sexual and reproductive health: growing disparities lawrence b. finer, ph.d. director of domestic...
TRANSCRIPT
Sexual and Reproductive Health: Growing Disparities
Lawrence B. Finer, Ph.D.Director of Domestic Research
Guttmacher Exchange • November 16, 2010
About half of U.S. pregnancies are still unintended
Births
Abortions
Fetal Losses
Unintended49%
Intended51%
Unintended pregnancies are concentrated among poor women
Income level Rate of unintended pregnancy (2001)
<100% of poverty 132
100-199% 70
200%+ 27
The 16% of women at risk of unintended pregnancy who are poor …
… account for 30% of unintended pregnancies
Poor women account for a third of unintended pregnancies
US abortion rates continue to decline, but more slowly
The poorest women have the highest abortion rates
% of poverty level
Abortions per 1,000
The need for subsidized contraception is growing in the U.S.
15.1
16.5
16.4
17.4
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
1990
1995
2000
2008
Millions
Women in need of public services All Women In Need
30.5
33.2
34.0
36.2
Because of the economy, many women want to reduce/delay childbearing
Because of the recession, more women want contraception and fewer can afford it
Family planning clinic costs are rising significantly
• Costs for publicly-funded family planning services have increased 27% between 2004 and 2008 – $203 per client in 2004 – $257 per client in 2008
• Family planning services are still a bargain, returning $3.74 in pregnancy-related Medicaid savings for each $1 spent on contraceptive services
Family planning providers are between a rock and a hard place
For more information, visit www.guttmacher.org