Abortion:

Abortion is a common medical procedure for women aged 15–44 in the United States, partly because of the high level of unwanted pregnancies. Approximately half of the 6.4 million pregnancies in 2000 were unwanted, and about half of those were terminated.

Various Groups

At current rates, about one out of every three American women will have had an abortion by the time she reaches age 45. No racial or ethnic group truly constitutes a majority. 41% are white non-Hispanic, 32% are black non-Hispanic, 20% are Hispanic, and 7% are of other racial backgrounds.

As a Procedure

In the U.S.A., abortion is touted as one of the safest surgical procedures performed on women. Fewer than 0.5% report experiencing a complication, and the risk of death is about one-tenth that associated with childbirth.

Laws and Restrictions

In the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a woman, in consultation with her physician, has a constitutional right to choose abortion before viability of the fetus. In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a woman's rights in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. However, at the same time it also expanded the ability of individual states to enact restrictions. The most common restrictions in effect are parental notification or consent requirements for minors, state-sponsored counseling and waiting periods, and limitations on public funding.

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