"Abortion Gains...or Losses?"
Lawrence B. Finer, Ph. D.
Director of Domestic Research
The Guttmacher Institute
During the month of February Lawrence B. Finer, Ph. D., Director of Domestic Research, of The Guttmacher Institute, puts his sharp analytical tools to work on recent research which indicate that the "decodes-long decline in U.S. abortion rates is stalling out."[1]
In "Abortion Gains...or Losses?" Dr. Finer's astute observations on the meaning, significance and implications of these trends bring home to us the message of what can be done to ensure that abortion remains safe, legal and rare.
During the interview Dr. Finer frequently cites Guttmacher Institute's 2006 study 
of abortion trends, "Abortion in Women's Lives."
This report is among many which Dr. Finer has authored in his extensive work with Guttmacher.
It is important, Dr. Finer asserts, to understand that not only is U.S. abortion decline close to stalling but, worse, disparities in unintended pregnancy grow within individual
states and within particular population subgroups. See further a new analysis by the Guttmacher Institute.
Adolescents and poor women are more likely than other women to have trouble obtaining an abortion early in pregnancy, when the procedure is safest and least expensive according to a study published in the October 2006 issue of Contraception. Once pregnancy is suspected, most women who want an abortion act fairly quickly and are able to obtain an abortion in the first trimester.
However, Dr. Finer and his colleagues report that two groups of women —adolescents and poor women—have greater difficulty obtaining an early abortion, but for very different reasons: Teens are hampered by a lack of knowledge about the symptoms of pregnancy, while poor women’s financial constraints are often an obstacle to timely receipt of services.
The wake-up call to strengthen evidence-based policies that have been proven to reduce unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion was very clearly articulated by Dr. Finer. Several items of legislation speaking to this end are pending in Albany, including
- the Healthy Teens Act
- the level of funding for Reproductive Health Care in Spitzer's budget
- facilitation of access to Emergency Contraception
Where do your state legislators stand on these issues? See hotlinks to the position of Westchester's delegation.
New York Times Op-Ed Columnist, Nicolas D. Kristof, has spoken out strongly on the failure of the Bush administration to promote policies which would reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and decrease the need for abortions.
[1]Quoted in a recent analysis by Guttmacher Institute’s president, Sharon Camp.