ABSTRACT
Induced abortion is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in the USA. Several states such as New York and Hawaii had legalized abortion, and in other places what had been illegal operations would start to be performed legally. In the period 1996-2000, the abortion rates declined in 35 states and the District of Columbia, while it increased in 15 states. In the first six months of 2001, an estimated 37,200 early medical abortions were performed which was around 6 per cent of all abortions. Just over seven in ten were performed with mifespristone and the rest with methotrexate. The proportion of clinics offering abortion declines steeply after 12 weeks, and at 20 weeks only 33 per cent of providers offer abortion services. The decline in the abortion rate between 1994 and 2000 was greatest amongst teenagers, and it appears that teenagers are using birth control more assiduously.
