Abortions and Out-of-Wedlock Births: A Study in Contrasts

Government statistics reveal that out-of-wedlock births have climbed to an all-time high in the United States, accounting for nearly four in 10 babies born last year.

What's surprising is that women in their 20s are now driving that trend -- not teens, as had long been the case. Twenty-something women, both married and unmarried, are responsible for the largest percentage of births in the U.S.

In fact, the teen birth rate declined 2 percent in 2005, continuing a trend begun in the early 1990s. At about 40 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, the teen birth rate is at the lowest level on record, with consistent data going back about 65 years. However, the sobering reality is that the teen birth rate in the U.S. is still the highest in the industrialized world.

Social experts say the new reality in out-of-wedlock births is the result of a couple of factors. Firstly, there has been a rise in the number of people putting off marriage or choosing to live together without getting married. Young Americans are delaying marriage longer than previous generations. According to census figures, last year the median age at first marriage was 27 for men and 25 for women, up from 23 and 20 in 1950.

Secondly, more single women in their 30s and 40s are responding to maternal desires and choosing to give birth on their own. The social stigma that once prevented such decisions is all but gone now.

But while out-of-wedlock births are growing, the number of abortions has fallen from its peak in the 1980s. That's likely due to the fact that abortions are available in only 13 percent of U.S. counties, the lowest level in three decades.

The CDC said 854,122 legal induced abortions were reported in 2002, a number that has remained fairly stable after a steady decline from 1996 to 2001.

And just as with the information regarding out-of-wedlock births, the statistics on abortion are quite surprising, as well.

According to a study released late last year by the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute, about half of all U.S. women who had abortions in 2002 had undergone at least one previous abortion.

The study found that women who had repeat abortions tended to be over age 30 and to have more children, and most were using contraception at the time.

Sixty percent of the women seeking abortions had at least one child already, and most were poor or low-income.

The study also found that one in three U.S. women have given birth to a baby they had not planned for, and one in 10 have had more than one unintended birth.

The Institute, named for the founder of the Planned Parenthood Foundation of America, said that federal government restrictions on family planning are "paradoxically, leading to more abortions."

For example, federal Title X-funded family planning programs must maintain a "wall of separation" between their programs and abortion providers. Several states have similar policies.

That mandate has had unintended consequences. In the past 10 years, as public funding for family planning has faced federal restrictions, unplanned pregnancy rates have jumped 29% among poor women. Those women are more than four times as likely to have abortions as wealthier ones. In fact, according to Guttmacher, three-quarters of women contemplating an abortion claim economic hardship as a reason.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about half of the approximately 5.4 million pregnancies in the United States each year are unintended. Ultimately, there are more than 4.1 million annual births in the U.S.

Guttmacher research affirms CDC data; about half of American women will face an unplanned pregnancy at some point. And at current rates, more than one-third will have an abortion by the time they are 45.

As Guttmacher President Sharon L. Camp told the Washington Post, "Unintended pregnancy in the United States is twice as high as in most of Western Europe. As a direct result, abortion rates are twice or three times as high as European countries. There is no reason why abortion rates need to be as high as they are."

Some may find it horrifying that nearly a quarter (23.8%) of all pregnancies in the U.S. end in abortion. The good news is that the rate is at its lowest point since 1973, when the Supreme Court legalized the procedure.

But while the abortion rate and the proportion of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion among all women declined, the unintended birth rate increased. Some would herald the news of fewer abortions as the saving of lives, but unintended pregnancies can have very negative affects on women and children.

One thing almost everyone can agree on is the desire to limit, or even end, all unintended pregnancies. That would not only limit abortions, but also help keep women out of poverty. With Democrats now in control, Congress may consider the Prevention First Act, which would promote comprehensive sex education and expand access to contraception.

According to statistics, 98% of American women have used contraception at some point in their lives. The key is getting them to use it correctly and regularly.

Social conservatives are faced with the strange and contradictory position of being against contraception and family planning, against abortion, and against out-of-wedlock births. Many would argue that it doesn't add up. As of now, abortion is legal in the U.S., as is out-of-wedlock child bearing. A sensible goal is to provide education and access to family planning to women who wish not to become pregnant in the first place.

While some seek to limit or end the availability of abortion, limiting access to contraception can often end up with contradictory results.

Copyright © 2007 Sean M. Kennedy. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the author's consent.