A survey of women who obtained an abortion in the United States between June 2021 and July 2022 found that 26 percent were Hispanic, while 33 percent were white. This statistic shows the distribution of women in the U.S. who obtained an abortion from June 2021 to July 2022, by race/ethnicity.

In 2022, the states with the highest rates of abortion per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years in the United States were New Mexico, Illinois, and Kansas. The states with the lowest rates of abortion were Missouri and South Dakota. Abortion differences among the states In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade allowing states to restrict the practice of abortion or outright ban it completely. A number of states immediately banned the procedure through trigger laws they had in place in anticipation of the ruling. Even before the ruling, abortion accessibility and rates varied greatly from state to state, but this difference has become even more pronounced. For example, in 2022, Florida had an abortion rate of 20.5 per 1,000 women, while the rate in Missouri was just .1. Florida had the highest total number of abortions that year, followed by New York and Illinois. While Florida reported around 82,581 abortions in 2022, there were just 88 such procedures in Missouri. Public opinion on abortion In the United States, the debate surrounding abortion is often divided among those who are “pro-life” and think abortion should be restricted or banned and those who are “pro-choice” and believe the decision to abort a pregnancy should be up to the woman. Gallup polls show the distribution of people in the United States who are pro-life or pro-choice has fluctuated over the years but in 2023 around 52 percent of respondents stated they were pro-choice while 44 percent said they were pro-life. Older respondents are more likely to express views limiting access to abortion, while younger people are more likely to believe abortion should be legal under any circumstance. However, just a small minority of people of all ages believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.

The ethnic and racial distribution of legal abortions in the United States varies greatly by state. For example, in Idaho non-Hispanic white women accounted for 66 percent of all legal abortions in 2022, whereas only 19 percent of abortions in Mississippi were among white women. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 many states, such as Mississippi, have made abortion illegal with limited exceptions. Which states have the most abortions? In 2022, the states with the highest total number of legal abortions were Florida, New York, and Illinois. That year, there were around 82,581 legal abortions in the state of Florida. Florida also had the fourth-highest rate of legal abortion per 100,000 women, with New Mexico reporting the highest rate. The states with the lowest rates of abortion that year were Missouri and South Dakota. Out-of-state abortions As many states have banned or restricted abortion since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, it is likely that more women will now have to travel out of state if they would like to receive an abortion. Even before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a significant percentage of abortions in many states were performed on out-of-state residents. In 2022, around 69 percent of legal abortions in Kansas were performed on out-of-state residents, while out-of-state residents accounted for 62 percent of abortions in New Mexico. At that time, Illinois was the state with the highest total number of abortions performed on out-of-state residents, with around 16,849 such procedures.

Abortion remains a controversial topic in the United States and has been an exceptionally political topic since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. This ruling has allowed individual states to completely ban the procedure if they choose, which a number of states have since done. In 2022, the year of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the highest rates of legal abortion in the United States were among women aged 25 to 29 years, with around 18.7 abortions per 1,000 women. How many abortions are there in the United States each year? In 2022, there were an estimated 613,000 legal abortions in the United States. This was a decrease from the year before, and in general, the number of legal abortions per year in the U.S. has decreased since the late 1990s. The rate of abortion has also decreased significantly. In 1997, the rate of legal abortions per 100 live births was 30.6, but this had dropped to 19.9 per 100 live births by the year 2022. At that time, the states with the highest rates of abortion were New Mexico, Illinois, and Kansas. Public opinion on abortion As of 2023, around 52 percent of U.S. adults considered themselves pro-choice, while 44 percent were pro-life. However, these numbers have fluctuated over the years, with a larger share of people identifying as pro-life just four years earlier. Nevertheless, a poll from 2024 showed that only a small minority of U.S. adults want abortion to be illegal in all cases, with younger people more likely to support the legalization of abortion in any circumstance. Furthermore, surveys have shown that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, U.S. adults have expressed being much more dissatisfied with abortion policy in the country, desiring less strict policy.

