≡ Menu

Abortion Facts and Important Information

woman thinking about abortion

Abortion is a very personal choice and it is the cause of great debate with people being pro-life or pro-choice. There are slogans, buttons and t-shirts that you can buy to express your position on being either pro or con. Before we look at the arguments for and against abortion, let’s take a look at some abortion info. These have been provided by the Guttmacher Institute and are based on the rates of abortion in the United States. It is useful to know this abortion information before you start thinking of what position you want to take in the pro-life vs pro-choice debate.

This article is not designed to convince you of either side being right, just to provide you with information about each side.

Abortion Statistics and Abortion Facts
The following abortion facts are actual facts and are not influenced by either side of the debate, nor are they designed to give more credence to either side of the debate.
1. Almost half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended or accidental pregnancies.
2. Out of every 10 unplanned pregnancies, 4 end up in abortion.
3. 24% of all pregnancies, so just under a quarter, end in abortion.
4. Two of every 100 women between the ages of 15 and 44 have an abortion. For 48% of these, there is a case of multiple abortions.
5. 52% of women choosing for their first abortion are under the age of 25. 33% of those choosing their first abortion options are between the ages of 20 and 24, and 19% are teenagers.
6. There are four times as many black women having abortions than white women. There are also 2.5 times more Latino women having abortions than white women.
7. Two thirds of all abortions take place with non-married women.
8. 60% of abortions take place with women who already have one or more children.
9. Just 8% of women who have abortions are women who haven’t used birth control.
10. 43% of women who have an abortion are Protestant and 27% are catholic. The other 30% are non or other religious.

So what does this mean? It means that you are likely to have had some wrong preconceptions, particularly around religion and age. It also means that there is a clear social divide in abortions.

The Pro-Life Arguments
The following abortion information is used by pro-life supporters (who are against abortion):
1. Life begins at conception, hence abortion is murder.
2. Abortion is intentionally harming another human being, which is a crime.
3. Instead of abortion, women could choose to have their babies adopted.
4. Abortions can lead to serious medical complications, as well as an inability to conceive later in life. Hence, abortion risks are too high.
5. If a woman was raped, her pregnancy could have been avoided right after she was raped (with the help of the morning after pill). The child is innocent and should not be punished for their father’s crime.
6. The abortion procedure is not a form of contraception.
7. Women who do not want children should not get pregnant by using contraceptives or abstinence (natural family planning).
8. Tax dollars fund abortion, which is morally wrong with such a strong pro-life movement.
9. Minors are the biggest group of people choosing abortion and they don’t understand what they are doing. The regrets often haunt them forever.
10. Abortion can lead to psychological problems, this being one of the biggest abortion side effects.

The Pro-Choice Arguments
The following abortion information is used by pro-choice supporters:
1. Most abortions take place in the first trimester, when the baby is still a foetus.
2. Fertilized eggs used in IVF are also human lives and no one thinks twice about throwing them away. So what is abortion other than simply removing a non-human?
3. Adoption is a choice women can make, but it is a choice not many do make (less than 3% of white and 2% of black unmarried women).
4. Abortion is very safe, with a risk of complications being below 0.5%.
5. Not allowing a rape victim to have an abortion can lead to further distress and an unloved child. Furthermore, not all women report rape or incest.
6. Pregnancy can happen even if contraceptives are used, meaning that abortion is not a form of contraception.
7. Women have the right to control their own bodies.
8. Tax money is used to fund all sorts of things, and most of those things do not have 100% agreement from tax payers. Hence, abortion costs are not noticeable by the every day person. Furthermore, remove tax money to fund abortions and there will be an increase in home abortions.
9. Teenage mums have very few prospects in later life.
10. Abortion stress has been demonstrated to be mainly before the abortion and not post-abortion. Hence, stress is not one of the abortion side effects.

Which side are you on, Pro-Life or Pro-Choice? Share your comments and explain your option!

{ 1 comment… add one }
  • patrick January 19, 2013, 12:27 pm

    I am always pro abortion when this prevents that a future baby would be born in a family or by a mother that doesn’t want and know how to love him!

Leave a Comment