Abortion in the United States

===Reasons for abortions===
{{update section|date=May 2022}}
A 1998 study revealed that in 1987 to 1988, women reported the following as their primary reasons for choosing an abortion:<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Akinrinola |last1=Bankole |first2=Susheela |last2=Singh |first3=Taylor |last3=Haas |url=http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2411798.html |title=Reasons Why Women Have Induced Abortions: Evidence from 27 Countries |journal=International Family Planning Perspectives |year=1998 |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=117–127, 152 |jstor=3038208 |doi=10.2307/3038208 |access-date=June 24, 2007 |archive-date=January 17, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060117191716/http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2411798.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Finer et al 2005">{{cite journal |first1=Lawrence B. |last1=Finer |first2=Lori F. |last2=Frohwirth |first3=Lindsay A. |last3=Dauphinee |first4=Susheela |last4=Singh |first5=Ann M. |last5=Moore |url=http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3711005.pdf |title=Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives |journal=Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=110–118 |date=September 2005 |jstor=3650599 |pmid=16150658 |doi=10.1111/j.1931-2393.2005.tb00045.x}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Percentage
of women
!Primary reason for choosing an abortion
|-
|25.5%
|Want to postpone childbearing
|-
|21.3%
|Cannot afford a baby
|-
|14.1%
|Has relationship problem or partner does not want pregnancy
|-
|12.2%
|Too young; parent(s) or other(s) object to pregnancy
|-
|10.8%
|Having a child will disrupt education or employment
|-
|7.9%
|Want no (more) children
|-
|3.3%
|Risk to fetal health
|-
|2.8%
|Risk to maternal health
|-
|2.1%
|Other
|}
The source of this information takes findings into account from 27 nations including the United States, and therefore, these findings may not be typical for any one nation.

According to a 1987 study that included specific data about [[late term abortion|late abortions]] (i. e., abortions "at 16 or more weeks' gestation"),<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Aida |last1=Torres |first2=Jacqueline Darroch |last2=Forrest |s2cid=25224865 |title=Why Do Women Have Abortions? |journal=Family Planning Perspectives |volume=20 |issue=4 |date=Jul–Aug 1988 |pages=169–176 |jstor=2135792 |pmid=3243347 |quote=Some 42 facilities were originally invited to participate in the study; these include six at which a relatively large number of late abortions (those at 16 or more weeks' gestation) were performed. |doi=10.2307/2135792}}</ref> women reported that various reasons contributed to their having a late abortion:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Percentage
of women
!Reasons contributing to a late abortion
|-
|71%
|Woman did not recognize she was pregnant or misjudged gestation
|-
|48%
|Woman had found it hard to make arrangements for an earlier abortion
|-
|33%
|Woman was afraid to tell her partner or parents
|-
|24%
|Woman took time to decide to have an abortion
|-
|8%
|Woman waited for her relationship to change
|-
|8%
|Someone had earlier pressured woman not to have abortion
|-
|6%
|Something changed some time after woman became pregnant
|-
|6%
|Woman did not know timing is important
|-
|5%
|Woman did not know she could get an abortion
|-
|2%
|A fetal problem was diagnosed late in pregnancy
|-
|11%
|Other
|}
In 2000, cases of rape or incest accounted for 1% of abortions.<ref>[http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0904509.html "Induced Abortion Facts in Brief"] (2002) (13,000 out of 1.31 million abortions in 2000 were on account of rape or incest). Retrieved via InfoPlease January 7, 2007. Adapted from "Alan Guttmacher Institute, Induced Abortion, Facts in Brief, 2002". [http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html Facts in Brief] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013034110/http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html |date=October 13, 2007 }} from [[Guttmacher Institute]] does not include the 13 000 statistic though, nor does [https://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/sfaa/sfaa_sources.html the 2003 version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306024115/https://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/sfaa/sfaa_sources.html |date=March 6, 2015 }}.</ref>

A 2004 study by the [[Guttmacher Institute]] reported that women listed the following amongst their reasons for choosing to have an abortion:<ref name="Finer et al 2005"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Percentage
of women
!Reason for choosing to have an abortion
|-
|74%
|Having a baby would dramatically change my life
|-
|73%
|Cannot afford a baby now
|-
|48%
|Do not want to be a single mother or having relationship problems
|-
|38%
|Have completed my childbearing
|-
|32%
|Not ready for another child
|-
|25%
|Do not want people to know I had sex or got pregnant
|-
|22%
|Do not feel mature enough to raise a(nother) child
|-
|14%
|Husband or partner wants me to have an abortion
|-
|13%
|Possible problems affecting the health of the fetus
|-
|12%
|Concerns about my health
|-
|6%
|Parents want me to have an abortion
|-
|1%
|Was a victim of rape
|-
|less than .5%
|Became pregnant as a result of incest
|}
A 2008 [[National Survey of Family Growth]] (NSFG) shows that rates of unintended pregnancy are highest among Blacks, Hispanics, and women with lower socio-economic status.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dehlendorf |first=Christine |author2=Lisa Harris |title=Disparities in Abortion Rates: A Public Health Approach|journal=American Journal of Public Health|date=October 1, 2013|volume=103|issue=10|pages=1772–1779 |doi=10.2105/ajph.2013.301339|pmid=23948010 |pmc=3780732}}</ref>
* 70% of all pregnancies among Black women were unintended
* 57% of all pregnancies among Hispanic women were unintended
* 42% of all pregnancies among White women were unintended