one in three pregnancies planned

to me, the importance of this article is that women are having an even harder time preventing pregnancy at a time when they are not prepared to have a (or another) child.  the US continues to have the highest rate of unintended pregnancy in the developed world.  and THAT is a tragedy. 

lou


UNPLANNED PREGNANCY, ABORTION OFTEN HAPPEN

MORE THAN ONCE IN A WOMAN’S LIFETIME

New Guttmacher Study Notes Role that Government Has Played in Making It Harder—Not Easier—for Women Having Abortions to Prevent the Next Unplanned Pregnancy

About half of all U.S. women having abortions in 2002 had already had a prior abortion, according to Repeat Abortion in the United States, released today by the Guttmacher Institute. Moreover, one in three women have given birth to a baby they had not planned for, and one in 10 have had two or more unintended births. Repeat unintended pregnancies that end either in abortions or unplanned births occur among women from all economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds, the authors point out, suggesting that the reproductive health care system in general is failing to provide women with the services and counseling they need.

“Our study challenges the misperception that women who have more than one abortion are different from other women,” says lead author Rachel K. Jones, senior research associate at the Guttmacher Institute. “The typical woman having a second or third abortion is, in many ways, like the typical woman having her first abortion—and in turn, all types of American women have abortions. This suggests that we need to do a better job helping all women better prevent unwanted pregnancies, so they can avoid having to decide whether to seek abortions or raise children they are not prepared for.”

In fact, the only notable differences between women obtaining a first abortion and those who had already had one or more abortions are that those obtaining repeat abortions tend to be older and to have more children. This makes sense, as older women have been at risk of unintended pregnancy longer than younger women. Overall, most women obtaining abortions are poor or low-income, and six in 10 are already mothers.

The authors found no evidence of women using abortion as their primary method of family planning. The majority of women having abortions were using contraceptives when they became pregnant, regardless of whether it was their first abortion or they had already had a prior abortion. In fact, women obtaining second and higher-order abortions were slightly more likely to have been using a highly effective hormonal method (such as the pill, the patch or the ring) when they became pregnant. These patterns suggest that most women who have abortions are trying to avoid unintended pregnancies but are having trouble doing so.

The time when a woman seeks an abortion is an opportunity to offer family planning services and counseling to help her prevent another unintended pregnancy. Yet a quarter of a century of government policies at the state, federal and international levels have impeded this process. For example, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania require strict separation between organizations providing state-funded family planning services and organizations providing abortion-related services. At the federal level, Title X–funded family planning programs must 
be “separate and distinguishable” from abortion-related activities. And in developing countries, clinics or hospitals where abortions are provided are prohibited from receiving U.S. assistance for any postabortion contraceptive services and counseling.

“The ‘wall of separation’ that the federal government has erected between family planning and abortion services is, paradoxically, leading to more abortions,” says Sharon Camp, Guttmacher president and CEO. “While intended to distance publicly-funded family planning clinics from abortion services, an unintended consequence is that it is getting in the way of abortion providers’ ability to facilitate women’s access back to family planning clinics. These policies interfere with the ability of abortion providers to ensure that, following an abortion, every woman has an appropriate contraceptive method and is able to use it consistently. And it is poor and low-income women in this country—those who have the highest rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion—as well as women in the world’s poorest countries, who are paying the price. We’re failing to prevent abortions because we’re letting down women in the greatest need.”

Click here for the full report Repeat Abortion in the United States.

For more information about this issue or about the Guttmacher Institute, please contact Rebecca Wind at 212-248-1953 or mediaworks@guttmacher.org.

Comments

[Julie]

Bush, I've heard that accusation more often than I can count. Not one pro lifer has been able to come up with an accurate count, much less find one woman who admits she does so. IMHO: Whatever choice the woman makes to deal with an unwanted pregnancy is responsible. Wether or not you approve is irrelevent because it's the call of each individual woman - not yours.

[Bush]

Does it not bother you that women use abortion as birth control? Since the legalization of abortion the rate of STDs have skyrocketed. Killing babies is not a responsible decision that you all seem to think it is.

[Julie]

Far too many people use contraception improperly - men and women. To compound the problem, the Bush Administration's insistance on pushing "abstinence ONLY until marriage" fear-based programs are turning out a generation of kids who are completely ignorant about contraception.

[lauren]

Maybe I'm missing something, but what always strikes me about these surveys are the number of women who become pregnant unintentionally while using a form of birthcontrol. It just seems odd that the solution is "more birth control" when obviously birth control isn't erasing unintended pregnancies.

