abortions. Trends in case-fatality rates for legal induced abortions during 1972-1992 are reported.

RESULTS

In 1996, a total of 1,221,585 legal induced abortions were reported to CDC, representing a slight increase of 0.9% from the number reported for 1995 (6) (Table 1). From 1970 through 1982, the reported number of legal abortions in the United States increased every year (Table 2; Figure 1); the largest percentage increase occurred from 1970 to 1971. From 1976 through 1982, the annual increase declined and reached a low of 0.2% during 1980-1981 and during 1981-1982. From 1983 through 1990, the number of abortions increased again, although moderately (less than or equal to 5% from year to year). However, despite the slight increase in the number of abortions in 1996 compared with 1995, during 1990-1995, the annual number of abortions decreased each year.

The national legal induced abortion ratio (number of legal abortions per 1,000 live births) increased from 1970 through 1980, peaked at 364 per 1,000 live births in 1984, and began to decline steadily in 1987, from 356 per 1,000 to 311 per 1,000 in 1995 (Figure 1; Table 2). From 1995 to 1996, the national abortion ratio increased slightly, from 311 to 314. The national legal induced abortion rate increased from five abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years in 1970 to 25 per 1,000 in 1980. From 1981 through 1992, the rate remained stable at 23-24 abortions per 1,000 women, then declined to 22 in 1993, to 21 in 1994, and to 20 in 1995. In 1996, the abortion rate remained stable at 20 abortions per 1,000 women.

In 1996, as in previous years, most legal induced abortions were performed in California, New York City, Texas, and Florida; the fewest were performed in Wyoming, South Dakota, Idaho, and North Dakota (Table 3) (6). For women whose state of residence was known, approximately 92% had obtained the abortion within the state in which they resided. The percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents ranged from approximately 50% in the District of Columbia to less than 0.5% in Hawaii. For 1996, eight reporting areas could not provide data concerning abortions obtained by out-of-state residents.

Women aged 20-24 years obtained approximately one third (32%) of all abortions; women aged less than 15 years obtained less than 1% of all abortions (Table 4). Abortion ratios were highest for the youngest women (i.e., 723 abortions per 1,000 live births for women aged less than 15 years and 415 per 1,000 for women aged 15-19 years) and for the oldest women (376 per 1,000 live births for women aged 40-44 years). The ratio was lowest for women aged 30-34 years (165 per 1,000 live births) (Figure 2; Table 4). Among adolescents, the abortion ratio was highest for those aged less than 15 years and lowest for those aged 19 years (Table 5).

In contrast to abortion ratios, abortion rates were highest for women aged 20-24 years (38 abortions per 1,000 women) and lowest for women at the extremes of reproductive-age (i.e., two abortions per 1,000 women aged less than 15 years [i.e., 13-14 years] and two per 1,000 women aged 40-44 years) (Table 4).

For women in most age groups, the abortion ratio increased from 1974 through the early 1980s and declined thereafter, particularly for the youngest and oldest reproductive-aged women (Figure 3). Abortion ratios for women aged less than 15 years have been and remain higher than those for the other age groups. Although abortion ratios increased slightly for women aged less than 15 and 15-19 years from 1995 to 1996, these ratios remained among the lowest ever recorded for these age groups. The abortion ratio for women aged 20-34 years (i.e., the group with the highest fertility rate) (7) has remained stable since the mid-1980s.

In 1996, approximately 54% of reported legal induced abortions were obtained at less than or equal to 8 weeks of gestation, and approximately 87% at less than 13 weeks (Table 6). Approximately 16% of abortions were performed during the earliest weeks of gestation (less than or equal to 6 weeks), approximately 17% at 7 weeks, and approximately 21% at 8 weeks (Table 7). Few abortions were provided after 15 weeks of gestation -- approximately 4% of abortions were obtained at 16-20 weeks, and 1.5% were obtained at greater than or equal to 21 weeks (Figure 4; Table 6).

Almost all (98%) abortions were performed by curettage and less than 0.5% by intrauterine saline or prostaglandin instillation (Table 8). Hysterectomy and hysterotomy were used in fewer than 0.01% of abortions.

Approximately 57% of women who obtained legal induced abortions were white (Table 9). The abortion ratio for black women was 555 per 1,000 live births; this was approximately 2.7 times the ratio for white women (202 per 1,000 live births). The abortion ratio for women of other races (360 per 1,000 live births) was approximately 1.8 times the ratio for white women. In addition, the abortion rate for black women (31 per 1,000 women) was approximately 2.6 times the rate for white women (12 per 1,000 women).

Twenty-two states and New York City*** reported data concerning the Hispanic ethnicity of women who obtained legal induced abortions (Table 10). The percentage of abortions obtained by Hispanic women in these reporting areas ranged from less than 1% in several states to approximately 44% in New Mexico. For Hispanic women in these reporting areas, the abortion ratio was 276 per 1,000 live births -- slightly lower than the ratio for non-Hispanics in the same areas (282 per 1,000 live births). However, the abortion rate per 1,000 Hispanic women (20 per 1,000 women) was greater than the rate per 1,000 non-Hispanic women (15 per 1,000 women).

Seventy-eight percent of women who obtained abortions were unmarried (Table 11). The abortion ratio for unmarried women was approximately eight times the ratio for married women (655 versus 78 abortions per 1,000 live births).

Approximately 43% of women who obtained legal induced abortions had had no previous live births, and approximately 87% had had two or fewer previous live births (Table 12). The abortion ratio was highest for women who had had three previous live births and lowest for women who had had one previous live birth.

In 1996, of women who obtained an abortion, 54% of women obtained an abortion for the first time. Approximately 18% of women had had at least two previous abortions (Table 13).

The age distribution of women who obtained a legal abortion differed slightly by race (Table 14). However, for women of black or other races, the percentage who were aged less than 15 years, although small (1.0%), was almost twice the percentage for white women (0.6%). The percentage of women of black or other races who were unmarried (83%) also was slightly higher than the percentage of white women (77%). Few differences were found by age and Hispanic ethnicity (Table 15). Of those women who had obtained an abortion, a slightly higher percentage of non-Hispanic women were unmarried (80%) in comparison with Hispanic women (77%).

Most (approximately 88%) women who obtained an abortion had their procedure during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy (Table 16 and Table 17). The percentage of women who obtained an abortion early in pregnancy (i.e., less than or equal to 8 weeks of gestation) increased with age, and the percentage who obtained an abortion very late in pregnancy (at greater than or equal to 21 weeks of gestation) decreased with age for women up to 30-34 years of age and remained stable for women in older age groups (Figure 5; Table 16). Black women were more likely to obtain an abortion later in pregnancy than were white women or women of other races (Table 16 and Table 17). Of all women who obtained an abortion, Hispanic women were slightly more likely than non-Hispanic women to have had an abortion at less than or equal to 8 weeks of gestation and less likely to have had an abortion late in pregnancy (greater than or equal to 21 weeks). However, the overall differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women in the timing of abortions were minimal (Table 16).

More than 99% of abortions at less than or equal to 12 weeks of gestation were performed by using curettage (primarily suction procedures) (Table 18). After 12 weeks of gestation, the most frequently used procedure also was curettage, although it usually was performed as a dilatation and evacuation (D&E). Intrauterine instillations involved the use of saline or prostaglandin; these procedures were used primarily at greater than or equal to 16 weeks of gestation.

CDC received reports of 43 possible abortion-related deaths for 1992 (the most recent year for which data are available). A review of these cases indicated that 27 of the 43 women died of abortion-related causes (Table 19). Ten of the deaths were associated with legal induced abortion, and 17 deaths were associated with spontaneous abortions. No deaths were associated with illegal induced abortions. Possible abortion-related deaths that occurred during 1993-1996 are being investigated.

The case-fatality rate for legal induced abortion in 1992 was 0.7 deaths per 100,000 legal induced abortions. During 1980-1992, annual case-fatality rates for legal induced abortion-related deaths were less than or equal to 1.2 deaths per 100,000 legal induced abortions (Table 19; Figure 6).

DISCUSSION

From 1990 (i.e., the year in which the number of abortions was highest) through 1995, the annual number of abortions in the United States decreased by 15% (Table 2) (6,8). From 1995 to 1996, the number of abortions differed only slightly (an increase of 0.9%). Therefore, in 1996, the number of abortions in this country appears to have stabilized. In addition, the number of live births in 1996 was also stable from that recorded for 1995, a decrease of 0.2% (7).

The abortion ratio had increased steadily from 1970 through 1980, decreased slightly during 1980-1983, increased to its highest level in 1984, remained fairly stable until 1987, and then declined each subsequent year through 1995 (Table 2; Figure 1). Despite a slight increase in the abortion ratio from 1995 to 1996 (from 311 to 314 abortions per 1,000 live births), the ratio for these 2 years were at the lowest recorded level since 1976 (6,9). The slight ratio increase in 1996 occurred because the numerator of this ratio (the number of abortions) increased slightly, and the denominator (the number of live births) decreased slightly for that year (7).

In both 1995 and 1996, the national abortion rate was 20 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44, the lowest recorded rate since 1975 (10). This trend in the abortion rate might reflect multiple factors, including the decreasing number of unintended pregnancies; a shift in the age distribution of reproductive-aged women towards the older and less fertile ages; reduced access to abortion services; and changes in contraceptive practices, including an increased use of contraception, particularly an increased use of condoms among young women (6, 11-14). In this report, the induced abortion rate in the United States was higher than recent rates reported for Australia, Canada, and Western European countries and lower than rates reported for China, Cuba, most Eastern European countries, and several of the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union (15,16). Abortion and birth rates for teenagers are higher in the United States than in most Western European countries and some Eastern European countries (17).

As in previous years, the abortion ratio in 1996 varied substantially by age (6). Although the ratio was highest for adolescents, the percentage of legal induced abortions obtained by women aged less than or equal to 19 years has decreased since the mid-1980s (i.e., from 26% in 1984 to 22% in 1990 and to 20% in 1992) and has remained at that level (8,18). From 1984 through 1995, the abortion ratio declined for women aged 15-19 years to the lowest abortion ratio ever recorded for that age group (Figure 3). In 1996, the ratio for this group rose slightly. Other studies have indicated a decrease in pregnancy rates for women aged 15-19 years from 1992 through 1995 and a decrease in teenage birth rates from 1995 to 1996 (7,19).

Several factors might have influenced this decline over time in the abortion ratios among adolescents. First, teenage pregnancies decreased and the decline in abortions was even greater than for live births. Second, the age distribution of reproductive-aged women obtaining abortions shifted from younger women to older women (20). Third, access to abortion services changed (12,13), including the passage of abortion laws that affect adolescents (e.g., parental consent or notification laws and mandatory waiting periods) (21,22).

In 1996, as in 1995, the abortion ratio for black women was more than two and one half times (2.8) the ratio for white women; this differential has increased since 1989 (23). In addition, the abortion rate for black women was approximately 2.7 times the rate for white women. Race-specific differences in legal induced abortion ratios and rates might reflect differences in factors such as socioeconomic status, contraceptive use, incidence of unintended pregnancies, and access to family-planning and contraceptive services.

The abortion-to-live-birth ratio for Hispanic women during 1996 was slightly lower than that for non-Hispanic women. Another report, which describes characteristics of women who obtain abortions supports this finding (24). However, the abortion rate per 1,000 Hispanic women was higher than the rate for non-Hispanic women, which is consistent with several other studies (24,25). For women in all age groups, fertility was substantially higher for Hispanic than for non-Hispanic women (7).

In 1996, a total of 38 areas, including the District of Columbia and New York City, reported Hispanic ethnicity of women who obtained abortions. Because of concerns regarding the completeness of such information (greater than 15% unknown data) for Hispanic ethnicity in some states, data from only 22 states and New York City were evaluated to determine the number and percentage of abortions obtained by women of Hispanic ethnicity in 1996. These geographical areas represent approximately 34% of all reproductive-aged Hispanic women in the United States in 1996 (CDC, unpublished data). Thus, the number of Hispanic women who obtain abortions might be underestimated (24), and the number, ratio, and rate of abortions for Hispanic women in this report might not be representative of the overall Hispanic population in the United States (i.e., these data might reflect utilization of abortion services only in the areas included in this analysis).

Since 1980, the percentage distribution of abortions by gestational age has been stable, with slight percentage increases toward the earliest and latest gestational ages. Since 1992, there have been slight percentage decreases for abortions performed at 8 and 9-10 weeks and increases in the percentage of abortions performed at the early weeks of gestation (i.e., less than or equal to 6 and 7 weeks). Recently, interest has increased in surveillance for abortions performed late in pregnancy (i.e., greater than or equal to 21 weeks) (26,27).

