Demographics of Women Who Report Having an Abortion from The National Survey of Family Growth 2006-2010 Patrick F. Fagan, Ph.D. Scott Talkington, Ph.D. January 2014 MARRI 801 G St, NW Washington, DC 20001 202.393.2100 marri.us/abortion-demographics Demographics of Women Who Report Having an Abortion: Preliminary Inquiry from The National Survey of Family Growth 2006-2010 Table of Contents Introduction …3 Abortion …5 Abortion among Women Aged 41 and Older …6 Abortion among Ever-Pregnant Women Aged 41 and Older …7 Abortion among Women Who Have Ever Been Pregnant …8 By Age Bracket: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...9 Age at First Abortion among Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...10 24 Years of Age and Under: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...11 Area of Residence ...12 Area of Residence of All Women Aged 15 to 44 …13 Area of Residence of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...14 By Area of Residence: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...15 Birthplace, Foreign or Domestic, of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...16 By Birthplace, Foreign or Domestic: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...17 Ethnic Distribution ...18 Ethnic Distribution of All Women Aged 15 to 44 ...19 Ethnic Distribution of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...20 By Ethnic Group: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...21 Income and Education ...22 Family Income of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...23 By Family Income Bracket: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...24 Education Attained among Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...25 By Education Attained: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...26 Family …27 Family Structure of Origin among Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...28 By Family Structure of Origin: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions …29 Family Living Situation at Age 14 of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...30 By Family Living Situation at Age 14: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...31 Marriage ...32 Present Family Living Situation of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...33 By Present Family Living Situation: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...34 1 Marriage History of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...35 By Marriage History: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...36 Current Marital Status of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...37 By Current Marital Status: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...38 Number of Marriages among Women Who Have Married and Who Had One or More Abortions …39 By Number of Marriages: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions …40 Number of Cohabitations among Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...41 By Number of Cohabitations: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...42 Births in and out of Wedlock ...43 Number of out-of-Wedlock [with in-Wedlock Only] Births among Women Who Had One or More Abortions; If Ever Given Birth ...44 By Number of out-of-Wedlock [with in-Wedlock Only] Births: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions As Well ...45 Number of in-Wedlock [With out-of-Wedlock Only] Births among Women Who Had One or More Abortions; If Ever Given Birth ...46 By Number of in-Wedlock [With out-of-Wedlock Only] Births: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...47 Religious Practice ...48 Current Religious Service Attendance among Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...49 By Current Religious Service Attendance: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions …50 Current Importance of Religion in Daily Life among Women Who Had One or More Abortions …51 By Current Importance of Religion in Daily Life: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...52 Sexual Activity ...53 Age at First Intercourse among Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...54 By Age at First Intercourse: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...55 Lifetime Total Number of Male Sexual Partners among Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...56 Lifetime Total Number of Male Sexual Partners among Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...57 By Lifetime Total Number of Male Sexual Partners: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...58 Contraception Use ...59 Contraception Use among Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...60 By Contraception Use: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...61 Age at First Use of Birth Control among Women Who Have Ever Used Birth Control and Have Ever Been Pregnant ...62 Age at First Use of Birth Control among Women Who Have Ever Used Birth Control and Who Had One or More Abortions …63 By Age at First Use of Birth Control: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions …64 Emergency “Contraception” Use ...65 Emergency “Contraception” Use among Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...66 By Emergency “Contraception” Use: Percent of Women Who Had One or More Abortions ...67 Appendix: Notes on the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) …68 2 Introduction This chart book is an initial exploration of the demographics of abortion in America. These “maps” of the background patterns of abortion in the U.S. are drawn from the combined data for the years 2006-2010 in the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), a large sample representative of the U.S. population. Note that the figures included are reported numbers, and that survey respondents are disposed to underreport on a matter as sensitive as abortion, possibly by as much as a factor of two. Abortions among Black women and, particularly, Hispanic women, appear to be more underreported than among White women. Unmarried women appear to underreport abortions at a greater rate than married women.1 In this study, in estimating the extent of abortion, we use the reports of women in their forties, not those of younger women, where conflicts about guilt stemming from recent abortions may be more prevalent. Confining the evaluation of abortion’s prevalence to women in their mid-forties also permits deferring analysis until the fertile years and an estimate of abortion prevalence can be straightforwardly obtained. Despite these shortcomings this is the best federal survey, by far, from which to estimate the correlates of abortion. Note that we do not here provide multiple figures based on estimated error rates due to underreporting. Today, by their mid-forties, one in six women reports having an abortion (page 6), and one fifth of those who have ever been pregnant report procuring an abortion (page 7). Most women who report ever aborting report having only one abortion (page 8) and report being quite young when they obtain their first abortion; nearly half of first reported abortions are to teenagers and 80 percent are to those 24 or younger (page 10). Abortion is less prevalent within some demographic subsets than others. The reported abortion rate among women born outside the United States is lower than that among their U.S.