Now, I know it could be attributed to women being a bit less than truthful about their contraceptive choices(it's hard to walk into a room and say you're not using condoms), but it really seems to indicate a problem with the contraceptives prevent abortion argument.

[Julie]

Moiv, I also hope the Dems get off their butts and do something too. But you know what's gonna happen. The Repubs will scream about "welfare queens" getting federal dollars and they will raise false concerns about family planning funding possibly going to fund abortion clinics. Then they will use this to whip up their socially conservative base and make political hay in 2008. Sex should be beautiful, but far too often it's just a political football, a tool to pander for votes.

Jess - getting males more involved in issues of family planning starts at home with dads telling their sons girls are to be treated with respect, not as sperm collection devices. The attitudes of some men being what they are, this education will probably be left to the schools - again. Boys get mixed messages about sex too, so much of popular culture in general, and America's culture of machismo in particular tells boys girls are just there to be used.

Plus women's groups are wary of men getting involved because of fears the men will try to "take over" and start "dictating" to women what to do.

[Dawn L]

One thing I have to say about the report and end information, it is very detailed and impressive. I am frustrated that data cannot be complete as reporting is difficult for women and with issues from the states. I find it interesting that issues such as poverty, race, and education were factors in 2nd and subsequent abortions. Still, the face of abortion (if I read the charts correctly) is white most of the time. My own home state had over 10,000 abortions in 2002, wow.

I do find one issue that is not at all addressed in this report (and probably not appropriate) that I would be curious to have resolved. It would be the satisfaction rates of women who had "unintended" or "unplanned" pregnancies and went on to have abortions by choice (not including ectopic or miscarriage) vs. women who decided to deliver. In other words, the satisfaction/regret factor. It would also be interesting to look at the social/educational/career/financial changes after such decision...to abort or birth in an "unintended" or "unplanned" pregnancy. I will say, as I wrote before, none of my pregnancies were unwanted even if I didn't plan them. My husband and I have taken the "whatever happens happens" approach, so technically we didn't intend to have five children, but we have been happy to have all of these children. The only time I did have a moment of "oh no, I'm pregnant" it was temporary. I wanted that baby very much. I ended up having the baby die spontaneously and had a d&e a week later. Only once did we actually chart in order to plan getting pregnant (or actively try). I have a hard time looking at all the reported unplanned pregnancies as a crisis, as we don't know how the women perceive the end result.

[Dawn L]

Wow, this saddens me. All of my children were "intended" but only one was truly planned. I wish people realized the value of a new baby. We are relatively rich because we live in a richer nation, but are struggling financially. Each of my five born are valued and were never in danger of chosen abortion. The ones I miscarried were also wanted, and would not interfere with my life but would add to it.

As someone who has been and currently is considered low income (less than $40,000/yr with five children at home), I take a different stand. I don't think my children should be aborted in this circumstance.

I also believe that our govt. should not be in the business of paying for birth control or paying for abortions. The govt. didn't pay for my care after my miscarriages...

[Jess]

I haven't been through the whole site, so consider this a comment of the moment. Perhaps this has been discussed.

What strikes me about a great deal of family-planning and abortion discussion is the absence of the voices of men involved in abortion. It's a glaring omission on the whole. If there were more accountability/responsibility at all stages of sexual activity on the part of sexually active men, what a different situation we would find ourselves in.

For the record, I have had TWO male partners with four abortions each to their credit. They had little to say on the subject. They were both grudging about wearing condoms, too.

Problematic, no doubt about it.

[moiv]

"We’re failing to prevent abortions because we’re letting down women in the greatest need."

I get sick to death of hearing women blamed for unintended pregnancies or repeat abortions by people who have no idea of how hard it can be for a woman to afford birth control. When a woman is down to her last $50, and must decide between a pack of pills or groceries for her children, the choice is no choice at all: her kids aren't going to bed hungry.

As providers of abortion care, we know how challenging it can be for our patients to access affordable family planning services. Here in Texas, the legislature defunded family planning clinics by tens of millions of dollars in 2005.

At the national level, it is my opinion that this has not come about through accident or from lack of oversight and analysis. The most tragic aspect of the current situation is that it is the intended result of deliberately formulated policies.

We must not permit a majority-Democratic Congress to let this sad state of affairs continue to blight the lives of low-income women and their families.

[Ericka]

That IS a tragedy. Thanks for this.