Data are compiled and reported to assist in monitoring trends in legal abortions as new medical (nonsurgical) methods of terminating pregnancy are implemented because these new methods are used primarily to terminate pregnancies at less than or equal to 8 weeks of gestation (28-30). Since 1992, most reporting areas have reported abortions by gestational age, in weeks of gestation, for abortions performed at less than or equal to 6, 7, and 8 weeks. For 1997, most states are expected to collect and report data on abortions performed by medical (nonsurgical) procedures (31). During 1994-1995, approximately 2,000 women in the United States aged greater than 18 years participated in clinical trials testing mifepristone, a medication used for medical (nonsurgical) abortion (32). This medication has not yet been fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use and distribution in the United States (Population Council, Personal Communication, 1999). However, other medications (e.g., methotrexate and misoprostol) are currently being used to perform early medical (nonsurgical) abortions (30,33).

In this and previous reports, age was inversely associated with timing of abortion (6). As in previous years, younger women were more likely to obtain an abortion later in gestation than were older women. In addition to the age of the woman, marital status, level of education, availability and accessibility of services, timing of confirmation of pregnancy, personal decision-making, level of fear and denial of pregnancy, and other considerations impact the timing of abortion (34,35).

From 1972 through 1996, the percentage of abortions performed by curettage (which includes D&E) increased from 89% to 99% (Table 1), and the percentage of abortions performed by intrauterine instillation and hysterectomy and hysterotomy declined sharply (from 10% to 0.4% and from 0.6% to less than 0.01%, respectively [5]). From 1974 through 1996, the percentage of second-trimester abortions performed by D&E (curettage) increased from 31% to 93%; the percentage of second-trimester abortions performed by intrauterine instillation decreased from 57% to 2% (36). The continued reliance on D&E probably has resulted from the lower risk for complications associated with the procedure (37,38).

From 1972 through 1992, the annual number of deaths associated with legal induced abortion has decreased by 58% (5). In 1972, 24 women died from causes associated with legal abortion, and 39 women died from illegal abortions (5). In 1992, 10 women died as a result of legal induced abortion, and none died as a result of illegal abortion. The case-fatality rate decreased by 82% between 1972 and 1992. These rates, consistent with previously published data for the 1970s and mid-1980s, indicate that the risk for death from legal induced abortion continues to be extremely low (39-42).

In 1992, 17 reported deaths were associated with spontaneous abortion. This number was greater than in previous years; spontaneous abortion-related deaths have been relatively stable at less than 10 deaths per year since 1978. The reason for this increase in reported spontaneous abortion-related deaths is unclear at this time and is under investigation.

The number, ratio, and rate of abortions from this analysis are conservative estimates because the numbers of legal abortions reported to CDC for 1996 were probably lower than the numbers actually performed. Totals provided by central health agencies might be lower than those obtained by direct surveys of abortion providers (3). For example, the total number of abortions reported to CDC for 1996 was approximately 12% lower than that reported for 1996 by The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a private organization that directly contacts abortion providers to obtain information concerning the total number of abortions performed (13). In addition, not all states collected and/or reported information (e.g., age, race, and gestational age) concerning women obtaining a legal induced abortion in 1996; therefore, the numbers, percentages, rates, and ratios derived from this analysis might not be representative of all women who obtained abortions in that year.

Despite these limitations, findings from ongoing national surveillance for legal induced abortion are useful for several purposes. First, public health agencies use data from abortion surveillance that characterize women who are at high risk for unintended pregnancy. Second, ongoing annual surveillance is used to monitor trends in the number, ratio, and rate of abortions in the United States. Third, statistics on the number of pregnancies ending in abortion are used in conjunction with birth and fetal death statistics to estimate pregnancy rates (e.g., pregnancy rates among teenagers) (4) and other outcome rates (e.g., the rate of ectopic pregnancies per 1,000 pregnancies). Fourth, abortion and pregnancy rates can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of family-planning programs and programs for preventing unintended pregnancy. Fifth, ongoing surveillance provides data for assessing changes in clinical practice patterns related to abortion (e.g., longitudinal changes in the types of procedures and trends in gestational age at the time of abortion). Finally, abortion data are used as the denominator in calculating abortion morbidity and mortality rates.

Induced abortions usually are linked to unintended pregnancies, which often occur despite use of contraception (14,43,44). In 1995, data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) indicated that approximately 31% of live births were associated with unintended pregnancy (i.e., either mistimed or unwanted at conception) (11). Unintended pregnancy is not a problem just for adolescents, unmarried women, or for poor women; it is a pervasive public health problem for all women of reproductive age (11).

In a study of abortion patients conducted during 1994 and 1995, 58% of patients reported that they "currently used" contraception during the month of their last menstrual period; however, their use of contraception might have been inconsistent or incorrect (25). In 1995, when the most recent NSFG was conducted, approximately 29% of sexually active U.S. women who used only oral contraceptives for birth control reported that they missed a birth-control pill one or more times during the 3 months before their NSFG interview. In addition, approximately 33% of U.S. women who were using only coitus-dependent contraceptive methods**** during the 3 months before the interview used these methods inconsistently (11). At present, not all health insurance plans provide full contraceptive benefits (45). Therefore, education regarding improved contraceptive use and practices as well as access to and education regarding safe, effective, and affordable contraception and family-planning services might help reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancy and, therefore, might reduce the use of legal induced abortion in the United States (46,47).

Recently passed welfare-reform legislation -- the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996***** -- has increased the interest in accurate state-based surveillance for induced abortion. In addition, some states have instituted programs that emphasize the prevention of unintended pregnancy, particularly among adolescents. To help guide these efforts, an ongoing, accurate assessment of induced abortion is needed in all states to determine the number and characteristics of women who obtain these procedures.

Additional statistical and epidemiologic information about legal induced abortions is available from CDC's automated Reproductive Health Information System. This system provides information by fax, voice recordings, or mail; telephone (888) 232-2306. Copies of MMWR reports containing statistical and epidemiologic information about abortions also can be obtained through the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/ nccdphp/drh/surv_abort.htm.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Mary M. Goodwin, MPH, and Karen S. Colberg, both with the Division of Reproductive Health, NCCDPHP, CDC; and David A. Gilbertz, MS, TRW, Inc., Atlanta, GA, for their critical work with data compilation and computer programming for this surveillance project.

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  26. Alan Guttmacher Institute. Late-term abortions: legal considerations. New York and Washington, DC: Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1997:1-4.
  27. Epner JEG, Jonas HS, Seckinger DL. Late-term abortion. JAMA 1998;280:724-9.
  28. Peyron R, Aubeny E, Targosz V, et al. Termination of pregnancy with mifepristone (RU 486) and the orally active prostaglandin misoprostol. N Engl J Med 1993;328:1509-13.
  29. Winikoff B. Acceptability of medical abortion in early pregnancy. Fam Plann Perspect 1995;27:142-8, 185.
  30. Hausknecht RU. Methotrexate and misoprostol to terminate early pregnancy. N Engl J Med 1995;333:537-40.
  31. CDC. Handbook on the reporting of induced termination of pregnancy (reprinted from 1988; includes revised instructions and reporting form, 1997). Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, 1998:1-18; DHHS publication no. (PHS)98-1117.
  32. Population Council. U.S. mifepristone clinical trials: summary of findings. New York: Population Council, 1997.
  33. Creinin MD, Vittinghoff E, Schaff E, Klaisle C, Darney PD, Dean C. Medical abortion with oral methotrexate and vaginal misoprostol. Obstet Gynecol 1997;90:611-6.
  34. Fielding WL, Sachtleben MR, Friedman LM, Friedman EA. Comparison of women seeking early and late abortion. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1978;131:304-10.
  35. Tietze C, Henshaw SK. Induced abortion: a world review. 6th ed. New York: The Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1986:29-52.
  36. CDC. Abortion surveillance, 1974. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, 1976:1-49.
  37. Cates W Jr, Schulz KF, Grimes DA, et al. Dilatation and evacuation procedures and second-trimester abortion: the role of physician skill and hospital setting. JAMA 1982;248:559-63.
  38. Grimes DA. Second-trimester abortions in the United States. Fam Plann Perspect 1984;16:260-6.
  39. Atrash HK, Lawson HW, Smith JC. Legal abortion in the US: trends and mortality. Contemp Ob Gyn 1990;35:58-69.
  40. Cates W Jr, Rochat RW, Smith JC, Tyler CW. Trends in national abortion mortality, United States, 1940-1974: implications for prevention of future abortion deaths. Advances in Planned Parenthood 1976;11:106-13.
  41. Atrash HK, MacKay HT, Binkin NJ, Hogue CJR. Legal abortion mortality in the United States: 1972 to 1982. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1987;156:605-12.
  42. Lawson HW, Frye A, Atrash HK, Smith JC, Shulman HB, Ramick M. Abortion mortality, United States, 1972 through 1987. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1994;171:1365-72.
  43. Jones EF, Forrest JD. Contraceptive failure rates based on the 1988 NSFG. Fam Plann Perspect 1992;24:12-9.
  44. Torres A, Forrest JD. Why do women have abortions? Fam Plann Perspect 1988;20:169-76.
  45. Gold RB, Darroch JE, Frost JJ. Mainstreaming contraceptive services in managed care--five states' experiences. Fam Plann Perspect 1998;30:204-11.
  46. Westoff CF. Contraceptive paths toward the reduction of unintended pregnancy and abortion. Fam Plann Perspect 1988;20:4-13.
  47. Forrest JD. Epidemiology of unintended pregnancy and contraceptive use. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1994;170(suppl):1485-8.

* Includes state health departments and the health departments of New York City and the District of Columbia.

** These terms were defined in detail in CDC's abortion surveillance reports for 1977 and 1978 (1,2).

*** After excluding 15 areas for which data was unknown for greater than 15% of women who obtained an abortion.

**** Coitus-dependent contraceptive methods include male or female condoms, diaphragm, sponge, cream, jelly, or other methods that must be used at the time intercourse occurs.

******* Section 103 of P.L. 104-193 provides for additional welfare funding for as many as five states if a) the birth rate of infants to unwed mothers is decreased and b) the rate of induced pregnancy terminations is less than the rate for 1995 (the baseline year).



Table 1



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TABLE 1. Characteristics of women who obtained legal abortions -- United States, selected years, 1972-1996
==================================================================================================================================================================
Characteristic                     1972      1973      1976       1980        1985        1990        1992        1993        1994        1995        1996
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reported no. of legal abortions   586,760   615,831   988,267   1,297,606   1,328,570   1,429,577   1,359,145   1,330,414   1,267,415   1,210,883   1,221,585

                                                                                  Percent distribution*
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Residence
  In-state                           56.2      74.8      90.0        92.6        92.4        91.8        92.0        91.4        91.5        91.7        91.9
  Out-of-state                       43.8      25.2      10.0         7.4         7.6         8.2         8.0         8.6         8.5         8.3         8.1

Age (yrs)
   <=19                              32.6      32.7      32.1        29.2        26.3        22.4        20.1        20.0        20.2        20.1        20.3
  20-24                              32.5      32.0      33.3        35.5        34.7        33.2        34.5        34.4        33.5        32.5        31.9
   >=25                              34.9      35.3      34.6        35.3        39.0        44.4        45.4        45.6        46.3        47.4        47.9

Race
  White                              77.0      72.5      66.6        69.9        66.7        64.8        61.5        60.9        60.5        59.5        59.1
  Black                              23.0+     27.5+     33.4+       30.1+       29.8        31.8        33.9        34.9        34.7        35.0        35.2
  Other&                               --        --        --          --         3.5         3.4         4.6         4.2         4.8         5.5         5.7

Hispanic origin
  Hispanic                             --        --        --          --          --         9.8        15.2        14.7        14.5        15.4        16.1
  Non-Hispanic                         --        --        --          --          --        90.2        84.8        85.3        85.5        84.6        83.9

Marital Status
  Married                            29.7      27.4      24.6        23.1        19.3        21.7        20.8        20.4        19.9        19.7        19.6
  Unmarried                          70.3      72.6      75.4        76.9        80.7        78.3        79.2        79.6        80.1        80.3        80.4

No. of live births@
    0                                49.4      48.6      47.7        58.4        56.3        49.2        45.9        46.3        46.2        45.2        44.2
    1                                18.2      18.8      20.7        19.4        21.6        24.4        25.9        26.0        25.9        26.5        26.8
    2                                13.3      14.2      15.4        13.7        14.5        16.9        18.0        17.8        17.8        18.0        18.4
    3                                 8.7       8.7       8.3         5.3         5.1         6.1         6.7         6.6         6.7         6.8         7.0
  >=4                                10.4       9.7       7.9         3.2         2.5         3.4         3.5         3.3         3.4         3.5         3.6

Type of procedure
  Curettage                          88.6      88.4      92.8        95.5        97.5        98.8        98.9        99.0        99.1        98.9        98.8
   Suction curettage                 65.2      74.9      82.6        89.8        94.6        96.0        97.0        96.4        96.5        96.6        96.5
   Sharp curettage                   23.4      13.5      10.2         5.7         2.9         2.8         1.9         2.6         2.6         2.3         2.3
  Intrauterine instillation          10.4      10.4       6.0         3.1         1.7         0.8         0.7         0.6         0.5         0.5         0.4
  Other**                             1.0       1.2       1.2         1.4         0.8         0.4         0.4         0.4         0.4         0.6         0.8