-born counterparts (page 17). When women are broken down by ethnicity, abortion is reported to be most prevalent among African-American women (page 21). The (reported) abortion rate does not vary significantly across income groups (page 24). The data suggested no clear relationship between reported abortion and educational attainment; the lowest percentage of women who reported an abortion is among women who have a ninth grade education or less and the highest percentage is among women who have “some college” education (page 26). When the statistics are broken down by family structure, reported abortion is rarest among women raised in an always-intact family: 16 percent vs. 26 percent (page 29). Reported abortion is more common among women who have been pregnant but never been married than among women who have been pregnant but who have ever been                                                              1 Elise F. Jones and Jacqueline Darroch Forrest, “Underreporting of Abortion in Surveys of U.S. Women: 1976 to 1988,” Demography 29, no. 1 (February 1992): 113-126. It is to be noted that this research based on data from thirty years ago and that the climate on abortion has changed significantly since then, possibly increasing or even decreasing the underreporting. 3 married (page 36). The percentage of women who report an abortion is higher among those separated, divorced, or never married than those currently married (page 38). Eighty-three percent of women who report having an abortion have cohabited at some time (page 41), and the fraction of women reporting an abortion increased within each category, as the number of cohabiting relationships increased (page 42). The fraction of women reporting an abortion is nearly twice as high among women who have had children out of wedlock as among women who have had all their children in wedlock (page 45). A smaller fraction of women with three or more in-wedlock births report having ever aborted than women with two in-wedlock births, and a smaller fraction of women with three or more or two in-wedlock births reported having ever aborted than women with one in-wedlock birth (page 47). Almost 20 percent more women who never worship report having procured one or more abortions than women who worship weekly or more than weekly (page 50). About 68 percent of women who report having one or more abortions now consider religion very or somewhat important in their daily lives (page 51). The survey does not permit an estimate of the importance of religion at the time the abortion(s) took place. A lower fraction of women who defer intercourse report having abortions than women who have an early sexual debut. Thirty-four to 38 percent of women who became sexually active as young girls (aged 12, 13, or 14) report having had an abortion, while “only” 6 percent of women who had their first intercourse at age 20 or later report having had an abortion (page 55). The fraction of women reporting abortions is far larger among women with multiple sexual partners than among monogamous women. Forty to 50 percent of women who have 10 or more (male) sexual partners report having an abortion, while “only” 6 percent of those who are monogamous (one male sexual partner) report having an abortion (page 58). Almost 90 percent of reported abortions are procured by women who have had three or more (male) sexual partners (pages 56, 57). Contraception seems not to preclude the “need” for abortion: 99 percent of women who report having an abortion have ever used contraception (page 60). Those who have used contraception report aborting at twice the rate of those who have not (page 61). The data make it clear that more women who report procuring abortions exhibit such behaviors as early first sexual intercourse, intercourse with greater numbers of sexual partners, contraceptive use, and low religious attendance. It is the hope of the authors that this exploration of the demographics of reported abortion will lead to more comprehensive research on abortion’s antecedents and effects. Patrick F. Fagan, Ph.D. and Scott Talkington, Ph.D. MARRI, The Marriage and Religion Research Institute  4 Abortion 5 Abortion ammong Woomen Agged 41 aand Oldeer NSFG,Femmale Respondents, 2006‐2010; Scottt Talkington, PhD; MARRI Ever aborted:  16.9% Never aborted: 83.1%%  Populattion: Womenn aged 41 annd older. Thhis is the bestt estimate frrom this survey of the percentagge of womenn who have eever had an abortion. WWomen’s reprroductive yeaars end in thheir mid-forties. We wideened the age band measuured so that the numberr in the sampple would bee large enoough to permmit a nationaal estimate. Measureed: The perccentage of wwomen with aapproximateely completeed fertile yeaars who havee ever had an abortion. • 166.9 percent oof women agged 41 and oolder have evver had an aabortion. • 833.1 percent oof women agged 41 and oolder have neever had an abortion. 6 Abortiion amoong Ever‐Pregnant Wommen Agedd 41 andd  Olderr NSFFG,Female Responndents, 2006‐20100; Scott Talkingtonn, PhD; MARRI Ever abortedd: 19.1% Never abborted: 80.9% Populattion: Womenn aged 41 annd older whoo have ever bbeen pregnaant. This is the best estimmate from thiss survey of thhe percentagge of ever-prregnant wommen who havve ever had aan abortion. Women’ss reproductivve years endd in their midd-forties. Wee widened thhe age band measured soo that the number in the sample wwould be largge enough too permit a naational estimmate. Measureed: The perccentage of evver-pregnantt women witth approximmately completed fertile yyears who havee ever had an abortion. • 199.1 percent oof ever-pregnnant women aged 41 andd older havee ever had ann abortion. • 800.9 percent oof ever-pregnnant women aged 41 andd older havee never had aan abortion. 7 NNumber of Aborttions ammong Woomen WWho Havee Ever  Been Pregnant NSFG, Female Respondents, 2006‐2010; Scott TTalkington, PhD; MMARRI Onne: TTwo: 14.77% 33.7% Three oor More: 1.6% None: 79.9% Populattion: Womenn aged 15 too 44 who havve ever beenn pregnant. Measureed: Distribuution by their number off abortions. • 799.9 percent oof women whho have everr been pregnnant never hhad an abortion. • 144.7 percent oof women whho have everr been pregnnant had onee abortion. • 3.7 percent off women who have ever been pregnaant had two abortions. • 1.6 percent off women who have ever been pregnaant had at leeast three abbortions. 8