From: Larry Margolis <margoli@watson.ibm.com>
Subject: Re: Don't just whine about media bias. Do something!
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 08:36:28 GMT
Reply-To: margoli@watson.IBM.com
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: The Village Waterbed

In  <1a09nrINN66f@hpsdde.sdd.hp.com>  regard@hpsdde.sdd.hp.com (Adrienne Regard) writes:
> In article <1992Sep25.210549.12681@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> hatcher@MSUPA.PA.MSU.EDU
> >In article <19voc1INN236@hpsdde.sdd.hp.com>, regard@hpsdde.sdd.hp.com (Adrienne
    hatcher@MSUPA.PA.MSU.EDU wrote:
> >>>For example, I believe
> >>>there ARE too many abortions in the country.
> >>Just out of curiousity, what information do you base this opinion on?
>
> >As I stated in my original post, I beleive there are too many because
> >there are cases where they could have been avoided (and I think everyone
> >will agree that if an abortion could be avoided by some act prior/during
> >sex, any reasonable steps should be taken).
>
> How?

Education?

> >>See, the most recent Ortho study on birth control usage by women shows 81%
> >>of fertile women use some form of birth control.  That's a pretty high
> >>number.  The abortion rate of 1.5 million for a year is only about 2.5% of
> >>the entire fertile female population.
>
> (stats left in just for the hell of it)
>
> >Leaving 21%.
>
> Which includes 6% of women who are actively attempting to become pregnant,
> some other percentage of women who are celebate, and some other percentage
> of women whose spouses are sterile.
>
> >I don't disagree.  I'm glad you gave real numbers (something sorely missing
> >from this group).  And I'm not making a moral judgement on abortion when I
> >claim the numbers are high; they appear to me to be higher than necessary
> >in a "perfect" world.  Do you have any numbers on what fraction of the
> >abortions were necessitated by (1) lack of birth control (2) failures
> >(3) lack of understanding about birth control (4) other?  A problem is
> >no good survey of this kind exists (that I know about).

Abortion and Contraceptive Use
==============================
- In 1988, there were 57.9 million women of reproductive age -
  generally considered to be those aged 15 - 44.
- 67% of women of reproductive age, or 39 million, are at risk for
  unintended pregnancy (women who are sexually active, fertile, and
  not pregnant or seeking pregnancy).
- 90% or 35 million women at risk for unintended pregnancy use some
  method of contraception; 10% or 3.9 million women are not
  contraceptive users.
- Women using contraceptives account for 43% or 1.7 million of
  unintended pregnancies a year; 57% or 1.9 million pregnancies occur
  among women not using contraceptives.
- Only 9% of women having abortions have never used a birth control
  method; nonuse is greatest among those who are young, unmarried,
  poor, black, Hispanic or less educated.

(From "Facts in Brief / Abortion in the United States"; The Alan
Guttmacher Institute)


Abortion Patients' Contraceptive Use  [comments mine - LAM]
====================================
There are currently [1988] no national data on contraceptive use by
women who have abortions.  Six states collect such data ...
[Responding to the "no good survey" comment above.  This article
contains lots of useful information, but it's too much to type.]
..
Among our samples of abortion patients, 91 percent had used a method
of contraception at some time in their lives, while 51 percent were
using one during the month in which they conceived.  ...  What may be
most disturbing is that many women appear to be getting "caught"
within a short time of stopping method use:  Eighteen percent of the
prior users became pregnant within a month of stopping and 47 percent
within three months.  (The average waiting time to conception is
generally 5 - 10 months.)

Nearly 3/4 ... had most recently used the pill; about 15 percent of
these women had become pregnant within a month of ceasing pill use,
while 44 percent had become pregnant within 3 months.  Why would so
many women allow themselves to be exposed to unprotected intercourse,
especially when they had been using such a highly effective method?
Part of the answer may lie in the popular (though mistaken) belief
that after a woman stops using the pill, she experiences a period of
several months during which she cannot conceive.  It is during this
supposed "grace period" that many women may be deciding upon their
next method or arranging for medical consultation.  Other women may
believe they need a "rest period" from the pill, but may fail to take
other precautions.

(From "The Characteristics and Prior Contraceptive Use of U.S.
Abortion Patients", by Stanley K. Henshaw and Jane Silverman, Family
Planning Perspectives, Vol. 20, Number 4, July/August 1988.)

> Of course, I don't happen to share the opinion that there are 'too many'
> abortions in the world, either.  Any more than there are too many appendec-
> tomies.  It's a little too complex for that.  Anyhow, I just wanted to
> offer that data for further consideration.

I share the opinion that there are "too many" abortions.  I think it
would be preferable if the unwanted pregnancy could have been avoided
in the first place.  I don't think appendectomies are a good example,
since I don't know if they're avoidable.  Perhaps heart surgery would
be a better example.  If someone needs it, they need it.  But it would
be preferable if they didn't need it in the first place.  I'm not
going poking my nose into anyone's private life, or trying to regulate
their behavior, but if better [sex] education can teach them about
cholesterol, smoking, etc. [the effectiveness of various contraceptive
methods, truths vs. myths, etc.] so people can be better informed when
making their own choice, then they might not get into a position where
they needed this surgery.

Larry Margolis, MARGOLI@YKTVMV (Bitnet), margoli@watson.IBM.com (Internet)
Newsgroups: talk.abortion