Many states emphasize the prevention of unintended pregnancy, particularly among teenagers.
To assist efforts to prevent unintended pregnancy, each state needs an accurate assessment of abortion on an ongoing basis, including the number and characteristics of women obtaining abortions. The report presents national data for 1996 on legal induced abortions compiled from the 50 states, New York City, and the District of Columbia. However, from 1995 to 1996, the number increased slightly. This change in the number of abortions reported to CDC may indicate that the numbers of legal abortions in the U.S. may be leveling off. Women who obtained legal abortions in 1996, as in previous years, were predominantly white and unmarried.