Study Finds Women’s Sense of Responsibility a Key Factor When Choosing Abortion

According to a Guttmacher Institute study published in this month’s Journal of Family Issues, women’s sense of responsibility for their existing and future children influences their decision to obtain abortion care. The study found that the majority (61%) of U.S. women who have abortions are already mothers, more than half of whom have two or more children.

“Among those women with children, the most commonly cited reason for choosing to have an abortion was the concern that having another child would compromise the care given to existing children,” said Rachel K. Jones, senior researcher with the Guttmacher Institute. “Women felt that they were already stretched thin financially, emotionally and physically—and they wanted to put the children they already had front and center. Two-thirds of women who gave this answer were at or below the poverty line and received little help from their partners.”

Through our toll-free Hotline and website, women from diverse backgrounds tell us about their abortion experiences every day. This latest study confirms something that we know to be true from these patient stories: women who have abortions are the same women who have children, just at different times in their lives.

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