Weeks of gestation
    <=8                              34.0      36.1      47.0        51.7        50.3        51.6        52.1        52.3        53.7        54.0        54.6
     <=6                               --        --        --          --          --          --        14.3++      14.7&&      15.7@@      15.7@@      16.4***
       7                               --        --        --          --          --          --        15.6++      16.2&&      16.5@@      17.1@@      17.4***
       8                               --        --        --          --          --          --        22.2++      21.6&&      21.6@@      21.2@@      20.9***
   9-10                              30.7      29.4      28.1        26.2        26.6        25.3        24.2        24.4        23.5        23.1        22.6
  11-12                              17.5      17.9      14.4        12.2        12.5        11.7        12.0        11.6        10.9        10.9        11.0
  13-15                               8.4       6.9       4.5         5.1         5.9         6.4         6.0         6.3         6.3         6.3         6.0
  16-20                               8.2       8.0       5.1         3.9         3.9         4.0         4.2         4.1         4.3         4.3         4.3
   >=21                               1.2       1.7       0.9         0.9         0.8         1.0         1.5         1.3         1.3         1.4         1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  * Based on known values in data from all areas reporting a given characteristic with no more than 15% unknowns. The number of areas reporting a
    given characteristic varied. For 1996, the number of areas included for residence was 45; age, 45; race, 35; ethnicity, 23; marital status, 34;
the number
    of live births, 39; type of procedure, 41; and weeks of gestation, 40.
  + Reported as black and other races.
  & Includes all other races.
  @ For 1972-1976, data indicate number of living children.
 ** Includes hysterotomy and hysterectomy, medical (nonsurgical) procedures, and procedures reported as "other."
 ++ Data are for 36 of 39 areas reporting weeks of gestation.
 && Data are for 38 of 41 areas reporting weeks of gestation.
 @@ Data are for 38 of 40 areas reporting weeks of gestation.
*** Data are for 37 of 40 areas reporting weeks of gestation.

 -- Not available.
==================================================================================================================================================================

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Figure 1

Figure 1
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Table 2



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TABLE 2. Number, ratio,* and rate+ of legal abortions and source of reporting, by year
-- United States, 1970-1996
=================================================================================================
                                              No. of areas reporting
                                           ----------------------------
            Total no. of                   Central health    Hospital/
Year      legal abortions  Ratio   Rate        agency&      Facilities@
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1970           193,491        52      5           18             7
1971           485,816       137     11           19             7
1972           586,760       180     13           21             8
1973           615,831       196     14           26            26
1974           763,476       242     17           37            15
1975           854,853       272     18           39            13
1976           988,267       312     21           41            11
1977         1,079,430       325     22           46             6
1978         1,157,776       347     23           48             4
1979         1,251,921       358     24           47             5
1980         1,297,606       359     25           47             5
1981         1,300,760       358     24           46             6
1982         1,303,980       354     24           46             6
1983         1,268,987       349     23           46             6
1984         1,333,521       364     24           44             8
1985         1,328,570       354     24           44             8
1986         1,328,112       354     23           43             9
1987         1,353,671       356     24           45             7
1988         1,371,285       352     24           45             7
1989         1,396,658       346     24           45             7
1990         1,429,577       345     24           46             6
1991         1,388,937       339     24           47             5
1992         1,359,145       335     23           47             5
1993         1,330,414       334     22           47             5
1994         1,267,415       321     21           47             5
1995         1,210,883       311     20           48             4
1996         1,221,585       314**   20           48             4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 * Number of abortions per 1,000 live births.
 + Number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years.
 & Abortion data reported by central health agencies, which include state health departments
   and the health departments of New York City and the District of Columbia.
 @ Abortion data reported by hospitals and/or other medical facilities in state.
** Beginning in 1996, the ratio is based on births reported by CDC's National Center for Health
   Statistics.
=================================================================================================

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Figure 2

Figure 2
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Table 3



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TABLE 3. Reported number,* ratio,+ and rate& of legal abortions and percentage of
abortions obtained by out-of-state residents,@ by state of occurrence -- United States,
1996
=============================================================================================
                                                          Percentage of legal
                       Total no. of                       abortions obtained by
State               legal abortions     Ratio     Rate   out-of-state residents
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama                      13,826      229       14             14.6
Alaska                        2,139      213       15              0.8
Arizona                      11,016      146       11              1.3
Arkansas                      5,882      162       11              9.3
California                  280,180**    519       39              --
Colorado                      9,710      174       11             10.2
Connecticut                  14,094      317       20              3.7
Delaware                      4,482      441       26              --
Dist. of Columbia            13,674       --++     --&&           49.9
Florida                      80,040      423       27              --
Georgia                      35,790      314       20              9.4
Hawaii                        4,916      267       19              0.3
Idaho                         1,022       55        4              5.9
Illinois                     53,613      293       20              7.2
Indiana                      13,341      160       10              3.5
Iowa                          7,602@@    205       12              --
Kansas                       10,685      292       19             40.9
Kentucky                      7,000      133        8             20.6
Louisiana                    11,865      182       12              --
Maine                         2,615      190        9              2.9
Maryland                     12,363      173       10              5.6
Massachusetts                29,293      365       21              5.9
Michigan                     30,208      226       14              4.3
Minnesota                    14,193      223       13              9.2
Mississippi                   4,206      103        7              5.3
Missouri                     11,629      158       10             10.9
Montana                       2,763      255       15             16.7
Nebraska                      5,214      224       14             19.8
Nevada                        6,965      267       20             11.4
New Hampshire                 2,300@@    158       8               --
New Jersey                   31,860      279       18              2.2
New Mexico                    5,033      185       13              4.3
New York                    152,991      580       37              --
  City                      109,331***   889       --              6.1+++
  State                      43,660      310       --              4.9+++
North Carolina               33,554      321       20             10.8
North Dakota                  1,291      155       9              33.2
Ohio                         36,530      241       15              7.4
Oklahoma                      6,769@@    147       10              --
Oregon                       13,767      315       20             12.2
Pennsylvania                 38,004      256       15              4.9
Rhode Island                  5,437      430       24             18.5
South Carolina                9,326      182       11              6.2
South Dakota                    901       86       6              22.8
Tennessee                    17,989      244       15             18.9
Texas                        91,470      277       21              4.3
Utah                          3,639       86       8               9.8
Vermont                       2,139      316       16             20.9
Virginia                     25,770      279       16              5.8
Washington                   26,138      335       21              4.7
West Virginia                 2,470      119       6              12.8
Wisconsin                    13,673      204       12              4.1
Wyoming                         208       33       2               6.3
Total                     1,221,585      314       20              8.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  * Abortion data reported by central health agencies unless otherwise specified.
  + Abortions per 1,000 live births. Number of live births was obtained from CDC's National
    Center for Health Statistics (7).
  & Abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years. The number of women in this age group
    was obtained from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (special
    unpublished tabulations).
  @ Based on number of abortions for which residence of women was known.
 ** CDC estimate.
 ++ 1,000 abortions per 1,000 live births.
 && 100 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years.
 @@ Reported by hospitals and/or other medical facilities in state.
*** Reported by the New York City Department of Health.
+++ Percentage based on number reported as "out-of-reporting area."

-- Not available.
=============================================================================================

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Figure 3

Figure 3
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Table 4



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TABLE 4. Reported legal abortions, by age group of women who obtained abortions and state of occurrence -- selected
states,* United States, 1996
======================================================================================================================================================================
                                                                          Age group (yrs)
                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     <15            15-19             20-24            25-29            30-34           35-39            >=40         Unknown            Total+
                 -----------   ---------------   --------------   --------------   --------------   -------------   -------------   ------------    ---------------
State              No.    %       No.       %       No.      %       No.      %       No.      %      No.      %      No.      %       No.     %       No.       %
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama            174   1.3     2,957    21.4     5,008   36.2     2,855   20.6     1,628   11.8      906    6.6      283    2.0        15   0.1    13,826   100.0
Alaska               9   0.4       377    17.6       770   36.0       472   22.1       305   14.3      153    7.2       50    2.3         3   0.1     2,139   100.0
Arizona             72   0.7     2,134    19.4     3,293   29.9     2,418   21.9     1,434   13.0      938    8.5      245    2.2       482   4.4    11,016   100.0
Arkansas            98   1.7     1,329    22.6     2,008   34.1     1,194   20.3       667   11.3      411    7.0      100    1.7        75   1.3     5,882   100.0
Colorado            78   0.8     2,207    22.7     2,905   29.9     2,006   20.7     1,286   13.2      879    9.1      281    2.9        68   0.7     9,710   100.0
Connecticut        103   0.7     3,042    21.6     4,344   30.8     3,151   22.4     1,918   13.6    1,070    7.6      294    2.1       172   1.2    14,094   100.0
Georgia            410   1.1     6,776    18.9    11,417   31.9     8,476   23.7     5,077   14.2    2,673    7.5      748    2.1       213   0.6    35,790   100.0
Hawaii              38   0.8     1,093    22.2     1,496   30.4     1,028   20.9       670   13.6      447    9.1      142    2.9         2   0.0     4,916   100.0
Idaho               15   1.5       265    25.9       284   27.8       194   19.0       135   13.2       95    9.3       34    3.3         0   0.0     1,022   100.0
Illinois           488   0.9    11,474    21.4    17,244   32.2    11,870   22.1     6,875   12.8    3,999    7.5    1,302    2.4       361   0.7    53,613   100.0
Indiana            119   0.9     2,838    21.3     4,583   34.4     2,798   21.0     1,681   12.6      952    7.1      270    2.0       100   0.7    13,341   100.0
Kansas              94   0.9     2,500    23.4     3,373   31.6     2,262   21.2     1,318   12.3      873    8.2      255    2.4        10   0.1    10,685   100.0
Kentucky            72   1.0     1,507    21.5     2,360   33.7     1,543   22.0       807   11.5      481    6.9      136    1.9        94   1.3     7,000   100.0
Louisiana          143   1.2     2,487    21.0     4,075   34.3     2,549   21.5     1,413   11.9      875    7.4      278    2.3        45   0.4    11,865   100.0
Maine               21   0.8       607    23.2       768   29.4       546   20.9       326   12.5      243    9.3       75    2.9        29   1.1     2,615   100.0
Maryland           129   1.0     2,405    19.5     3,862   31.2     3,028   24.5     1,765   14.3      936    7.6      238    1.9         0   0.0    12,363   100.0
Massachusetts      148   0.5     4,465    15.2     8,230   28.1     6,553   22.4     4,572   15.6    2,652    9.1      896    3.1     1,777   6.1    29,293   100.0
Michigan           218   0.7     6,188    20.5     9,777   32.4     6,888   22.8     4,023   13.3    2,381    7.9      701    2.3        32   0.1    30,208   100.0
Minnesota           79   0.6     2,632    18.5     4,389   30.9     3,268   23.0     2,030   14.3    1,320    9.3      392    2.8        83   0.6    14,193   100.0
Mississippi         60   1.4       806    19.2     1,596   37.9       879   20.9       519   12.3      258    6.1       85    2.0         3   0.1     4,206   100.0
Missouri           118   1.0     2,166    18.6     3,659   31.5     2,552   21.9     1,740   15.0    1,054    9.1      317    2.7        23   0.2    11,629   100.0
Montana             20   0.7       663    24.0       841   30.4       529   19.1       387   14.0      236    8.5       87    3.1         0   0.0     2,763   100.0
Nebraska            25   0.5     1,138    21.8     1,749   33.5     1,087   20.8       659   12.6      424    8.1      122    2.3        10   0.2     5,214   100.0
Nevada              56   0.8     1,197    17.2     1,902   27.3     1,654   23.7     1,108   15.9      703   10.1      212    3.0       133   1.9     6,965   100.0
New Jersey         198   0.6     6,041    19.0    10,218   32.1     7,513   23.6     4,533   14.2    2,503    7.9      818    2.6        36   0.1    31,860   100.0
New Mexico          55   1.1     1,139    22.6     1,574   31.3     1,040   20.7       651   12.9      401    8.0      149    3.0        24   0.5     5,033   100.0
New York         1,106   0.7    27,955    18.3    44,467   29.1    37,150   24.3    24,436   16.0   13,447    8.8    3,986    2.6       444   0.3   152,991   100.0
  City             784   0.7    18,561    17.0    31,144   28.5    27,444   25.1    18,367   16.8    9,825    9.0    2,870    2.6       336   0.3   109,331   100.0
  State            322   0.7     9,394    21.5    13,323   30.5     9,706   22.2     6,069   13.9    3,622    8.3    1,116    2.6       108   0.2    43,660   100.0
North Carolina     284   0.8     6,584    19.6    11,419   34.0     7,578   22.6     4,085   12.2    2,300    6.9      704    2.1       600   1.8    33,554   100.0
North Dakota         5   0.4       329    25.5       421   32.6       245   19.0       145   11.2      109    8.4       37    2.9         0   0.0     1,291   100.0
Ohio               200   0.5     6,382    17.5    12,200   33.4     8,733   23.9     4,695   12.9    3,055    8.4    1,020    2.8       245   0.7    36,530   100.0
Oregon              88   0.6     3,020    21.9     4,221   30.7     3,052   22.2     1,869   13.6    1,129    8.2      367    2.7        21   0.2    13,767   100.0
Pennsylvania       338   0.9     7,098    18.7    12,121   31.9     8,749   23.0     5,319   14.0    3,335    8.8    1,044    2.7         0   0.0    38,004   100.0
Rhode Island        36   0.7     1,037    19.1     1,729   31.8     1,197   22.0       797   14.7      484    8.9      155    2.9         2   0.0     5,437   100.0
South Carolina      95   1.0     1,949    20.9     3,108   33.3     1,971   21.1     1,271   13.6      726    7.8      201    2.2         5   0.1     9,326   100.0
South Dakota         6   0.7       253    28.1       279   31.0       144   16.0       107   11.9       88    9.8       23    2.6         1   0.1       901   100.0
Tennessee          175   1.0     3,514    19.5     6,217   34.6     4,085   22.7     2,347   13.0    1,266    7.0      381    2.1         4   0.0    17,989   100.0
Texas              395   0.4    16,586    18.1    30,500   33.3    21,990   24.0    12,213   13.4    7,159    7.8    2,349    2.6       278   0.3    91,470   100.0
Utah                29   0.8       737    20.3     1,156   31.8       812   22.3       534   14.7      270    7.4       97    2.7         4   0.1     3,639   100.0
Vermont             11   0.5       492    23.0       676   31.6       387   18.1       273   12.8      218   10.2       82    3.8         0   0.0     2,139   100.0
Virginia           164   0.6     5,110    19.8     7,965   30.9     6,020   23.4     3,691   14.3    2,084    8.1      607    2.4       129   0.5    25,770   100.0
Washington         165   0.6     5,275    20.2     7,839   30.0     5,986   22.9     3,757   14.4    2,321    8.9      755    2.9        40   0.2    26,138   100.0
West Virginia       31   1.3       613    24.8       851   34.5       487   19.7       280   11.3      158    6.4       50    2.0         0   0.0     2,470   100.0
Wisconsin&          87   0.7     2,596    19.8     4,348   33.2     2,921   22.3     1,781   13.6    1,053    8.0      322    2.5         0   0.0    13,108   100.0
Wyoming              2   1.0        45    21.6        61   29.3        37   17.8        31   14.9       27   13.0        5    2.4         0   0.0       208   100.0

