Are you IN THE KNOW?
ABORTION
Abortion Providers in the United States
Where are
abortions performed?
Answer
Abortions
are performed at clinics, hospitals and physicians’ offices. The vast majority
of U.S. abortions (about 94%) are performed at clinics.[31]
Is the
number of abortion providers in the United States increasing or decreasing?
Answer
The number
of U.S. abortion providers decreased 38% between its peak, in 1982, and 2005.[31] In 2008, however, there were 1,793 providers, about the same number as in 2005.
Is it difficult for women in the United States to reach a provider?
Answer
Some 87%
of U.S. counties do not have an abortion provider and 35% of women aged
15–44 live in those counties.[32] The proportions are lower in the Northeast (53% and 18%) and the West (74% and 13%). In 2005, nonhospital providers estimated that while more than seven in 10 women traveled less than 50 miles to access abortion services, nearly two in 10 traveled 50–100 miles and almost one in 10 traveled more than 100 miles.[42]
Are U.S.
abortion clinics primarily located in black communities?
Answer
No.
Despite claims by antiabortion activists that most U.S. abortion clinics are
located in black neighborhoods in order to target black women, fewer than one
in 10 abortion clinics are actually located in predominantly black communities.
[43]
What
proportion of U.S. abortion providers experience harassment, and what types of
harassment do they experience?
Answer
In 2008,
nearly nine in 10 abortion clinics in the United States experienced at least
one form of harassment.[31] Levels of
harassment were particularly high in the Midwest (85%) and the South (75%).
Overall, picketing was the most common harassment, reported by 87% of
clinics
Why do the
Guttmacher Institute’s U.S. abortion data differ from those compiled by the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)?
Answer
Guttmacher’s abortion provider data are gathered through a
national census of all known facilities that provide abortions in the United
States, an effort the Institute has undertaken since 1973.[41] The CDC
compiles data on U.S. abortion procedures it receives from state departments of
health; there are a few states that do not collect or report data on abortion
procedures at all. Therefore, Guttmacher’s data on
abortion are considered more complete.
RSS