The Continuing High Cost of Roe v. Wade—A Disturbing Fact Sheet
- Oct 8, 2010 -
The National Right to Life Committee reports that there has been over 50 million induced abortions since Roe v. Wade. Yet it is not unreasonable to conclude that over 55 million babies have been aborted since that 1973, given that reporting of this heinous medical procedure is voluntary.
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An estimated 1.2 million plus abortions were performed in the United States in 2005, 8% fewer than in 2000. The abortion rate in 2005 was 19.4 per 1,000 women aged 15–44; this rate represents a 9% decline from 2000.
There were 1,787 abortion providers in 2005, only 2% fewer than in 2000. Some 87% of U.S. counties, containing 35% of women aged 15–44, did not have an abortion provider in 2005. Early medication abortion [RU-486; “Morning after Pill”], offered by an estimated 57% of known providers, accounted for 13% of abortions (and for 22% of abortions before nine weeks’ gestation).
The average amount paid for an abortion at 10 weeks was $413—after adjustment for inflation, $11 less than in 2001 (Source: Guttmacher Institute.)
Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures undergone by women aged 15–44 in the United States (Owings MF and Kozak LJ, Ambulatory and inpatient procedures in the United States, 1996, Vital and Health Statistics, 1998, Series 13, No. 139.) partly because of the high level of unintended pregnancy.
About half of the 6.4 million pregnancies that occurred in 2000 (including those ending in miscarriages) were unintended, and about half of these resulted in abortion (Finer LB and Henshaw SK, Disparities in rates of unintended pregnancy in the United States, 1994 and 2001, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2006, 38(2):90–96).
Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion (Jones RK et al., Abortion in the United States: incidence and access to services, 2005, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2008, 40(1):6–16.)
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WORLDWIDE (The Center for Bio-ethical Reform)
Number of abortions per year: Approximately 42 Million
Number of abortions per day: Approximately 115,000
83% of all abortions are obtained in developing countries and 17% occur in developed countries.