Total            6,257   0.8   160,008    19.4   261,303   31.6   189,897   23.0   115,158   13.9   67,092    8.1   20,695    2.5     5,563   0.7   825,973   100.0
Ratio@             723             415               355              227              165             220             376                              271
Rate**               2              22                38               26               14               8               2                               16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 * Data from 44 states and New York City; excludes one area where unknown age was 15%.
 + Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
 & Includes residents only.
 @ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given age group per 1,000 live births to women of the same age group for these
   states. For each state, data for women of unknown age were distributed according to the known age distribution for that state.
** Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given age group per 1,000 women of the same age group for these states. For
   each state, data for women of unknown age were distributed according to the known age distribution for that state.
======================================================================================================================================================================

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Figure 4

Figure 4
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Table 5



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TABLE 5. Reported legal abortions obtained by adolescents, by known age and state of occurrence -- selected states,* United
States, 1996
=========================================================================================================================================================
                                                           Age (yrs)
                 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     <15             15               16              17              18              19            Total+
                 -----------   --------------   -------------   -------------   -------------  --------------   ---------------
State              No.    %      No.       %      No.      %      No.      %      No.      %      No.      %       No.        %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama            174   5.6      226     7.2      402   12.8      482   15.4      841   26.9    1,006   32.1     3,131    100.0
Alaska               9   2.3       19     4.9       68   17.6       67   17.4      100   25.9      123   31.9       386    100.0
Arizona             72   3.3      168     7.6      305   13.8      424   19.2      584   26.5      653   29.6     2,206    100.0
Arkansas            98   6.9      109     7.6      168   11.8      241   16.9      403   28.2      408   28.6     1,427    100.0
Colorado            78   3.4      174     7.6      338   14.8      443   19.4      594   26.0      658   28.8     2,285    100.0
Connecticut        103   3.3      200     6.4      430   13.7      698   22.2      836   26.6      878   27.9     3,145    100.0
Georgia            410   5.7      556     7.7      937   13.0    1,212   16.9    1,932   26.9    2,139   29.8     7,186    100.0
Hawaii              38   3.4      106     9.4      146   12.9      229   20.2      288   25.5      324   28.6     1,131    100.0
Idaho               15   5.4       21     7.5       37   13.2       41   14.6       92   32.9       74   26.4       280    100.0
Indiana            119   4.0      201     6.8      379   12.8      426   14.4      855   28.9      977   33.0     2,957    100.0
Kansas              94   3.6      195     7.5      403   15.5      488   18.8      680   26.2      734   28.3     2,594    100.0
Kentucky            72   4.6      126     8.0      191   12.1      262   16.6      412   26.1      516   32.7     1,579    100.0
Louisiana          143   5.4      207     7.9      329   12.5      435   16.5      732   27.8      784   29.8     2,630    100.0
Maine               21   3.3       42     6.7       86   13.7      112   17.8      162   25.8      205   32.6       628    100.0
Maryland           129   5.1      198     7.8      336   13.3      440   17.4      659   26.0      772   30.5     2,534    100.0
Massachusetts      148   3.2      286     6.2      556   12.1      766   16.6    1,316   28.5    1,541   33.4     4,613    100.0
Michigan           218   3.4      485     7.6      785   12.3    1,160   18.1    1,832   28.6    1,926   30.1     6,406    100.0
Minnesota           79   2.9      177     6.5      374   13.8      470   17.3      781   28.8      830   30.6     2,711    100.0
Mississippi         60   6.9       65     7.5      115   13.3       99   11.4      243   28.1      284   32.8       866    100.0
Missouri           118   5.2      175     7.7      303   13.3      345   15.1      653   28.6      690   30.2     2,284    100.0
Montana             20   2.9       48     7.0       95   13.9      133   19.5      194   28.4      193   28.3       683    100.0
Nebraska            25   2.1       66     5.7      159   13.7      187   16.1      350   30.1      376   32.3     1,163    100.0
Nevada              56   4.5       80     6.4      186   14.8      240   19.2      331   26.4      360   28.7     1,253    100.0
New Jersey         198   3.2      409     6.6      742   11.9    1,269   20.3    1,711   27.4    1,910   30.6     6,239    100.0
New Mexico          55   4.6      101     8.5      161   13.5      263   22.0      285   23.9      329   27.6     1,194    100.0
New York         1,106   3.8    1,991     6.9    3,721   12.8    5,674   19.5    7,799   26.8    8,770   30.2    29,061    100.0
  City             784   4.1    1,387     7.2    2,496   12.9    3,747   19.4    5,104   26.4    5,827   30.1    19,345    100.0
  State            322   3.3      604     6.2    1,225   12.6    1,927   19.8    2,695   27.7    2,943   30.3     9,716    100.0
North Carolina     284   4.1      508     7.4      848   12.3    1,121   16.3    1,872   27.3    2,235   32.5     6,868    100.0
North Dakota         5   1.5       24     7.2       52   15.6       62   18.6       85   25.4      106   31.7       334    100.0
Ohio               200   3.0      380     5.8      841   12.8    1,203   18.3    1,745   26.5    2,213   33.6     6,582    100.0
Oregon              88   2.8      200     6.4      444   14.3      585   18.8      816   26.3      975   31.4     3,108    100.0
Pennsylvania       338   4.5      549     7.4      838   11.3    1,070   14.4    2,121   28.5    2,520   33.9     7,436    100.0
Rhode Island        36   3.4       52     4.8      100    9.3      131   12.2      373   34.8      381   35.5     1,073    100.0
South Carolina      95   4.6      149     7.3      242   11.8      426   20.8      536   26.2      596   29.2     2,044    100.0
South Dakota         6   2.3       15     5.8       37   14.3       71   27.4       59   22.8       71   27.4       259    100.0
Tennessee          175   4.7      321     8.7      459   12.4      588   15.9      993   26.9    1,153   31.3     3,689    100.0
Texas              395   2.3      931     5.5    1,999   11.8    3,150   18.6    4,681   27.6    5,825   34.3    16,981    100.0
Utah                29   3.8       42     5.5       85   11.1      109   14.2      244   31.9      257   33.6       766    100.0
Vermont             11   2.2       35     7.0       63   12.5      101   20.1      130   25.8      163   32.4       503    100.0
Virginia           164   3.1      357     6.8      675   12.8      921   17.5    1,573   29.8    1,584   30.0     5,274    100.0
Washington         165   3.0      400     7.4      735   13.5    1,127   20.7    1,420   26.1    1,593   29.3     5,440    100.0
West Virginia       31   4.8       50     7.8       88   13.7      111   17.2      172   26.7      192   29.8       644    100.0
Wisconsin&          87   3.2      192     7.2      349   13.0      462   17.2      773   28.8      820   30.6     2,683    100.0
Wyoming              2   4.3        5    10.6        8   17.0       14   29.8       10   21.3        8   17.0        47    100.0

Total            5,769   3.7   10,641     6.9   19,615   12.7   27,858   18.1   42,268   27.4   48,152   31.2   154,303    100.0
Ratio@             708            511              446             388             423             382              416
Rate**               2              8               14              20              32              35               16
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 * Data from 43 states and New York City.
 + Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
 & Includes residents only.
 @ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given age per 1,000 live births to women of the same age group for these states.
   For each state, data for women of unknown age were distributed according to the known age distribution for that state.
** Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given age per 1,000 women of the same age group for these states. For each state,
   data for women of unknown age were distributed according to the known age distribution for that state.
=========================================================================================================================================================

