263-270 Henshaw

Along with the prevalence of abortion services, the development of methods of early medical (nonsurgical) abortion has the potential to affect the availability and utilization of these services. By 1995, mifepristone, in combination with a prostaglandin, was offered on a limited basis under experimental protocols up to 63 days from the woman’s last menstrual period; however, this method has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and its future availability is unknown. In 1996, the effectiveness of a second medical method to induce abortion early in pregnancy, methotrexate (also used with a prostaglandin), began to gain attention;4 methotrexate has FDA approval, but for uses that do not include abortion. The availability of these methods may have encouraged more physicians to provide abortions, may have increased the number of women seeking abortion or simply may have replaced surgical procedures. This article provides new information on the number and geographic distribution of abortion providers as of 1996, and updates national and state-level data on the number of abortions performed and abortion rates. The availability of abortion Stanley K. Henshaw is deputy director of research for The Alan Guttmacher Institute, New York. The author would like to thank Kathleen Manzella, Maria Elena Ramos, Suzette Audam, Kathleen Berentsen, Robin Hennessy, Reina Nunez and Shelby Pasarell for their invaluable assistance with this project. The research on which this article is based was funded by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Educational Foundation of America. Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995–1996