Facts & Figures
• Our current ratio of one abortion in every four pregnancies is an improvement over the estimated one in three recorded in Australia in the 1930s.

• International research shows that women will still seek abortion, even if the procedure is illegal. Numerous studies have shown that the majority of Australians support the idea of safe and legal abortions. However, Australian abortion laws are typically vague and open to interpretation.

• Around one in three Australian women will undergo an abortion.

• Unwanted pregnancy can affect any woman of childbearing age, but studies show that some women are at greater risk than others. The typical profile of a woman seeking abortion includes: aged in her 20s; single; well educated; childless; and employed.

• Studies show that between half and two thirds of all women presenting for abortion were using contraception at the time.

• Studies show that most women who have an abortion don’t suffer any subsequent psychological or emotional problems. Women who do experience guilt, depression and grief tend to be those who were coerced into the operation by partners or family.

• Around 80,000 Australian women have the operation every year.

• Estimates vary, but complications can occur in around three per cent of abortions.

• Emergency contraception can involve either having an intra-uterine device (IUD) inserted as soon as possible after the event, or taking emergency hormonal contraception (sometimes referred to as ‘the morning-after pill’).

• The chance of getting pregnant from a single act of unprotected intercourse varies from 4 to 20 per cent. Using emergency contraception can further reduce this risk so that the chance of pregnancy can be reduced to around 2 to 5 per cent.

• Only five per cent of children are now born to women aged 19 years and under. Estimates vary, but it is believed that around one in four sexually active teenage young women become pregnant by mistake. About half of these unwanted pregnancies are terminated.

• One in six women aged 20 to 29, who are asked about pregnancy, will have experienced a pregnancy as a teenager.

• Unplanned pregnancy options include:
– Abortion: 16 per cent of Australian women seeking abortion are teenagers.
– Adoption: relatively few women relinquish their children for adoption anymore, although adoption agencies and the demand for babies still exist.
– Foster care: the child lives with a foster family until the teenage mother feels ready to cope as the primary carer.
– Parenting: the stigma of single parenthood has passed, which means that keeping the child is more common than in the past.

• In nearly one quarter of cases, the partner is never told about the pregnancy. Most teenage women believe that having a child would have a positive effect on their relationship; however, of those women who choose to keep their baby, twice as many live in hostels than with the father of their child.

• The reported average national abortion rate in 1997-1999 (based on Medicare claims, which are believed to be an underestimate) was 22 abortions per 1000 teenagers per year, compared with 19 live births. This indicates a higher teenage pregnancy rate than many other developed countries, and one of the highest teenage abortion rates in the developed world.

• There are 100,000 abortions in Australia each year. There are 250,000 live births each year in Australia, which means that there are 2 aborted babies for every 5 born.

• Worldwide, there are about 60-70 million abortions being carried out.

• The average age of an aborted foetus is 8 weeks.

• 98% of abortions are for convenience (these reasons do not include medical purposes, rape or foetal deformities).

• A report which analysed changes in the attitudes of more than 20,000 people to abortion since 1984 found little had changed:
– Almost 90 per cent believed it was acceptable for a woman to have an abortion if there was a strong chance the baby would have a defect, while almost all believed it should be allowed if the mother’s health was in danger.
– Sixty-five per cent endorsed abortion for low-income families who could not afford more children.
– A married woman having an abortion because she did not want more children or one who was unmarried and did not wish to marry the father earned approval from about 60 per cent of respondents.
– Twenty-one per cent thought abortion should be allowed if the child was likely to be aggressive or violent, and 24 per cent were undecided.
– In 1984 a large majority favoured abortion for catastrophic reasons and a small majority for contraception. By 2002, this had barely changed.