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Figure 5

Figure 5
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Table 6



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TABLE 6. Reported legal abortions, by weeks of gestation* and state of occurrence -- selected states,+ United States, 1996
==========================================================================================================================================================
                                                                    Weeks of gestation
                    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         <=8              9-10            11-12           13-15           16-20            >=21           Unknown           Total&
                    --------------   --------------   --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------   --------------   ---------------
State                  No.      %       No.      %       No.      %      No.      %      No.      %      No.      %       No.      %       No.       %
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama               6,895   49.9     3,391   24.5     1,597   11.6    1,290    9.3      478    3.5       91    0.7        84    0.6    13,826   100.0
Alaska@                 933   43.6       566   26.5       387   18.1      214   10.0       23    1.1        9    0.4         7    0.3     2,139   100.0
Arizona**             5,529   50.2     2,652   24.1     1,151   10.4      920    8.4      428    3.9       34    0.3       302    2.7    11,016   100.0
Arkansas              2,926   49.7     1,233   21.0       631   10.7      352    6.0      233    4.0       15    0.3       492    8.4     5,882   100.0
Colorado              3,598   37.1     3,131   32.2     1,490   15.3      809    8.3      470    4.8      147    1.5        65    0.7     9,710   100.0
Connecticut**         7,673++ 54.4     3,173++ 22.5     1,540++ 10.9      950    6.7      348    2.5        6    0.0       404    2.9    14,094   100.0
Dist. of Columbia     2,760   41.0     1,938   28.8     1,007   15.0      480    7.1      218    3.2        3    0.0       328    4.9     6,734   100.0
Georgia              16,823   47.0     8,382   23.4     4,584   12.8    2,322    6.5    2,239    6.3    1,290    3.6       150    0.4    35,790   100.0
Hawaii**              2,375   48.3     1,221   24.8       559   11.4      290    5.9      264    5.4       39    0.8       168    3.4     4,916   100.0
Idaho                   523   51.2       312   30.5       135   13.2       35    3.4       10    1.0        5    0.5         2    0.2     1,022   100.0
Indiana               8,490   63.6     2,935   22.0     1,306    9.8      222    1.7      133    1.0        0    0.0       255    1.9    13,341   100.0
Kansas**              6,019   56.3     1,596   14.9       987    9.2      563    5.3      552    5.2      895    8.4        73    0.7    10,685   100.0
Kentucky              3,383   48.3     1,563   22.3       886   12.7      485    6.9      424    6.1      123    1.8       136    1.9     7,000   100.0
Louisiana             4,657   39.2     3,370   28.4     1,626   13.7    1,078    9.1      687    5.8      335    2.8       112    0.9    11,865   100.0
Maine**               1,422   54.4       874   33.4       291   11.1       16    0.6        1    0.0        1    0.0        10    0.4     2,615   100.0
Maryland**            7,837   63.4     2,524   20.4     1,282   10.4      501    4.1      211    1.7        8    0.1         0    0.0    12,363   100.0
Michigan             18,639   61.7     5,335   17.7     2,719    9.0    2,029    6.7    1,259    4.2      213    0.7        14    0.0    30,208   100.0
Minnesota**           8,406   59.2     2,561   18.0     1,471   10.4      814    5.7      649    4.6      105    0.7       187    1.3    14,193   100.0
Mississippi           1,918   45.6     1,208   28.7       633   15.0      337    8.0       41    1.0       13    0.3        56    1.3     4,206   100.0
Missouri&&            5,473   47.1     3,286   28.3     1,676   14.4      703    6.0      396    3.4       87    0.7         8    0.1    11,629   100.0
Montana**             1,765   63.9       426   15.4       286   10.4      118    4.3      107    3.9       42    1.5        19    0.7     2,763   100.0
Nevada                3,857   55.4     1,339   19.2       911   13.1      450    6.5      327    4.7       41    0.6        40    0.6     6,965   100.0
New Jersey           16,445   51.6     5,845   18.3     2,168    6.8    2,963    9.3    3,250   10.2      798    2.5       391    1.2    31,860   100.0
New York             81,844   53.5    31,490   20.6    14,650    9.6    7,645    5.0    6,895    4.5    2,917    1.9     7,550    4.9   152,991   100.0
  City               61,385   56.1    21,877   20.0    10,314    9.4    5,761    5.3    5,968    5.5    2,705    2.5     1,321    1.2   109,331   100.0
  State              20,459   46.9     9,613   22.0     4,336    9.9    1,884    4.3      927    2.1      212    0.5     6,229   14.3    43,660   100.0
North Dakota**          750   58.1       258   20.0       153   11.9      119    9.2        8    0.6        1    0.1         2    0.2     1,291   100.0
Oregon**              8,105   58.9     2,796   20.3     1,249    9.1      713    5.2      642    4.7      242    1.8        20    0.1    13,767   100.0
Pennsylvania         19,152   50.4     9,653   25.4     4,640   12.2    2,639    6.9    1,628    4.3      280    0.7        12    0.0    38,004   100.0
Rhode Island          3,049   56.1     1,297   23.9       557   10.2      316    5.8      174    3.2       16    0.3        28    0.5     5,437   100.0
South Carolina        5,605   60.1     2,552   27.4     1,044   11.2       32    0.3       32    0.3       26    0.3        35    0.4     9,326   100.0
South Dakota            474   52.6       235   26.1       192   21.3        0    0.0        0    0.0        0    0.0         0    0.0       901   100.0
Tennessee**           9,468   52.6     4,821   26.8     2,780   15.5      773    4.3       60    0.3       30    0.2        57    0.3    17,989   100.0
Texas**              51,208   56.0    18,745   20.5     9,368   10.2    6,015    6.6    4,071    4.5    1,559    1.7       504    0.6    91,470   100.0
Utah                  1,985   54.5       938   25.8       347    9.5      187    5.1      154    4.2        5    0.1        23    0.6     3,639   100.0
Vermont               1,341   62.7       499   23.3       214   10.0       74    3.5        5    0.2        6    0.3         0    0.0     2,139   100.0
Virginia**           16,354   63.5     5,907   22.9     2,585   10.0      381    1.5      252    1.0       80    0.3       211    0.8    25,770   100.0
Washington**         13,463   51.5     6,042   23.1     2,858   10.9    1,815    6.9    1,334    5.1      500    1.9       126    0.5    26,138   100.0
West Virginia@          532   21.5     1,064   43.1       528   21.4      210    8.5       45    1.8        2    0.1        89    3.6     2,470   100.0
Wisconsin@@           6,854   52.3     3,217   24.5     1,565   11.9      762    5.8      542    4.1      168    1.3         0    0.0    13,108   100.0
Wyoming@                116   55.8        57   27.4        30   14.4        5    2.4        0    0.0        0    0.0         0    0.0       208   100.0

Total               358,646   53.6   148,432   22.2    72,083   10.8   39,627    5.9   28,590    4.3   10,132    1.5    11,960    1.8   669,470   100.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 * Data for legal abortions obtained at <=8 weeks of gestation are presented in Table 7 by single weeks of gestation.
 + Data from 38 states, the District of Columbia ,and New York City; excludes three states where unknown gestational age was 15%.
 & Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
 @ Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates only if date of last menstrual period was unknown.
** Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates.
++ Number obtained at <=12 weeks of gestation was redistributed based on the national average.
&& Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates only if date of last menstrual period was unknown or unreliable.
@@ Includes residents only.
==========================================================================================================================================================

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Figure 6

Figure 6
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Table 7



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TABLE 7. Reported legal abortions obtained at <=8 weeks of gestation, by known weeks of gestation and state of occurrence
-- selected states,* United States, 1996
====================================================================================================================================================
                                Weeks of gestation
                 -------------------------------------------------       Total obtained
                     <=6                7                 8         at <=8 weeks of gestation+
                 --------------   --------------    --------------  --------------------------
State               No.      %       No.      %        No.      %       No.      %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama            2,099   15.2     2,457   17.8      2,339   16.9     6,895   49.9
Alaska&              132    6.2       412   19.3        389   18.2       933   43.7
Arizona@             918    8.3     2,067   18.8      2,544   23.1     5,529   50.2
Arkansas             912   15.5     1,065   18.1        949   16.1     2,926   49.7
Colorado             813    8.4       948    9.8      1,837   18.9     3,598   37.1
Georgia            3,133    8.8     7,030   19.6      6,660   18.6    16,823   47.0
Hawaii@              348    7.1       846   17.2      1,181   24.0       237   48.3
Idaho                139   13.6       158   15.5        226   22.1       523   51.2
Indiana            3,791   28.4     2,382   17.9      2,317   17.4     8,490   63.7
Kansas@            2,213   20.7     2,181   20.4      1,625   15.2     6,019   56.3
Kentucky           1,024   14.6     1,228   17.5      1,131   16.2     3,833   48.3
Louisiana            927    7.8     1,238   10.4      2,492   21.0     4,657   39.2
Maine@               134    5.1       515   19.7        773   29.6     1,422   54.4
Maryland@          3,502   28.3     1,748   14.1      2,587   20.9     7,837   63.3
Michigan           7,290   24.1     5,461   18.1      5,888   19.5    18,639   61.7
Minnesota@         1,988   14.0     3,461   24.4      2,957   20.8     8,406   59.2
Mississippi          262    6.2       781   18.6        875   20.8     1,918   45.6
Missouri**         1,275   11.0     2,124   18.3      2,074   17.8     5,473   47.1
Montana@             954   34.5       409   14.8        402   14.5     1,765   63.8
Nevada               516    7.4     1,625   23.3      1,716   24.6     3,857   55.3
New Jersey         6,016   18.9     3,957   12.4      6,472   20.3    16,445   51.6
New York          27,312   17.9    26,134   17.1     28,398   18.6    81,844   53.6
  City            21,696   19.8    18,456   16.9     21,233   19.4    61,385   56.1
  State            5,616   12.9     7,678   17.6      7,165   16.4    20,459   46.9
North Dakota@         93    7.2       376   29.1        281   21.8       750   58.1
Oregon@            1,620   11.8     3,029   22.0      3,456   25.1     8,105   58.9
Pennsylvania       4,874   12.8     5,383   14.2      8,895   23.4    19,152   50.4
Rhode Island         748   13.8     1,122   20.6      1,179   21.7     3,049   56.1
South Carolina     1,969   21.1     1,576   16.9      2,060   22.1     5,605   60.1
South Dakota          42    4.7       217   24.1        215   23.9       474   52.7
Tennessee@         1,881   10.5     3,207   17.8      4,380   24.3     9,468   52.6
Texas@            17,262   18.9    15,247   16.7     18,699   20.4    51,208   56.0
Utah                 752   20.7       645   17.7        588   16.2     1,985   54.6
Vermont              372   17.4       530   24.8        439   20.5     1,341   62.7
Virginia@          3,625   14.1     4,083   15.8      8,646   33.6    16,354   63.5
Washington@        3,127   12.0     4,853   18.6      5,483   21.0    13,463   51.6
West Virginia         17    0.7        67    2.7        448   18.1       532   21.5
Wyoming&              18    8.7        46   22.1         52   25.0       116   55.8

Total            102,098   16.1   108,608   17.1    130,653   20.6   341,359   53.8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 * Data from 36 states and New York City; excludes three areas where unknown gestational age was 15% and three areas that were included in Table 6
   but did not provide single weeks of gestation for abortions obtained at <=8 weeks.
 + Percentages might not add to total percentage obtained at <=8 weeks because of rounding.
 & Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates only if date of last menstrual period was unknown.
 @ Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates.
** Weeks of gestation were based on physicians' estimates only if date of last menstrual period was unknown or unreliable.
====================================================================================================================================================

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Table 8



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TABLE 8. Reported legal abortions, by type of procedure and state of occurrence - selected states,* United States, 1996
=========================================================================================================================================================================================
                                                                                         Procedure
                     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Intrauterine
                         Suction             Sharp                                saline         Prostaglandin       Hysterotomy/
                        curettage          curettage        All curettage      instillation       instillation       Hysterectomy        Other+          Unknown           Total&
                     ---------------     -------------     ---------------     -------------     --------------     --------------    ------------     ------------    ---------------
State                   No.       %        No.      %        No.       %         No.     %         No.     %          No.      %       No.      %       No.      %       No.       %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama               13,279@   96.0         11    0.1      13,290    96.1          7   0.1          15    0.1           0    0.0        15    0.1       499    3.6     13,826   100.0
Arizona               10,935    99.3          0    0.0      10,935    99.3          0   0.0           0    0.0           0    0.0         0    0.0        81    0.7     11,016   100.0
Arkansas               5,845@   99.4         30    0.5       5,875    99.9          2   0.0           3    0.1           0    0.0         2    0.0         0    0.0      5,882   100.0
Colorado               9,298@   95.8          4    0.0       9,302    95.8          1   0.0          10    0.1           1    0.0       295    3.0       101    1.0      9,710   100.0
Connecticut           13,996    99.3         81    0.6      14,077    99.9          0   0.0           0    0.0           0    0.0         1    0.0        16    0.1     14,094   100.0
Dist. of
  Columbia**           6,732   100.0          0    0.0       6,732   100.0          0   0.0           2    0.0           0    0.0         0    0.0         0    0.0      6,734   100.0
Georgia               35,663@   99.6         24    0.1      35,687    99.7          9   0.0          44    0.1           0    0.0        50    0.1         0    0.0     35,790   100.0
Hawaii                 4,898    99.6          6    0.1       4,904    99.8          0   0.0           2    0.0           0    0.0         5    0.1         5    0.1      4,916   100.0
Idaho                  1,005@   98.3          2    0.2       1,007    98.5          1   0.1           3    0.3           1    0.1        10    1.0         0    0.0      1,022   100.0
Indiana               12,772@   95.7        122    0.9      12,894    96.6          0   0.0           1    0.0           0    0.0       219    1.6       227    1.7     13,341   100.0
Kansas                 9,590@   89.8        338    3.2       9,928    91.0          0   0.0           3    0.0           0    0.0       706    6.4        48    0.4     10,685   100.0
Kentucky               6,755@   96.5        123    1.8       6,878    98.3          6   0.1           3    0.0           0    0.0         2    0.0       111    1.6      7,000   100.0
Louisiana             10,534    88.8         15    0.1      10,549    88.9          0   0.0           0    0.0           0    0.0        10    0.1     1,306   11.0     11,865   100.0
Maine                  2,562@   98.0          4    0.2       2,566    98.1          0   0.0           0    0.0           0    0.0         4    0.2        45    1.7      2,615   100.0
Maryland              12,163    98.4         79    0.6      12,242    99.0         11   0.1          25    0.2           0    0.0        85    0.7         0    0.0     12,363   100.0
Massachusetts         28,055    95.8        111    0.4      28,166    96.2        103   0.4         838    2.9           0    0.0       186    0.6         0    0.0     29,293   100.0
Michigan              29,727    98.4        405    1.3      30,132    99.7          0   0.0          54    0.2           0    0.0        22    0.1         0    0.0     30,208   100.0
Minnesota             14,109@   99.4          6    0.0      14,115    99.5          0   0.0           0    0.0           0    0.0         8    0.1        70    0.5     14,193   100.0
Mississippi            4,155@   98.8          1    0.0       4,156    98.8          0   0.0          21    0.5           1    0.0        28    0.7         0    0.0      4,206   100.0
Missouri              11,576@   99.5          4    0.0      11,580    99.6          0   0.0           3    0.0           0    0.0        24    0.2        22    0.2     11,629   100.0
Montana                2,752@   99.6          1    0.0       2,753    99.6          0   0.0           0    0.0           0    0.0         7    0.3         3    0.1      2,763   100.0
Nebraska               5,161    89.5        550    9.5       5,711    99.1          0   0.0           0    0.0           0    0.0        49    0.9         4    0.1      5,764++ 100.0
Nevada                 6,495    93.3        442    6.3       6,937    99.6          1   0.0           0    0.0           0    0.0         0    0.0        27    0.4      6,965   100.0
New Jersey            18,758@   58.9     12,217   38.3      27,705    97.2        261   0.8          86    0.3          10    0.0         7    0.0       521    1.6     31,860   100.0
New Mexico             4,973@   98.8         32    0.6       5,005    99.4          0   0.0           0    0.0           0    0.0        27    0.5         1    0.0      5,033   100.0
New York             148,370@   97.0      1,690    1.1     150,060    98.1        637   0.4         261    0.2           3    0.0       743    0.5     1,291    0.8    152,995++ 100.0
 City                106,336@   97.3      1,500    1.4     107,836    98.6        617   0.6         104    0.1           3    0.0       175    0.1       596    0.5    109,331   100.0
 State                42,034@   96.3        190    0.4      42,224    96.7         20   0.0         157    0.4          --     --       568&&  1.3       695    1.6     43,664++ 100.0
North Carolina        31,381@   93.5         72    0.2      31,453    93.7         95   0.3          36    0.1           8    0.0       201    0.6     1,766    5.3     33,554   100.0
North Dakota           1,289    99.8          0    0.0       1,289    99.8          0   0.0           2    0.2           0    0.0         0    0.0         0    0.0      1,291   100.0
Oregon                13,679@   99.4          3    0.0      13,682    99.4          1   0.0           1    0.0           1    0.0        80    0.6         2    0.0     13,767   100.0
Pennsylvania          37,468@   98.6         13    0.0      37,481    98.6          7   0.0          13    0.0           1    0.0       502    1.3         0    0.0     38,004   100.0
Rhode Island           5,384@   99.0         30    0.6       5,414    99.6          0   0.0           3    0.1           1    0.0        17    0.3         2    0.0      5,437   100.0
South Carolina         9,245@   99.1         16    0.2       9,261    99.3          0   0.0          28    0.3           1    0.0        29    0.3         7    0.1      9,326   100.0
South Dakota             901   100.0          0    0.0         901   100.0          0   0.0           0    0.0           0    0.0         0    0.0         0    0.0        901   100.0
Tennessee             17,907@   99.5          6    0.0      17,913    99.6          1   0.0          62    0.3           1    0.0         0    0.0        12    0.1     17,989   100.0
Texas                 89,128@@  97.4          0    0.0      89,128    97.4          0   0.0         254*** 0.3          11    0.0     1,947+++ 2.1       130    0.1     91,470   100.0
Utah                   3,225@   88.6        395   10.9       3,620    99.5          0   0.0           3    0.1           3    0.1         6    0.2         9    0.2      3,639   100.0
Vermont                2,124    99.3          1    0.0       2,125    99.3          0   0.0           2    0.1           0    0.0        12    0.6         0    0.0      2,139   100.0
Virginia              25,339@   98.3         16    0.1      25,355    98.4         19   0.1          49    0.2           2    0.0        37    0.1       308    1.2     25,770   100.0
Washington            25,828@   98.8          6    0.0      25,834    98.8          2   0.0          61    0.2           3    0.0       154    0.6        86    0.3     26,140++ 100.0
Wyoming                  203    97.6          0    0.0         203    97.6          0   0.0           0    0.0           0    0.0         0    0.0         5    2.4        208   100.0

