ProLife - ProObama

Facts on Preventing Abortions

Abortion Facts

Half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended.
Almost half of unintended pregnancies end in abortion.
The most frequent reasons given by women seeking an abortion are that a child would limit ability to meet current responsibilities and that they cannot afford a child at this point in their lives.
Unintended pregnancy has increased by 29% among poor women while decreasing 20% among higher-income women.
Women below the federal poverty level have abortion rates almost four times those of higher-income women.
Between 1996 and 2000, while abortion rates for all other groups fell, abortion rates among poor and low-income women increased.
The majority of women having abortions are in their 20s or younger.

Source: Guttmacher Institute, "An Overview of Abortion in The United States"

Overturning Roe Vs. Wade Will Not End Abortion in America

Overturning Roe Vs. Wade, a long time goal of the pro-life movement, would not end abortion in the United States, it would simply send the decision to the states.
If states with more than 45% "pro-life" sentiment chose to outlaw abortion, this would only impact 16 states accounting for 10% of abortions nationwide, or less than 100,000 abortions a year.
Women in these 16 states would still be able to travel to seek an abortion in another state, or seek an illegal abortion, making the impact likely less than a 10% reduction in abortions nation-wide.
States with the highest abortion rates in the country, like California and New York, would be unlikely to outlaw abortion in their states.

Source: Catholics United Study "Reducing Abortion in America: Beyond Roe v. Wade"

Studies Show that Economic Support for Women and Families Reduces Abortion

In a recent study released by Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good finds that social and economic supports such as benefits for pregnant women and mothers and economic assistance to low-income families have contributed significantly to reducing the number of abortions in the United States over the past twenty years.
Economic assistance to low income families is correlated with a 20% lower abortion rate. Across the entire United States, this translates into 200,000 fewer abortions.
In the 1990s, states with more generous grants to women, infants and children under the age of five as provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program had a 37% lower abortion rate.
Higher male employment in the 1990s was associated with a 29% lower abortion rate.
The abortion rate has declined most rapidly from 1990-1996 when there was an economic boom under President Clinton. While rates have continued to decrease, they have declined less rapidly in recent years when poverty rates have been climbing.

Source: Catholics in Alliance Study "Reducing Abortion in America: The Effect of Economic and Social Supports" and The Guttmacher Institute "An Overview of Abortion in The United States"

Legal Status of Abortion Does Not Necessarily Impact Abortion Rates

Nearly half of all abortions in the world are performed in countries that have made abortion illegal.
The lowest abortion rates in the world - less than 10 per 1,000 women of reproductive age - are in Europe, where abortion is legal and available.
By contrast, in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, where abortion law is most restrictive, the regional rates are 29 and 31 per 1,000 women, respectively.
These countries are also much poorer than the U.S. and provide fewer social services; and a larger proportion of their population lives in poverty.
In Western European countries, in contrast, where more social services are provided and fewer women live in poverty, the abortion rates are consistently the lowest rates in the world.

Source: Guttmacher Institute, "An Overview of Abortion in The United States"