To the Editor: I read with some disbelief the statement cited by Lyus et al1 that “almost half” of American women will have had an abortion.
Following the first reference (to the Guttmacher Institute website), the national overview presently states: “At current rates, about one in three American women will have had an abortion by the time she reaches age 45.”2
There is an obvious bias to inflate figures about abortion in an article on abortion! Nevertheless, I was caught by surprise to find abortion so prevalent, as this statistic does not match what my patients either have had, or perhaps, are willing to reveal to me.
While New York State data were the referenced source, there are significant regional differences. In fact, the abortion rate for New York state in 2005 was almost exactly twice the national average, whereas here in Texas our rate was lower than the national average.2,3
Notes
The above letter was referred to the author of the article in question, who offers the following reply.