Total                693,259    95.6     16,856    2.3     710,115    97.9      1,164   0.2       1,888    0.3          41    0.0     5,490    0.7     6,705    0.9    725,403   100.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  * Data from 39 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City; excludes two states where unknown type of procedure used was >15%.
  + Includes instillation procedures not reported as a specific category, procedures reported as medical (nonsurgical), and procedures reported as "other."
  & Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
  @ Includes dilatation and evacuation procedures.
 ** Includes residents only.
 ++ Does not add to total abortions reported because of some reported combination procedures.
 && Hysterotomy/hysterectomy included with "other."
 @@ Includes all curettage.
*** Includes all chemical inductions.
+++ Hysterectomy included with "other."

 -- Not reported.
=========================================================================================================================================================================================

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Table 9



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TABLE 9. Reported legal abortions, by race of women who obtained abortions and
state of occurrence -- selected states,* United States, 1996
========================================================================================================
                                                Race
                 -----------------------------------------------------------------
                     White            Black            Other           Unknown           Total+
                 --------------   --------------   --------------   --------------   ---------------
State               No.      %       No.      %       No.      %       No.      %       No.       %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama            7,200   52.1     6,318   45.7       181    1.3       127    0.9    13,826   100.0
Arizona            8,466   76.9       553    5.0       837    7.6     1,160   10.5    11,016   100.0
Arkansas           3,745   63.7     1,992   33.9        92    1.6        53    0.9     5,882   100.0
Georgia           15,734   44.0    18,157   50.7       945    2.6       954    2.7    35,790   100.0
Hawaii             1,311   26.7       134    2.7     3,127   63.6       344    7.0     4,916   100.0
Idaho                971   95.0         9    0.9        39    3.8         3    0.3     1,022   100.0
Indiana            8,773   65.8     3,357   25.2       237    1.8       974    7.3    13,341   100.0
Kansas             8,215   76.9     1,821   17.0       595    5.6        54    0.5    10,685   100.0
Kentucky           5,183   74.0     1,397   20.0       288    4.1       132    1.9     7,000   100.0
Louisiana          5,663   47.7     5,925&  49.9        --     --       277    2.3    11,865   100.0
Maine              2,420   92.5        28    1.1       103    3.9        64    2.4     2,615   100.0
Maryland           5,033   40.7     6,384   51.6       745    6.0       201    1.6    12,363   100.0
Minnesota         10,636   74.9     1,836   12.9     1,444   10.2       277    2.0    14,193   100.0
Mississippi        1,340   31.9     2,805   66.7        54    1.3         7    0.2     4,206   100.0
Missouri           7,271   62.5     3,839   33.0       472    4.1        47    0.4    11,629   100.0
Montana            2,375   86.0        10    0.4       201    7.3       177    6.4     2,763   100.0
Nevada             5,726   82.2       527    7.6       373    5.4       339    4.9     6,965   100.0
New Jersey        11,250   35.3    14,235   44.7     5,035   15.8     1,340    4.2    31,860   100.0
New Mexico         4,315   85.7       165    3.3       553   11.0         0    0.0     5,033   100.0
New York City     42,267   38.7    53,338   48.8     4,681    4.3     9,045    8.3   109,331   100.0
North Carolina    17,215   51.3    13,715   40.9     1,890    5.6       734    2.2    33,554   100.0
North Dakota       1,162   90.0        19    1.5       109    8.4         1    0.1     1,291   100.0
Ohio              22,438   61.4    11,563   31.7     1,522    4.2     1,007    2.8    36,530   100.0
Oregon            11,913   86.5       738    5.4       966    7.0       150    1.1    13,767   100.0
Pennsylvania      22,102   58.2    14,727   38.8     1,144    3.0        31    0.1    38,004   100.0
Rhode Island       4,306   79.2       730   13.4       294    5.4       107    2.0     5,437   100.0
South Carolina     5,086   54.5     4,037   43.3       202    2.2         1    0.0     9,326   100.0
South Dakota         796   88.3        20    2.2        85    9.4         0    0.0       901   100.0
Tennessee         10,441   58.0     7,018   39.0       466    2.6        64    0.4    17,989   100.0
Texas             64,064   70.0    19,591   21.4     4,140    4.5     3,675    4.0    91,470   100.0
Utah               2,936   80.7        66    1.8       388   10.7       249    6.8     3,639   100.0
Vermont            2,074   97.0        21    1.0        40    1.9         4    0.2     2,139   100.0
Virginia          14,205   55.1     9,687   37.6     1,585    6.2       293    1.1    25,770   100.0
West Virginia      2,202   89.1       234    9.5        34    1.4         0    0.0     2,470   100.0
Wisconsin@         9,561   72.9     2,835   21.6       703**  5.4         9**  0.1    13,108   100.0

Total            348,395   57.0   207,831   34.0    33,570    5.5    21,900    3.6   611,696   100.0
Ratio++              202              555&&            360&&                             267
Rate@@                12               31***            25***                             15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  * Data from 34 states and New York City; excludes six areas where unknown race was >15%.
  + Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
  & Reported as black and "other" races.
  @ Includes residents only.
 ** Women of some "other" races are included with "unknown."
 ++ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given race per 1,000
    live births to women of the same race for these states. For each state, data for women of
    unknown race were distributed according to the known racial distribution for that state.
 && Ratios for black and "other" races exclude Louisiana because abortions for blacks and
    others were grouped together.
 @@ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given race per 1,000
    women aged 15-44 years of the same race for these states. For each state, data for women
    of unknown race were distributed according to the known racial distribution for that state.
*** Rates for black and "other" races exclude Louisiana because abortions for blacks and
    others were grouped together.

-- Not reported.
========================================================================================================

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Table 10



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TABLE 10. Reported legal abortions, by Hispanic ethnicity of women who obtained
abortions and state of occurrence -- selected states,* United States, 1996
================================================================================================
                                         Ethnicity
                    ----------------------------------------------------
                      Hispanic          Non-Hispanic          Unknown           Total+
                    -------------      --------------      -------------    ---------------
State                 No.      %          No.      %         No.      %        No.       %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama                241    1.7       12,985   93.9         600    4.3     13,826   100.0
Arizona              2,693   24.4        7,163   65.0       1,160   10.5     11,016   100.0
Arkansas                47    0.8        5,457   92.8         378    6.4      5,882   100.0
Georgia                760    2.1       33,449   93.5       1,581    4.4     35,790   100.0
Idaho                   96    9.4          918   89.8           8    0.8      1,022   100.0
Kansas                 510    4.8        9,891   92.6         284    2.7     10,685   100.0
Minnesota              366    2.6       13,550   95.5         277    2.0     14,193   100.0
Mississippi             13    0.3        4,184   99.5           9    0.2      4,206   100.0
Missouri               211    1.8       11,043   95.0         375    3.2     11,629   100.0
New Jersey           5,930   18.6       24,602   77.2       1,328    4.2     31,860   100.0
New Mexico           2,195   43.6        2,838   56.4           0    0.0      5,033   100.0
New York City       29,237   26.7       66,716   61.0      13,378   12.2    109,331   100.0
North Dakota            25    1.9        1,142   88.5         124    9.6      1,291   100.0
Ohio                   542    1.5       34,981   95.8       1,007    2.8     36,530   100.0
Oregon                 991    7.2       12,727   92.4          49    0.4     13,767   100.0
Pennsylvania         1,391    3.7       36,591   96.3          22    0.1     38,004   100.0
South Carolina         121    1.3        9,203   98.7           2    0.0      9,326   100.0
South Dakota            25    2.8          876   97.2           0    0.0        901   100.0
Tennessee              191    1.1       17,769   98.8          29    0.2     17,989   100.0
Texas               27,157   29.7       60,638   66.3       3,675    4.0     91,470   100.0
Utah                   397   10.9        3,173   87.2          69    1.9      3,639   100.0
Vermont                  8    0.4        2,124   99.3           7    0.3      2,139   100.0
Wisconsin&             622    4.7       12,486   95.3           0    0.0     13,108   100.0

Total               73,769   15.3      384,506   79.7      24,362    5.0    482,637   100.0
Ratio@                 276                 282                                  281
Rate**                  20                  15                                   15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 * Data from 22 states and New York City; excludes 15 areas where unknown Hispanic ethnicity
   was >15%.
 + Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
 & Includes residents only.
 @ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given ethnicity per
   1,000 live births to women of the same ethnicity for these states. For each state, data for
   women of unknown ethnicity were distributed according to the known ethnicity distribution
   for that state.
** Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given ethnicity per
   1,000 women aged 15-44 years of the same ethnicity for these states. For each state, data
   for women of unknown ethnicity were distributed according to the known ethnicity
   distribution for that state.
================================================================================================

