My body, my choice?
Are there any stats on why women choose abortion as a means of birth control? Yes, there are. See the below chart. (1)
Women cry my body, my choice.
Okay, so perhaps most women choosing abortion should consider and/or rethink their body, their choice prior to having sex? I’m talking to the majority here (see below chart). With sex comes responsibility. Why? Because sex produces babies.
Some pre-sex methods of birth control are more effective than others, but reason with me here. Even with pre-sex birth control, are we as women so unrestrained and emotional that we can’t choose to do what is best for our future, our bodies and minds for a few days each month. Not wanting a baby is a decision known prior to doing what creates a baby. So, is it reasonable to plan accordingly prior to sex so we don’t have to end the life of what was a known possibility? A baby.
I honestly don’t mean to be harsh; I just want to encourage all us women to stop, think, consider, reason through the facts and stats and be informed. Especially our young women. We are being fed lots of information about abortion. But is abortion (for the majority) the best choice to deal with our concerns, fears, hopes, dreams, future, body and mind? I don’t think so. Abortion has become a far too easy choice of birth control.
There were more than 1 million abortions in the US in 2023. (2)
Approximately 642,700 medication or chemical abortions in the United States in 2023, accounting for 63% of all abortions in the formal health care system. (3) (4)
11 percent of women in the United States between the ages of 15 and 44 have used emergency contraception called the Morning After or Plan B pill which is legal in all states without a prescription or age limit. (5)(6)
1% of women obtain an abortion because they became pregnant through rape, and less than 0.5% do so because of incest. (7)
1.14% of abortions were performed for the mother’s life or physical health. (8)
(1) The reasons most frequently cited were that having a child would interfere with a woman's education, work or ability to care for dependents (74%); that she could not afford a baby now (73%); and that she did not want to be a single mother or was having relationship problems (48%). Nearly four in 10 women said they had completed their childbearing, and almost one-third were not ready to have a child. Fewer than 1% said their parents' or partners' desire for them to have an abortion was the most important reason. Younger women often reported that they were unprepared for the transition to motherhood, while older women regularly cited their responsibility to dependents.
(2) According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization focused on sexual and reproductive health that supports abortion rights. The latest trends also suggest that medication abortion is a more common option than ever.
(3) According to Guttmacher Institute reports.
(4) The chemical is called Misoprostol. Also known as the “abortion pill.” It’s legal in the majority of states, a few more states have some gestation restrictions, and the remaining states have banned the abortion pill. It can be prescribed and purchased online and is also free under certain situations.
(5) Also called the morning-after pill but can be taken up to 5 days after unprotected sex. It’s legal in all states. It can also be purchased online, sometimes free, and usually no ID is required. It works by chemically preventing a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus by altering the uterine lining.
(6) National Center for Health Stats
(7) USA Today
(8( According to the Guttmacher Institute.
