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North Carolina Reported Abortion Statistics 2002

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On the national level, more than 44,000,000 babies have died to abortion since 1973. (1)

North Carolina makes up 2.2 to 2.3 percent of the national average.

The following statistical information is provided by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Epidemiology, State Center for Health Statistics in Raleigh, North Carolina. Additional abortion information for North Carolina can be found on their web site at http://www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/.

On average, about 71 abortions per day were performed on North Carolina residents in 2002. (2)

During 2002, there were a total of 29,229 abortions reported to the State Center for Health Statistics by the 44 licensed in-state abortion facilities in North Carolina, representing a 3.9 percent decrease from the number of reported abortions in 2001. Of the abortions performed in North Carolina, 4,179 were to residents of other states, including South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee. (3)

Of the 2002 reported abortions, the overwhelming majority (98.3 percent) were performed in “non-hospital settings, primarily free-standing clinics,” while 1.7 percent were performed in hospitals. (4)

In 2002, there were a total of 25,883 abortions to residents of North Carolina, representing a 4.7 percent decrease from 2001. (5)

The average age of North Carolina residents obtaining abortions in 2002 was 25.4 years. The average educational level was 12.8 years. (6)

The highest abortion rate (which is the number of induced abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age) in 2002 occurred to women ages 20-24. The abortion fraction (which is the number of induced abortions per 1,000 reported pregnancies) was highest among women ages 15-19. (7)

Of the North Carolina residents who obtained abortions in 2002, 44.6 percent were white, 51.9 percent were minorities, and the race of 3.5 percent was “unknown.”(8)

Only 22.0 percent of the women obtaining abortions in 2002 were “legally married” (this includes women who were separated but not legally divorced), while 71.3 percent were unmarried. The marital status of 6.7 percent of the women was unknown. (9)

In 2002, 48.3 percent of the women obtaining abortions reported no previous abortions, 21.1 percent reported one previous abortion, 7.7 percent reported two previous abortions, and 3.9 percent reported three or more previous abortions. (10)

In 2002, 129 of the reported abortions occurred after the 20^th week of gestation (or 0.5 percent of the women obtaining abortions in 2002). (11)

Suction curettage was the most common reported abortion procedure in 2002, accounting for 46.1 percent of all resident abortion procedures. The suction curettage procedure involves dilating a woman’s cervix, inserting a flexible tube into her uterine cavity, and suctioning out the unborn baby’s tissue and the placenta using an electric vacuum pump. (12)

Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) was the second most common abortion procedure for North Carolina residents in 2002 at 38.0 percent. During the D&E procedure, an abortionist dilates a woman’s cervix and inserts sharp instruments, as well as suction devices and forceps, which are then used to cut up and extract her unborn baby, piece by piece. (13)

*This information is presented in the format provided by the N.C. SCHS. (14)

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NC Resident Abortions on Minority Women By Age
and Marital Status, 2002*

*This information is presented in the format provided by the N.C. SCHS. (15)

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Trends in Reported Abortions

In 1978, abortion providers in North Carolina began “voluntarily” [emphasis added] reporting detailed information about nearly all of their procedures to the state, such as a woman’s race, age, marital status, and weeks of gestation at the time of the abortion. Corresponding data for earlier years were obtained from a sample and may not be representative. (16)

Between 1967 and 1977, the number of abortions reported in North Carolina increased as follows:

*Voluntary reporting

Women obtaining abortions in North Carolina during 1976 tended to be white, between the ages of 20 and 30, not married and high school graduates. They most likely had not had a previous abortion and had no living children. The most reported abortion procedure was suction curettage. The average abortee (a woman who has obtained an abortion) had no complications and was not sterilized. Abortions were most often performed during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Of the women receiving abortions in North Carolina during 1976, whites comprised 64 percent of the total, while 35 percent of the women were minorities. Overall, the distribution of abortions is fairly close to the racial distribution for live births. Sixty-eight percent of births recorded in North Carolina that year were to white mothers. (17)

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North Carolina Resident Induced Abortions
By Race of Abortee, 1978-2002*

*NOTE: Race-specific data do not add up to the total due to cases of unknown race. (18)

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A History of the North Carolina State Abortion Fund, 1977-2003*

*It is important to note that in 1978, Governor James B. Hunt took $250,000 that 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, the State Abortion Fund was reduced to $50,000 with stipulations that the money could only be used to pay for abortions when the life of the mother was at risk or in cases of rape and incest. Prior to this time, there were virtually no restrictions on the use of taxpayers’ money to fund abortions. In 1997, public funds (including Medicaid) paid for five abortions to preserve the woman’s life, 59 abortions for the case of rape, and two abortions for the case of incest. (19)

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1. National Right to Life Committee, Abortion in the United States: Statistics and Trends, “Total Abortions Since 1973, “ www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/abortionstats.html

2. This average was reached by dividing the total number of resident abortions in 2002 (25,883) by the average number of days in a year (365).

3. N.C. State Center for Health Statistics, Reported Pregnancies 2002, “Introduction,” www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/data/pregnancies/2002/intro.html

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. N.C. State Center for Health Statistics, Reported Pregnancies 2002, Reported Induced Abortions: “Abortion Rates and Fractions By Age, North Carolina, 1992-2002,” www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/data/pregnancies/2002/index.html

8. N.C. State Center for Health Statistics, Reported Pregnancies 2002, Reported Induced Abortions: Summary of Characteristics of Women Receiving Abortions, North Carolina Resident Data, 1992-2002, Percent Distribution, www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/data/pregnancies/2002/index.html

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid. #8. For definition of “Suction Curettage,” see: State Center for Health Statistics, Reported Pregnancies 2002, Glossary of Terms: Letters “S-Z,” www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/pubs/glossary.html (scroll down to find term).

13. Ibid. #8. For definition of “Dilation and Evacuation (D&E),” see: State Center for Health Statistics, Reported Pregnancies 2002, Glossary of Terms: Letters “A-F,” www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/pubs/glossary.html (scroll down to find term).

14. N.C. DHHS, Division of Epidemiology, State Center for Health Statistics, Special Report, “NC Resident Abortions By Age Group, Race and Marital Status 2002.”

15. Ibid.

16. N.C. DHHS, Division of Epidemiology, SCHS, 1997 Report, pg. 1-1.

17. N.C, DHHS, Division of Epidemiology, SCHS, 1977 Report, pg. 4.

18. 1998-2002 Data: N.C. State Center for Health Statistics, Reported Pregnancies 2002, Reported Induced Abortions: “Resident Induced Abortions By Race of Abortee, North Carolina, 1992-2002,” www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/data/pregnancies/2002/index.html

19. The information about the history of the State Abortion Fund was provided by N.C. State Representative Paul “Skip” Stam (R-37th).

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