In 2022, around 39 percent of legal abortions reported in the state of Texas were among Hispanics, while Black women accounted for 30 percent and white women 26 percent. Abortion has long been a controversial topic in the United States, with the issue once again becoming a major topic in 2022 when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing individual states to completely ban abortion if they so choose. Abortion in Texas In 2022, there were around 17,500 legal abortions reported in Texas, the eleventh highest number among all U.S. states. This was a large drop from the year prior, when Texas had the third-highest number of abortions in the United States. Concerning the rate of abortion per 100,000 population, Texas was ranked 42nd, with just 2.8 abortions per 100,000 population. In comparison, in Florida that year there were 20.5 abortions per 100,000 population, the fourth-highest rate among the states. Texas was one of a number of states with a so-called “trigger law”, which, in response to the Supreme Court decision in 2022, automatically banned abortions in all cases except to save the life of the mother. Under the new law, performing an abortion is a felony, punishable by up to life in prison. Public opinion Opinions in the United States on abortion are often divided between those who are “pro-choice” and those who are “pro-life”. Polls have shown that the share of those who identify with each side has fluctuated over the years, but a survey from 2023 found that around 52 percent of adults considered themselves pro-choice, while 44 percent were pro-life. Younger people more often believe abortion should be legal under any circumstance than older people, but only a minority across the age groups believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances. In fact, despite several states, such as Texas, completely banning abortion, a survey from 2023 found that 55 percent of U.S. adults believed abortion should be permitted either whenever a woman decides to or under given circumstances.

Abortion in the United States is still a contentious topic. In 2022, the leading state by number of legal abortions in the United States was Florida, which reported 82,581 abortions. In that year, New York reported 72.7 thousand abortions, followed by Illinois with almost 56.5 thousand. There were a total of almost 613,383 legal abortions in the United States in 2022.

Number of induced abortions, rates of induced abortions per 1,000 females of same age group, proportions of induced abortions across age groups, and ratios of induced abortions per 100 live births, by age group of patient, 1987 to 2000.

In 2022, there were around 613 thousand legal abortions in the United States. The number of legal abortions in the United States has decreased significantly since the early 1990’s. This number will probably continue to decrease in the coming years since many states have severely limited or completely banned abortion after the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022. The states with the highest abortion rates In 2022, the rate of legal abortions per live births in the United States was 19.9 per 100. In comparison, in 1990 there were 34.4 abortions per 100 live births. The states with the highest rates of abortion per live births are New Mexico, Illinois, and Florida. In Florida, there were around 37 abortions per 100 live births in 2022. Florida had the highest total number of abortions that year, followed by New York and Illinois. Missouri and South Dakota had the lowest number of abortions in 2022. Out-of-state abortions Critics of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade argue that while those who can afford it may be able to travel to other states for an abortion if their state bans the procedure, poorer residents will have no such choice. Even before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, out-of-state residents already accounted for a high share of abortions in certain states. In 2022, 69 percent of abortions in Kansas were performed on out-of-state residents, while out-of-state residents accounted for around 62 percent of abortions in New Mexico. Illinois had the highest total number of abortions performed on out-of-state residents that year, with around 16,849 procedures.

In 2022, there were around 38 legal abortions per 100 live births among unmarried women in the United States. In comparison, the rate of abortion per live births among married women was around four per 100. The abortion rates for both married and unmarried women in the United States have decreased over the last few decades. Abortion statistics in the United States In 2022, the overall rate of abortion in the United States per 100 live births was 19.9. Abortion in the U.S. is most common among women aged 25 to 29 years, with around 19 abortions per 1,000 women in this age group. The most common method of abortion in 2022 was medical abortion with a gestation of nine weeks or less, followed by surgical abortion with a gestation of 13 weeks or less. Medical abortion involves taking prescription medication to end the pregnancy, while surgical abortion involves a surgical procedure. The two main types of surgical abortion are vacuum aspiration and dilation and evacuation (D&E). Abortion-related deaths in the United States are very rare, with only five such deaths reported in 2021. Abortion among adolescents In 2022, the abortion rate among adolescent women in the United States aged 15 to 19 years was 5.4 per 1,000 population. In comparison, in 2013, this rate was 8.2 per 1,000 women. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the abortion rate among adolescent women increases with age. In 2022, those aged 19 years had the highest rate of abortion among teenagers. The majority of abortions performed on adolescent women are done in week nine or less of gestation. In 2022, there were around 24,626 abortions performed on adolescent women in week nine or less of gestation, while 9,313 abortion procedures were carried out after week nine of gestation.

