Abortion Statistics
Statistics on abortion are derived
from two basic sources.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute
(AGI) is a research division of Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest
abortion provider. They actively seek out statistics from abortion providers
nationwide, and publish extensive statistical analyses on there website. These
statistical summaries give information on how many abortions there are, who gets
them, and why they get them. For a summary, see
www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html
The other source of statistics is
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), located in Atlanta, Georgia. This
institute of the federal government receives from individual states, on a
voluntary basis, a report on the statistics regarding abortion in that state.
Regular summaries of this information are available to the public on a regular
basis -- for example, the report on
abortion surveillance, and the report on
pregnancy mortality surveillance
(pdf format). Because reporting to the CDC is voluntary, their numbers for
abortion statistics are lower than those of AGI.
Opinion tracking of the American
public about abortion is another area of statistical analysis. The Gallup
Organization (www.gallup.com) has conducted
an in-depth analysis of American public opinion on abortion and made their
summary available to the public. You can read more polls on abortion and
birth control from various sources at
www.pollingreport.com/abortion.htm.
October 2008:
Poll released by the Knights of Columbus
on the views of Catholics and the entire nation. The portion on abortion starts
on page 18. (pdf format)
May 22, 2008:
Abortion Issue
Laying Low in 2008 Campaign (PDF)
April 2008:
Marist Poll: The Impact of the
Pope's Visit to the United States
(PDF)
April 2008:
Roe vs. Wade Poll
January 14, 2008:
Washington Post/ABC News Poll - on the
legality of abortion
December 11, 2007:
ABC
News/Washington Post Poll
(PDF)
November 8, 2007:
ABC News/Washington Post Poll:
Social Issues
(PDF)
October 2007:
ABC News/Washington Post
Poll: Social Issues (PDF)
October 26, 2007:
Fox News Poll on
Abortion (PDF)
October 23, 2007:
Los Angeles
Times/Bloomberg Poll
(PDF)
October 12, 2007:
CBS News Poll on
the Evangelical Vote (PDF)
September 25, 2007:
Rasmussen Poll on the
importance of selected issues to voters. (PDF)
August 2007:
Harris Poll on Social Issues
and Their Potential Impact on the Presidential Election (PDF)
August 2007:
Quinnipiac Poll (PDF)
July 2007:
ABC News/Washington Post
Poll (PDF)
July 2007:
ABC Poll about
the Supreme Court's partial-birth abortion decision (PDF)
July 2007:
CBS Poll on Abortion
(PDF)
June 2007:
MTV Poll (Question 46 deals
with abortion) (PDF)
May 14, 2007:
Public Opinion on Overturning
Roe vs. Wade (PDF) - Commissioned by the Ethics and Public Policy Center
May 2007:
Quinnipiac Poll (PDF)
May 2007:
CNN Poll (PDF)
May 2007:
Gallup Poll on
Abortion and Birth Control (PDF)
May 2006:
Americans' Views on Morality “Not significantly
different from recent years." - (Gallup Poll)
May 2006:
Support for Roe vs. Wade Declines to Lowest Level Ever (Harris Poll)
April 2006: Poll Shows Americans do not understand
Roe V. Wade - (The Polling Company, Inc/WomanTrend)
April 2004:
Zogby poll
about abortion (PDF)
January 2003:
CBS Poll on Abortion
Rights
(PDF)
