STATE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROFILE
Massachusetts
NATIONAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
Despite the demonstrable importance and ubiquity of contraception, the truth is that ensuring that every pregnancy is wanted and planned is difficult, at both the individual and the societal levels. For the typical American woman to have two children, she will spend about five years pregnant, postpartum or attempting to become pregnant, and three decades�more than three-quarters of her reproductive life�trying to avoid pregnancy. Not all women, however, are successful: About half of all pregnancies in the United States each year�more than three million of them�are unintended. By age 45, more than half of all American women will have experienced an unintended pregnancy, and about one-third will have had an abortion. Nonetheless, contraceptive use can and does dramatically reduce women�s odds of having an unintended pregnancy.
DEMOGRAPHICS
- In 2008, there were 1,437,800 women of reproductive age (aged 13-44) in Massachusetts, 839,300 of whom were in need of contraceptive services and supplies. Of these:
- AGE: 110,000 were under the age of 20 and 729,300 were aged 20-44.
- INCOME: Among women aged 20-44, 83,200 were below 100% of the federal poverty level.
- RACE/ETHNICITY: 626,500 were non-Hispanic white; 60,100 were non-Hispanic black; and 83,600 were Hispanic.
- In 2008, there were 316,400 women in Massachusetts in need of publicly supported contraceptive services and supplies. Of these, 110,000 were in need of publicly supported services because they were sexually active teenagers, and 206,300 because they had incomes below 250% of the federal poverty level.
- In 2010-2011, 6% of women aged 15-44 in Massachusetts were uninsured, while 21% were enrolled in Medicaid.
For more information, see Contraceptive Needs and Services, 2006
PREGNANCIES, BIRTHS AND ABORTIONS
- In 2008, there were 119,800 pregnancies to the 1,359,536 women of reproductive age (15-44) in Massachusetts; 64% of these pregnancies resulted in live births and 21% in induced abortions.
- In 2006, 47% of pregnancies in Massachusetts were unintended. There were 59,000 unintended pregnancies to women in Massachusetts, producing a rate of 43 per 1,000 women of reproductive age.
- Of all unintended pregnancies in Massachusetts in 2006, 41% resulted in live births and 49% resulted in induced abortions.
- In 2006, 59% of births in Massachusetts resulting from unintended pregnancies were publicly funded, compared with 36% of all births and 26% of births resulting from intended pregnancies.
- Of the 28,000 publicly funded births in Massachusetts in 2006, 14,200 resulted from unintended pregnancies.
- Births resulting from unintended pregnancies in Massachusetts accounted for $182 million in public costs in 2006, including $91 million in federal costs and $91 million in state costs.
- In 2008, 24,900 women obtained abortions in Massachusetts, producing a rate of 18.3 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Some of these women were from other states, and some Massachusetts residents had abortions in other states, so this rate may not reflect the abortion rate of state residents. The rate declined 8% since 2005, when it was 19.9 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44. Massachusetts represents 2.1% of all abortions in the United States.
- In 2005, 26,460 Massachusetts residents obtained abortions, producing a rate of 19.5 per 1,000 women of reproductive age.
- In 2008, there were 9,810 pregnancies to Massachusetts teens aged 15-19; 47% of these pregnancies resulted in live births and 40% in induced abortions.
- In 2008, 3,920 teens obtained abortions in Massachusetts, producing a rate of 17 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-19.
- In 2008, there were 41 abortion providers in Massachusetts. This represents a 9% decrease from 2005, when there were 45 abortion providers.
- In 2008, 29% of Massachusetts counties had no abortion provider; 10% of Massachusetts women lived in these counties.
For more information, see State Facts About Abortion
PUBLICLY FUNDED CONTRACEPTIVE SERVICES
- In 2006 in Massachusetts, 141 publicly funded family planning centers provided contraceptive care to 148,500 women�including 41,900 teenagers.
- Family planning clinics in Massachusetts served 39% of all women in need of publicly supported contraceptive services and supplies in 2008.
- In Massachusetts, $306 in public funds was spent on contraceptive services and supplies per woman in need in 2008.
- In Massachusetts, 75 family planning centers that received some support through the federal Title-X family planning program provided contraceptive care to 73,000 women�including 22,700 teenagers in 2006.
- Title-X-supported centers in Massachusetts served 19% of all women in need of publicly supported contraceptive services and supplies in 2008.
For more information, see Contraceptive Needs and Services, 2006
IMPACT OF PUBLICLY FUNDED CONTRACEPTIVE SERVICES
- Publicly funded family planning services help women to avoid pregnancies they do not want and to plan pregnancies they do. In 2008, these services helped women in Massachusetts avoid 25,800 unintended pregnancies, which would likely have resulted in about 11,500 unintended births and 10,800 abortions.
- Contraceptive services provided at Title X-supported centers in Massachusetts helped prevent 12,700 unintended pregnancies, which would likely have resulted in about 5,600 unintended births and 5,300 abortions.
- The services provided at publicly funded family planning centers in Massachusetts saved the federal and state governments $105,291,000 in 2008.
For more information, see Next Steps for America's Family Planning Program
STATE POLICIES
Policy Summary Table, as of April 1st, 2013
| ABORTION | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Abortion Policy in the Absence of Roe v. Wade | |
| Pre-Roe abortion ban still in place |
|
| Abortion Counseling and Waiting Periods | |
| No policy in effect | |
| Parental Involvement in Minors' Abortions | |
| Parent must consent to an abortion | One parent |
| Restrictions on Private Insurance Coverage of Abortion | |
| No policy in effect | |
| Public Funding of Abortion for Poor Women | |
| State pays for all or most medically necessary abortions |
|
| Refusal Clauses for Abortion Services | |
| Medical professionals may refuse |
|
| Medical institutions may refuse | All institutions |
| ADOLESCENTS | |
|
|
| Minors' Consent to Contraceptive Services | |
| All minors explicitly permitted to consent |
|
| Minors' Consent to STI Services | |
| All or some minors explicitly permitted to consent | All minors |
| Parental Involvement in Minors' Abortions | |
| Parent must consent to an abortion | One parent |
| Sex Education | |
| No policy in effect | |
| CONTRACEPTION SERVICES AND FINANCING | |
|
|
| Emergency Contraception in Emergency Rooms | |
| Information must be provided |
|
| Medication must be provided on request |
|
| Private Insurance Coverage of Contraceptive Services | |
| Insurance coverage mandated |
|
| Employers may refuse to provide coverage | Religious employers |
| Medicaid Family Planning Expansions | |
| No policy in effect | |
| Contraceptive Access in Pharmacies | |
| No policy in effect | |
| Refusal Clauses for Contraceptive Services | |
| Medical institutions may refuse | Private institutions |
| Minors' Consent to Contraceptive Services | |
| All minors explicitly permitted to consent |
|
For more information, see State Policies in Brief