Abortion demographics show big changes

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Abortion demographics have changed dramatically since the 1970s, with far more older U.S. women and non-whites now undergoing the procedure, an analysis says.

In the first comprehensive study of who is getting abortions since 1974, the Guttmacher Institute, a private nonprofit reproductive health research organization, found that women in their 20s and 30s who already have children are increasingly dominating the ranks of those who choose to abort their pregnancies, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Also, while the overall number of abortions has been falling in recent years, black and Hispanic women are making up a larger percentage of those who receive them. A large racial disparity was evident, with non-whites having the procedure at rates three to five times the rate of white women, the study found.

Teenagers make up 17 percent of abortions compared to 33 percent in 1974.

"We've made the most important progress in reducing teen pregnancy and abortion rate, (rather) than reducing unintended pregnancy in older women," Rachel Jones, a senior research associate with the Guttmacher Institute, told the Post.