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Table 11



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TABLE 11. Reported legal abortions, by marital status of women who obtained
abortions and state of occurrence -- selected states,* United States, 1996
================================================================================================
                                       Marital status
                  -------------------------------------------------------
                     Married+            Unmarried&           Unknown           Total@
                  --------------       --------------      --------------   ---------------
State                No.      %           No.      %         No.       %       No.       %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama             2,219   16.0        11,550   83.5          57     0.4    13,826   100.0
Arkansas            1,156   19.7         4,569   77.7         157     2.7     5,882   100.0
Colorado            1,887   19.4         7,675   79.0         148     1.5     9,710   100.0
Georgia             6,584   18.4        28,960   80.9         246     0.7    35,790   100.0
Hawaii                978   19.9         3,898   79.3          40     0.8     4,916   100.0
Idaho                 212   20.7           808   79.1           2     0.2     1,022   100.0
Illinois            9,145   17.1        42,971   80.2       1,497     2.8    53,613   100.0
Indiana             1,964   14.7         9,982   74.8       1,395    10.5    13,341   100.0
Kansas              2,258   21.1         8,379   78.4          48     0.4    10,685   100.0
Kentucky            1,152   16.5         5,651   80.7         197     2.8     7,000   100.0
Maryland            2,171   17.6         9,799   79.3         393     3.2    12,363   100.0
Michigan            5,009   16.6        25,046   82.9         153     0.5    30,208   100.0
Minnesota           2,744   19.3        11,135   78.5         314     2.2    14,193   100.0
Mississippi           609   14.5         3,580   85.1          17     0.4     4,206   100.0
Missouri            2,465   21.2         8,956   77.0         208     1.8    11,629   100.0
Montana               484   17.5         2,123   76.8         156     5.6     2,763   100.0
Nevada              1,694   24.3         5,184   74.4          87     1.2     6,965   100.0
New Jersey          5,801   18.2        25,925   81.4         134     0.4    31,860   100.0
New Mexico            834   16.6         4,164   82.7          35     0.7     5,033   100.0
New York City      21,770   19.9        81,300   74.4       6,261     5.7   109,331   100.0
North Dakota          251   19.4         1,039   80.5           1     0.1     1,291   100.0
Ohio                6,353   17.4        29,204   79.9         973     2.7    36,530   100.0
Oregon              3,135   22.8        10,419   75.7         213     1.5    13,767   100.0
Pennsylvania        6,615   17.4        31,365   82.5          24     0.1    38,004   100.0
Rhode Island        1,096   20.2         4,226   77.7         115     2.1     5,437   100.0
South Carolina      1,741   18.7         7,561   81.1          24     0.3     9,326   100.0
South Dakota          175   19.4           726   80.6           0     0.0       901   100.0
Tennessee           3,460   19.2        14,443   80.3          86     0.5    17,989   100.0
Texas              19,243   21.0        67,799   74.1       4,428     4.8    91,470   100.0
Utah                1,449   39.8         2,190   60.2           0     0.0     3,639   100.0
Vermont               457   21.4         1,557   72.8         125     5.8     2,139   100.0
West Virginia         433   17.5         2,037   82.5           0     0.0     2,470   100.0
Wisconsin**         2,634   20.1        10,457   79.8          17     0.1    13,108   100.0
Wyoming                31   14.9           177   85.1           0     0.0       208   100.0

Total             118,209   19.0       484,855   78.1      17,551     2.8   620,615   100.0
Ratio++                78                  655                                  268
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 * Data from 33 states and New York City; excludes seven areas where unknown marital status
   was >15%.
 + Includes married and separated.
 & Includes never married, divorced, and widowed women.
 @ Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
** Includes residents only.
++ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women of a given marital status
   per 1,000 live births to women of the same marital status for these states. For each state,
   data for women of unknown marital status were distributed according to the known marital
   status distribution for that state.
================================================================================================

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Table 12



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TABLE 12. Reported legal abortions, by number of previous live births and state of occurrence -- selected states,* United
States, 1996
==========================================================================================================================================================
                                                     No. of previous live births
                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        0                1                 2               3            >=4             Unknown          Total+
                 --------------   --------------    --------------   ------------   ------------     -------------   ---------------
State               No.      %       No.      %        No.      %      No.     %      No.     %        No.      %       No.       %
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama            6,427   46.5     4,004   29.0      2,372   17.2      684   4.9      247   1.8         92    0.7    13,826   100.0
Arizona            4,892   44.4     2,763   25.1      1,985   18.0      895   8.1      481   4.4          0    0.0    11,016   100.0
Arkansas           2,547   43.3     1,689   28.7      1,064   18.1      393   6.7      167   2.8         22    0.4     5,882   100.0
Colorado           5,551   57.2     1,973   20.3      1,439   14.8      508   5.2      239   2.5          0    0.0     9,710   100.0
Georgia           16,493   46.1     9,885   27.6      6,173   17.2    2,017   5.6      917   2.6        305    0.9    35,790   100.0
Hawaii             2,587   52.6     1,050   21.4        758   15.4      304   6.2      181   3.7         36    0.7     4,916   100.0
Idaho                529   51.8       208   20.4        170   16.6       86   8.4       23   2.3          6    0.6     1,022   100.0
Indiana&           5,661   42.4     3,713   27.8      2,555   19.2      877   6.6      374   2.8        161    1.2    13,341   100.0
Kansas             5,169   48.4     2,631   24.6      1,863   17.4      652   6.1      322   3.0         48    0.4    10,685   100.0
Kentucky           3,189   45.6     1,930   27.6      1,136   16.2      351   5.0      185   2.6        209    3.0     7,000   100.0
Maine              1,374   52.5       598   22.9        423   16.2      136   5.2       63   2.4         21    0.8     2,615   100.0
Maryland           5,408   43.7     3,657   29.6      2,149   17.4      794   6.4      355   2.9          0    0.0    12,363   100.0
Michigan          13,030   43.1     8,079   26.7      5,732   19.0    2,238   7.4    1,062   3.5         67    0.2    30,208   100.0
Minnesota          6,784   47.8     3,191   22.5      2,427   17.1    1,024   7.2      726   5.1         41    0.3    14,193   100.0
Mississippi        1,769   42.1     1,286   30.6        755   18.0      273   6.5      121   2.9          2    0.0     4,206   100.0
Missouri           4,887   42.0     3,150   27.1      2,276   19.6      882   7.6      434   3.7          0    0.0    11,629   100.0
Montana            1,502   54.4       569   20.6        417   15.1      178   6.4       96   3.5          1    0.0     2,763   100.0
Nebraska           2,520   48.3     1,222   23.4        865   16.6      392   7.5      215   4.1          0    0.0     5,214   100.0
Nevada             3,112   44.7     1,735   24.9      1,341   19.3      526   7.6      235   3.4         16    0.2     6,965   100.0
New Jersey        10,686   33.5     9,405   29.5      6,586   20.7    2,556   8.0    1,394   4.4      1,233    3.9    31,860   100.0
New Mexico         2,327   46.2     1,356   26.9        847   16.8      314   6.2      185   3.7          4    0.1     5,033   100.0
New York          53,804   35.2    38,773   25.3     29,335   19.2   12,576   8.2    7,656   5.0     10,847    7.1   152,991   100.0
 City             34,976   32.0    30,156   27.6     22,736   20.8    9,986   9.1    6,420   5.9      5,057    4.6   109,331   100.0
 State            18,828   43.1     8,617   19.7      6,599   15.1    2,590   5.9    1,236   2.8      5,790   13.3    43,660   100.0
North Carolina    15,247   45.4     8,532   25.4      4,805   14.3    1,580   4.7      663   2.0      2,727    8.1    33,554   100.0
North Dakota         689   53.4       274   21.2        191   14.8       90   7.0       47   3.6          0    0.0     1,291   100.0
Ohio              16,015   43.8    10,064   27.5      6,856   18.8    2,489   6.8    1,092   3.0         14    0.0    36,530   100.0
Oregon             6,578   47.8     3,365   24.4      2,500   18.2      878   6.4      408   3.0         38    0.3    13,767   100.0
Pennsylvania      16,426   43.2    10,271   27.0      7,071   18.6    2,722   7.2    1,476   3.9         38    0.1    38,004   100.0
Rhode Island&      2,635   48.5     1,290   23.7        956   17.6      342   6.3      176   3.2         38    0.7     5,437   100.0
South Carolina     4,507   48.3     2,477   26.6      1,611   17.3      521   5.6      201   2.2          9    0.1     9,326   100.0
South Dakota&        459   50.9       190   21.1        143   15.9       75   8.3       34   3.8          0    0.0       901   100.0
Tennessee          7,605   42.3     5,499   30.6      3,282   18.2    1,098   6.1      496   2.8          9    0.1    17,989   100.0
Texas             43,551   47.6    23,646   25.9     15,551   17.0    5,763   6.3    2,878   3.1         81    0.1    91,470   100.0
Utah               1,635   44.9       869   23.9        690   19.0      254   7.0      134   3.7         57    1.6     3,639   100.0
Vermont            1,205   56.3       428   20.0        342   16.0      121   5.7       42   2.0          1    0.0     2,139   100.0
Virginia          12,245   47.5     6,760   26.2      4,239   16.4    1,384   5.4      580   2.3        562    2.2    25,770   100.0
Washington        12,276   47.0     6,465   24.7      4,721   18.1    1,701   6.5      839   3.2        136    0.5    26,138   100.0
West Virginia      1,160   47.0       721   29.2        427   17.3      116   4.7       46   1.9          0    0.0     2,470   100.0
Wyoming               96   46.2        47   22.6         40   19.2       16   7.7        7   3.4          2    1.0       208   100.0

Total            302,577   43.1   183,765   26.2    126,093   18.0   47,806   6.8   24,797   3.5     16,823    2.4   701,861   100.0
Ratio@               287              223               311             315            249                               270
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 38 states and New York City; excludes three states where number of unknown previous live births was >15%.
+ Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
& Indicates number of living children.
@ Calculated as the number of legal abortions obtained by women with a given number of previous live births per 1,000 live births to women with the
  same number of previous live births for these states. For each state, data for women whose number of previous live births was unknown were distributed
  according to the known number of previous live births for that state. Ratios exclude Maryland and Rhode Island because the number of previous live
  births was unknown for these areas.
==========================================================================================================================================================

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Table 13



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TABLE 13. Reported legal abortions, by number of previous legal induced abortions and state of occurrence -- selected
states,* United States, 1996
============================================================================================================================
                                        No. of previous induced abortions
                 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        0                1                2              >=3              Unknown          Total+
                 --------------   --------------    -------------   -------------      -------------   ---------------
State             No.       %       No.      %       No.      %      No.      %         No.      %      No.       %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama            9,017   65.2     3,365   24.3       966    7.0      368    2.7         110    0.8    13,826   100.0
Arizona            6,804   61.8     2,841   25.8       914    8.3      457    4.1           0    0.0    11,016   100.0
Arkansas           3,899   66.3     1,420   24.1       378    6.4      154    2.6          31    0.5     5,882   100.0
Colorado           6,397   65.9     2,298   23.7       716    7.4      299    3.1           0    0.0     9,710   100.0
Georgia           20,070   56.1     9,896   27.7     3,556    9.9    1,892    5.3         376    1.1    35,790   100.0
Hawaii             1,689   34.4     1,708   34.7       858   17.5      619   12.6          42    0.9     4,916   100.0
Idaho                744   72.8       202   19.8        53    5.2       17    1.7           6    0.6     1,022   100.0
Indiana            8,307   62.3     3,366   25.2       982    7.4      449    3.4         237    1.8    13,341   100.0
Kansas             7,536   70.5     2,174   20.3       678    6.3      275    2.6          22    0.2    10,685   100.0
Kentucky           4,385   62.6     1,598   22.8       464    6.6      216    3.1         337    4.8     7,000   100.0
Maine              1,625   62.1       636   24.3       216    8.3      117    4.5          21    0.8     2,615   100.0
Maryland           3,712   30.0     4,564   36.9     2,534   20.5    1,553   12.6           0    0.0    12,363   100.0
Michigan          15,727   52.1     8,075   26.7     3,729   12.3    2,551    8.4         126    0.4    30,208   100.0
Minnesota          8,558   60.3     3,526   24.8     1,260    8.9      808    5.7          41    0.3    14,193   100.0
Mississippi        2,768   65.8     1,003   23.8       311    7.4      122    2.9           2    0.0     4,206   100.0
Missouri           6,917   59.5     3,159   27.2     1,048    9.0      505    4.3           0    0.0    11,629   100.0
Montana            1,587   57.4       741   26.8       264    9.6      169    6.1           2    0.1     2,763   100.0
Nebraska           3,139   60.2     1,282   24.6       445    8.5      338    6.5          10    0.2     5,214   100.0
Nevada             3,424   49.2     1,965   28.2       889   12.8      629    9.0          58    0.8     6,965   100.0
New Jersey        13,300   41.7     9,072   28.5     4,372   13.7    3,255   10.2       1,861    5.8    31,860   100.0
New Mexico         3,373   67.0     1,090   21.7       361    7.2      187    3.7          22    0.4     5,033   100.0
New York          62,018   40.5    41,260   27.0    23,561   15.4   19,258   12.6       6,894    4.5   152,991   100.0
 City             39,624   36.2    31,560   28.9    19,445   17.8   16,833   15.4       1,869    1.7   109,331   100.0
 State            22,394   51.3     9,700   22.2     4,116    9.4    2,425    5.6       5,025   11.5    43,660   100.0
North Carolina    19,751   58.9     8,314   24.8     2,561    7.6    1,160    3.5       1,768    5.3    33,554   100.0
North Dakota         904   70.0       269   20.8        80    6.2       38    2.9           0    0.0     1,291   100.0
Oregon             7,857   57.1     3,605   26.2     1,407   10.2      865    6.3          33    0.2    13,767   100.0
Pennsylvania      21,454   56.5    10,394   27.3     3,937   10.4    2,150    5.7          69    0.2    38,004   100.0
Rhode Island       3,103   57.1     1,379   25.4       573   10.5      318    5.8          64    1.2     5,437   100.0
South Carolina     6,010   64.4     2,327   25.0       725    7.8      264    2.8           0    0.0     9,326   100.0
South Dakota         671   74.5       186   20.6        32    3.6       12    1.3           0    0.0       901   100.0
Tennessee         10,369   57.6     4,832   26.9     1,812   10.1      962    5.3          14    0.1    17,989   100.0
Texas             57,328   62.7    22,950   25.1     7,280    8.0    3,531    3.9         381    0.4    91,470   100.0
Utah               2,372   65.2       809   22.2       272    7.5      151    4.1          35    1.0     3,639   100.0
Vermont            1,291   60.4       517   24.2       187    8.7      142    6.6           2    0.1     2,139   100.0
Virginia          15,020   58.3     7,078   27.5     2,373    9.2    1,026    4.0         273    1.1    25,770   100.0
Washington        13,701   52.4     7,111   27.2     3,001   11.5    2,165    8.3         160    0.6    26,138   100.0
West Virginia      1,678   67.9       566   22.9       168    6.8       58    2.3           0    0.0     2,470   100.0
Wyoming              135   64.9        45   21.6        16    7.7       10    4.8           2    1.0       208   100.0

