 |
|
|
|
State of North Carolina Reported Abortion StatisticsOn the national level, some 37,000,000 babies have died to abortion since 1973. TRENDS IN REPORTED ABORTIONSSince 1967, the number of abortions reported in North Carolina has increased as follows:
Women obtaining abortions in North Carolina during 1976 tended to be white, between the ages of 20 and 30, not married and were high school graduates. They most likely had not had a previous abortion and chances were they had no living children. The procedure most often used was suction curettage. The average abortee had no complications and was not sterilized. The abortion was most often performed during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. North Carolina Resident Induced Abortions, By Race of Abortee, 1978-1990
NOTE: Race-specific counts do not sum to the total due to cases of unknown race. Of the 34,565 North Carolina women known to have had abortions during 1990, a total of 19,792 (57 percent) were white; 12,714 (37 percent) were black; 295 (1 percent) were American Indian; and 755 (2 percent) were other races. For the remainder, race of the abortee was unknown. Nonwhite women had higher abortion rates and fractions than white women.(3)
NOTE: Race-specific counts do not sum to the total due to cases of unknown race. During 1997, the licensed facilities of North Carolina reported 31,495 abortions to the State Center for Health Statistics, a decrease of 6 percent from the number reported in 1996. As in previous years, women obtaining these abortions were most often white, between the ages of 15 and 24, and not married. Most (64 percent) had never had a previous abortion and had no living children. In 1997, 23 hospitals performed only 2.2 percent of abortions occurring in North Carolina. The remaining almost 98 percent occurred in 25 non-hospital facilities.(4)
SUMMARY OF REPORTED PREGNANCIES In 1997, there were 28,592 induced abortions to residents of North Carolina, a decrease of 6.5 percent from 1996. A total of 3,517 (10.9 percent) of abortions performed in North Carolina were to residents of other states. The average age of North Carolina residents having abortions during 1997 was 24.9. The percentage of abortions at younger ages has continued to decrease since 1987. The highest abortion rate occurred to women ages 20-24. The abortion fraction was highest among women ages 15-19. Of the resident abortions reported in 1997, 50.1 percent were reported as white and 45.7 percent were reported as minority, and no race was reported for 4.2 percent. Only 20.5 percent of North Carolina residents receiving abortions during 1997 were reported as being legally married. However, 9.8 percent of abortion records in 1997 had marital status not reported. Thirty-six percent of North Carolina women having abortions during 1997 reported at least one previous abortion. In 1997, the percentage of women obtaining abortions beyond the 20th week of gestation was 0.8. The average gestational weeks of pregnancy was 8.7 in 1997. Suction curettage accounted for 81.4 percent of all resident abortion procedures reported for 1997, a decrease from 89.5 percent in 1996. The decrease was particularly due to the addition of dilation and evacuation as a reportable procedure, which now accounts for 17.6 percent of all resident abortion procedures.(5) (1) pg 1-1, 1997, NC DHHS, Div of Epidemiology, SCHS
It is important to note that in 1978, Gov. J. B. Hunt took $250,000 that had been appropriated by the legislature for mental health and used these funds to pay for abortions. In 1979, he transferred $303,000 that had been appropriated for rest homes and used that money to pay for medically unnecessary abortions, beyond the $1 million the General Assembly had appropriated at his request. In 1980, Gov. Hunt transferred $367,000 from Aid to Families with Dependent Children for tax paid abortions. This was in addition to the $1 million allocated by the General Assembly. Finally, in 1981, Gov. Hunt transferred $235,000 from Aid to Families with Dependent Children to increase the State Abortion Fund. This transfer was also in addition to the $1 million the General Assembly appropriated for tax paid abortions. In 1995, this fund was reduced to $50,000, with stipulations on its use. Prior to this time, there were virtually no restrictions on the use of taxpayers' money in funding abortions. In 1997 public funds (including federal Medicaid) paid for 5 abortions to preserve the woman's life, 59 abortions for the case of rape, and 2 abortions for the case of incest. In the 1999-2000 budget, the abortion fund remains at $50,000, with the restrictions placed on this fund in 1995 kept in tact. (The preceding information on the history of the State abortion fund was furnished by Paul (Skip) Stam, a practicing attorney with the Apex law firm of STAM, FORDHAM & DANCHI, P.A..) NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT INDUCED ABORTIONS, 1997 Induced Abortions on Unmarried Women
Total Induced Abortions
|
|
Copyright © 2008 North
Carolina Right To Life Inc. |
Page Last updated: May 26, 2004 |
Call us at 336-274-LIFE
(5433) PO BOX 9282 Greensboro, NC 27429-0282 |
