Abortion surveillance -- United States 1993 and 1994.

A review of data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that the number of legal induced abortions performed in the US has continued to steadily decrease. In 1993 a total of 1330414 legal abortions were reported to the CDC representing a 2.1% decrease from 1992. In 1994 1267415 abortions were reported representing a 4.7% decrease from 1993. The abortion rate was 22 per 1000 women 15-44 years old in 1993 and 21 per 1000 women in 1994. The 1994 abortion ratio of 321 per 1000 live births was the lowest since 1977. The typical abortion seeker was White young (20-24 years) and unmarried. In 1993 and 1994 54% of women who obtained a legal abortion were doing so for the first time. 52-54% of abortions were performed at 8 or fewer weeks of gestation and 88% took place before 13 weeks. Women 19 years and younger were more likely than their older counterparts to obtain abortions at later gestational ages. In 1991 there were 12 abortion-related deaths 1 of which involved an illegal procedure. In addition to providing information on abortion trends the CDC national surveillance system can identify the characteristics of women at risk of unintended pregnancy and evaluate the effectiveness of state family planning programs in preventing such pregnancies.