Total            356,640   53.6   175,623   26.4    72,979   11.0   47,090    7.1      12,999    2.0   665,331   100.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 37 states and New York City; excludes four states where number of unknown previous induced abortions was >15%.
+ Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
============================================================================================================================

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Table 14



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TABLE 14. Reported legal abortions, by known race, age group, and marital status of
women who obtained abortions -- United States, 1996
============================================================================================
                                   Race
                    ---------------------------------
                         White          Black/Other          Total
Age group (yrs)/    ---------------   ---------------   ----------------
Marital status       No.       %       No.        %       No.       %
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age group
    <15               2,019     0.6     2,500     1.0     4,519      0.8
  15-19              69,406    20.0    43,073    17.9   112,479     19.2
  20-24             109,177    31.5    79,378    33.0   188,555     32.1
  25-29              77,783    22.4    59,270    24.7   137,053     23.3
  30-34              48,371    13.9    33,950    14.1    82,321     14.0
  35-39              30,403     8.8    17,223     7.2    47,626      8.1
   >=40               9,631     2.8     5,036     2.1    14,667      2.5

  Total*            346,790   100.0   240,430   100.0   587,220    100.0

Marital status
  Married            68,398    23.2    34,294    17.0   102,692     20.7
  Unmarried         226,303    76.8   167,126    83.0   393,429     79.3

  Total+            294,701   100.0   201,420   100.0   496,121    100.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 34 states and New York City; excludes four states where unknown race was >15%.
+ Data from 29 states and New York City; excludes six states where unknown race or marital
  status was >15%.
============================================================================================

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Table 15



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TABLE 15. Reported legal abortions, by known Hispanic ethnicity, age group, and
marital status of women who obtained abortions -- United States, 1996
================================================================================================
                             Hispanic ethnicity
                     ----------------------------------
                        Hispanic         Non-Hispanic          Total
Age group (yrs)/     --------------     ---------------   ---------------
Marital status        No.       %        No.        %        No.       %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age group
    <15                 476     0.6       2,919     0.8     3,395     0.7
  15-19              14,176    19.3      71,980    18.8    86,156    18.9
  20-24              24,753    33.7     121,588    31.7   146,341    32.0
  25-29              17,593    24.0      89,781    23.4   107,374    23.5
  30-34               9,984    13.6      54,688    14.3    64,672    14.2
  35-39               5,046     6.9      32,211     8.4    37,257     8.2
   >=40               1,426     1.9      10,120     2.6    11,546     2.5

  Total*             73,454   100.0     383,287   100.0   456,741   100.0

Marital status
  Married            15,733    22.8      72,829    19.7    88,562    20.1
  Unmarried          53,324    77.2     297,699    80.3   351,023    79.9

  Total+             69,057   100.0     370,528   100.0   439,585   100.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data from 22 states and New York City; excludes 13 states where unknown ethnicity was >15%.
+ Data from 21 states and New York City; excludes 11 states where unknown ethnicity or marital
  status was >15%.
================================================================================================

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Table 16



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TABLE 16. Reported legal abortions, by known weeks of gestation, age group, race, and Hispanic ethnicity of women who
obtained abortions -- United States, 1996
===============================================================================================================================================
                                                                   Weeks of gestation
                          -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age group (yrs)/               <=8              9-10             11-12            13-15            16-20           >=21           Total*
Race/Hispanic             --------------   --------------   --------------    --------------   -------------   ------------   ---------------
ethnicity                  No.       %      No.       %       No.      %       No.       %      No.      %      No.     %      No.       %
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age group
    <15                     1,741   35.9     1,080   22.3       760   15.7       560    11.5       462   9.5      246   5.1     4,849   100.0
  15-19                    55,869   45.2    29,902   24.2    16,931   13.7    10,172     8.2     7,697   6.2    3,113   2.5   123,684   100.0
  20-24                   107,128   53.2    46,629   23.1    23,363   11.6    12,824     6.4     8,535   4.2    2,945   1.5   201,424   100.0
  25-29                    86,139   58.5    32,232   21.9    14,216    9.7     7,463     5.1     5,306   3.6    1,846   1.3   147,202   100.0
  30-34                    54,252   60.3    19,068   21.2     8,232    9.1     4,157     4.6     3,205   3.6    1,092   1.2    90,006   100.0
  35-39                    31,823   61.1    10,826   20.8     4,546    8.7     2,238     4.3     2,032   3.9      652   1.3    52,117   100.0
   >=40                    10,072   63.3     3,091   19.4     1,200    7.5       647     4.1       705   4.4      200   1.3    15,915   100.0

  Total+                  347,024   54.6   142,828   22.5    69,248   10.9    38,061     6.0    27,942   4.4   10,094   1.6   635,197   100.0

Race
  White                   158,278   55.9    64,049   22.6    29,677   10.5    15,504     5.5    11,289   4.0    4,235   1.5   283,032   100.0
  Black                    88,513   49.8    41,944   23.6    22,219   12.5    12,460     7.0     9,377   5.3    3,353   1.9   177,866   100.0
  Other                    17,557   61.5     5,394   18.9     2,226    7.8     1,495     5.2     1,405   4.9      451   1.6    28,528   100.0

  Total&                  264,348   54.0   111,387   22.8    54,122   11.1    29,459     6.0    22,071   4.5    8,039   1.6   489,426   100.0

Hispanic ethnicity
  Hispanic                 39,151   56.0    15,073   21.6     7,053   10.1     4,413     6.3     3,247   4.6      971   1.4    69,908   100.0
  Non-Hispanic            179,583   54.2    73,057   22.0    35,949   10.8    20,777     6.3    15,757   4.8    6,257   1.9   331,380   100.0

  Total@                  218,734   54.5    88,130   22.0    43,002   10.7    25,190     6.3    19,004   4.7    7,228   1.8   401,288   100.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Percentages might not add to 100.0 because of rounding.
+ Data from 37 states and New York City; excludes three states where unknown gestational age was >15%.
& Data from 30 states and New York City; excludes six states where unknown gestational age or race was >15%.
@ Data from 19 states and New York City; excludes 14 states where unknown gestational age or Hispanic ethnicity was >15%.
===============================================================================================================================================

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Table 17



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TABLE 17. Reported legal abortions obtained at <=8 weeks of gestation, by known weeks of gestation, age group, race, and
Hispanic ethnicity of women who obtained abortions -- United States, 1996
===========================================================================================================================
                                        Weeks of gestation
                          ------------------------------------------------       Total obtained
Age group (yrs)/               <=6               7                8          at <=8 wks of gestation
Race/Hispanic             --------------   --------------   --------------   ------------------------
ethnicity                  No.      %*      No.      %*       No.      %*         No.          %*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age group
    <15                       430    9.0       527   11.1       753   15.8        1,710       35.9
  15-19                    14,374   11.9    17,038   14.1    23,326   19.3       54,738       45.3
  20-24                    30,290   15.4    33,252   16.9    41,381   21.0      104,923       53.3
  25-29                    26,139   18.1    27,072   18.8    31,301   21.7       84,512       58.6
  30-34                    17,090   19.4    17,065   19.3    19,050   21.6       53,205       60.3
  35-39                    10,060   19.7    10,099   19.8    11,053   21.6       31,212       61.1
   >=40                     3,403   21.8     3,137   20.1     3,330   21.4        9,870       63.3
  Total +                 101,786   16.4   108,190   17.4   130,194   20.9      340,170       54.7
Race
  White                    41,226   14.6    53,784   19.0    63,268   22.4      158,278       56.0
  Black                    24,812   13.9    26,816   15.1    36,885   20.7       88,513       49.7
  Other                     6,049   21.2     5,545   19.4     5,963   20.9       17,557       61.5
  Total &                  72,087   14.7    86,145   17.6   106,116   21.7      264,348       54.0
Hispanic ethnicity
  Hispanic                 12,449   17.8    11,941   17.1    14,761   21.1       39,151       56.0
  Non-Hispanic             53,004   16.0    58,612   17.7    67,967   20.5      179,583       54.2
  Total @                  65,453   16.3    70,553   17.6    82,728   20.6      218,734       54.5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Percentages were calculated using total number of abortions obtained at all known weeks of gestation.
+ Data from 36 states and New York City; excludes three states where unknown gestational age was >15%.
& Data from 30 states and New York City; excludes six states where unknown gestational age or race was >15%.
@ Data from 19 states and New York City; excludes 14 states where unknown gestational age or Hispanic ethnicity was >15%.
===========================================================================================================================

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Table 18



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TABLE 18. Reported legal abortions, by known weeks of gestation and type of procedure -- United States, 1996
===========================================================================================================================================================
                                                                   Weeks of gestation
                      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            <=8               9-10               11-12            13-15              16-20           >=21             Total
                      ---------------   ---------------     --------------    --------------    --------------   ------------    ----------------
Type of procedure      No.       %       No.       %         No.       %       No.      %        No.       %      No.      %       No.       %
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Curettage (suction
 or sharp)*           336,369    99.6   137,093    99.9     66,237    99.7    36,114    98.4    24,795    91.1   7,803    78.9   608,411    98.9
Intrauterine saline
 instillation              18     0.0+       12     0.0+         3     0.0+       31     0.1       640     2.4     208     2.1       912     0.1
Intrauterine
 prostaglandin
 instillation              20     0.0+        5     0.0+         4     0.0+       69     0.2       618     2.3     254     2.6       970     0.2
Hysterotomy/
 Hysterectomy               9     0.0+        9     0.0+         5     0.0+        2     0.0+        4     0.0+      7     0.1        36     0.0+
Other&                  1,370     0.4       104     0.1        213     0.3       499     1.4     1,146     4.2   1,620    16.4     4,952     0.8

Total@                337,786   100.0   137,223   100.0     66,462   100.0    36,715   100.0    27,203   100.0   9,892   100.0   615,281   100.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Includes dilatation and evacuation.
+ <0.05%.
& Includes instillation procedures not reported as a specific category, procedures reported as medical (nonsurgical), and procedures reported as "other."
@ Data from 34 states and New York City; excludes four states where unknown gestational age or type of procedure was >15%. Percentages might not add
  to 100.0 because of rounding.
===========================================================================================================================================================

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Table 19



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TABLE 19. Number of deaths and case-fatality rates* for abortion-related deaths
reported to CDC, by type of abortion -- United States, 1972-1992
================================================================================================
                         No. of deaths
        -----------------------------------------------
                   Type of abortion
        ---------------------------------------
            Induced
        ---------------                                    Case-fatality
Year    Legal   Illegal   Spontaneous+  Unknown   Total        rate*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1972     24       39          25           2        90          4.1
1973     25       19          10           3        57          4.1
1974     26        6          21           1        54          3.4
1975     29        4          14           1        48          3.4
1976     11        2          13           1        27          1.1
1977     17        4          16           0        37          1.6
1978      9        7           9           0        25          0.8
1979     22        0           8           0        30          1.8
1980      9        1           6           2        18          0.7
1981      8        1           3           0        12          0.6
1982     11        1           5           0        17          0.8
1983     11        1           7           0        19          0.9
1984     12        0           5           0        17          0.9
1985     11        1           8           1        21          0.8
1986     11        0           5           2        18          0.8
1987      7        2           8           0        17          0.5
1988     16        0           7           0        23          1.2
1989     12        1           3           0        16          0.9
1990      5        0           5           0        10          0.3
1991     11        1           6           0        18          0.8
1992     10        0          17           0        27          0.7

Total   297       90         201          13       601          1.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Legal induced abortion-related deaths per 100,000 legal induced abortions.
+ In 1978, CDC defined "spontaneous abortion-related deaths" as those deaths that occurred at
  <20 weeks of estimated gestational age. Deaths that occurred at an estimated gestational age
  of >=20 weeks were classified as stillbirths. Before 1978, criteria for gestational age were
  unspecified.
================================================================================================

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