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Why Reducing Poverty Will Reduce Abortion
Social programs to help the poor would have a big impact.
A woman’s financial situation has a big impact on whether she has or considers an abortion.
Poverty and Abortion Statistics in the United States
One of the most common reasons women give for having abortions is they can’t afford to care for their baby.
In a 2004 study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, of U.S. women who had abortions, 73% gave this as one of the reasons.
There’s evidence the situation may be even worse today. Women getting abortions are more likely to be poor than those who had the procedure roughly 30 years ago.
While only 16% of women of childbearing age in the general population live below the poverty line, in 2014, 49% of women getting abortions did. In 2008, the percentage was 42%. In 1994, it was about 25%.
The percentage of women having abortions who are poor is steadily increasing: 2.3% per year between 2008 and 2014.
Additionally, of women having abortions, 26% had incomes of 100% to 199% of the poverty line. Yet these women are only 18% of the population.(1)
