Abortion in the United States, 1977-1978

Abstract

There were 1.32 million legal abortions in the United States in 1977 and a projected 1.37 million in 1978, an increase of four percent between 1977 and 1978 compared with one of 12 percent between 1976 and 1977. In 1978, 29 percent of pregnant women chose to terminate their pregnancies by abortion. Almost three percent of U.S. women of reproductive age obtained an abortion in 1978. From 1967 through 1978, approximately six million women obtained almost eight million legal abortions; about one in eight U.S. women of reproductive age has had a legal abortion. The number of hospitals reporting that they provided abortion services dropped slightly from 1,695 in 1976 to 1,661 in 1977, but the number of nonhospital abortion clinics increased from 448 to 522, and the number of physicians who reported performing abortions in their offices grew from 424 to 533. Between 1976 and 1977, the average number of abortions per hospital facility decreased from 246 to 237, while the average number per nonhospital provider increased from 875 to 879. The percentage of abortions performed in hospitals declined from 35 in 1976 to 30 in 1977, while the percentage reported by free-standing clinics increased from 61 to 66; the percentage performed in physicians' offices remained at four. Ninety-five percent of abortions in 1977 occurred in metropolitan areas, where 75 percent of the women in need of abortion services live. In 1977, there were identified abortion providers in only 23 percent of U.S. counties. Nine percent (more than 118,000) of the women who obtained abortions in 1977 had to travel to another state for services, and many traveled to other, often distant, counties in their home states. One in three abortions in 1977 were obtained by teenagers, and three in four were obtained by unmarried women. Twenty-eight percent of the women estimated to be in need of abortion services in 1977, and 26 percent in 1978, were unable to obtain them. In FY 1977, before Hyde amendment restrictions on government financing of abortions for poor women, 133,000 of the estimated 427,000 Medicaid-eligible women in need of publicly funded abortion services were unable to obtain them.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

PIP: Results of the Alan Guttmacher Institute's 5th annual survey of abortion services in the U.S. are presented. Data were collected on the number of abortions performed by each provider in 1977 and the first quarter of 1978. In 1977, 1,320,000 abortions were reported, an increase of 12% over 1976. The legal abortion rate rose between 1973 and 1978 from 16.6 to 27.5 per 1000 women of reproductive age. In 1978 there were 406 abortions for every 1000 live births. 1 in every 8 women of reproductive age in the U.S. has had at least 1 legal abortion since 1967. Most abortion services are concentrated in metropolitan areas. Abortion occurrence rates in 1977 ranged from a low of 5.2 per 1000 women in Mississippi to a high of 46.0 in New York. Nationally, 72% of women needing abortions in 1977 and 74% needing them in 1978 were able to obtain them, but 506,000 women in 1977 and 479,000 women in 1978 were unable to obtain services. Women who obtained abortions in 1977 were mainly young, white, unmarried, childless, and undergoing their first abortion. More than 90% of abortions were performed in the first trimester by suction or sharp curettage. Adolescents obtained nearly 1/3 of all abortions, and women 20-24 another 1/3. Abortion rates in 1977 were highest for women 18-19 years old, for nonwhite and unmarried women, and for poor women eligible for Medicaid. In 1978, the number of federally funded Medicaid abortions was about 1% of the number paid for before the Hyde amendment took effect.