The 1997 the Kyrgyz Republic Demographic and Health Survey (KRDHS) is a nationally representative survey of 3,848 women age 15-49. Fieldwork was conducted from August to November 1997. The KRDHS was sponsored by the Ministry of Health (MOH), and was funded by the United States Agency for International Development. The Research Institute of Obstetrics and Pediatrics implemented the survey with technical assistance from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program. The purpose of the KRDHS was to provide data to the MOH on factors which determine the health status of women and children such as fertility, contraception, induced abortion, maternal care, infant mortality, nutritional status, and anemia. Some statistics presented in this report are currently available to the MOH from other sources. For example, the MOH collects and regularly publishes information on fertility, contraception, induced abortion and infant mortality. However, the survey presents information on these indices in a manner which is not currently available, i.e., by population subgroups such as those defined by age, marital duration, education, and ethnicity. Additionally, the survey provides statistics on some issues not previously available in the Kyrgyz Republic: for example, breastfeeding practices and anemia status of women and children. When considered together, existing MOH data and the KRDHS data provide a more complete picture of the health conditions in the Kyrgyz Republic than was previously available. A secondary objective of the survey was to enhance the capabilities of institutions in the Kyrgyz Republic to collect, process, and analyze population and health data. MAIN FINDINGS FERTILITY Fertility Rates. Survey results indicate a total fertility rate (TFR) for all of the Kyrgyz Republic of 3.4 children per woman. Fertility levels differ for different population groups. The TFR for women living in urban areas (2.3 children per woman) is substantially lower than for women living in rural areas (3.9). The TFR for Kyrgyz women (3.6 children per woman) is higher than for women of Russian ethnicity (1.5) but lower than Uzbek women (4.2). Among the regions of the Kyrgyz Republic, the TFR is lowest in Bishkek City (1.7 children per woman), and the highest in the East Region (4.3), and intermediate in the North and South Regions (3.1 and3.9, respectively). Time Trends. The KRDHS data show that fertility has declined in the Kyrgyz Republic in recent years. The decline in fertility from 5-9 to 0-4 years prior to the survey increases with age, from an 8 percent decline among 20-24 year olds to a 38 percent decline among 35-39 year olds. The declining trend in fertility can be seen by comparing the completed family size of women near the end of their childbearing years with the current TFR. Completed family size among women 40-49 is 4.6 children which is more than one child greater than the current TFR (3.4). Birth Intervals. Overall, 30 percent of births in the Kyrgyz Republic take place within 24 months of the previous birth. The median birth interval is 31.9 months. Age at Onset of Childbearing. The median age at which women in the Kyrgyz Republic begin childbearing has been holding steady over the past two decades at approximately 21.6 years. Most women have their first birth while in their early twenties, although about 20 percent of women give birth before age 20. Nearly half of married women in the Kyrgyz Republic (45 percent) do not want to have more children. Additional one-quarter of women (26 percent) want to delay their next birth by at least two years. These are the women who are potentially in need of some method of family planning. FAMILY PLANNING Ever Use. Among currently married women, 83 percent report having used a method of contraception at some time. The women most likely to have ever used a method of contraception are those age 30-44 (among both currently married and all women). Current Use. Overall, among currently married women, 60 percent report that they are currently using a contraceptive method. About half (49 percent) are using a modern method of contraception and another 11 percent are using a traditional method. The IUD is by far the most commonly used method; 38 percent of currently married women are using the IUD. Other modern methods of contraception account for only a small amount of use among currently married women: pills (2 percent), condoms (6 percent), and injectables and female sterilization (1 and 2 percent, respectively). Thus, the practice of family planning in the Kyrgyz Republic places high reliance on a single method, the IUD. Source of Methods. The vast majority of women obtain their contraceptives through the public sector (97 percent): 35 percent from a government hospital, and 36 percent from a women counseling center. The source of supply of the method depends on the method being used. For example, most women using IUDs obtain them at women counseling centers (42 percent) or hospitals (39 percent). Government pharmacies supply 46 percent of pill users and 75 percent of condom users. Pill users also obtain supplies from women counseling centers or (33 percent). Fertility Preferences. A majority of women in the Kyrgyz Republic (45 percent) indicated that they desire no more children. By age 25-29, 20 percent want no more children, and by age 30-34, nearly half (46 percent) want no more children. Thus, many women come to the preference to stop childbearing at relatively young ages-when they have 20 or more potential years of childbearing ahead of them. For some of these women, the most appropriate method of contraception may be a long-acting method such as female sterilization. However, there is a deficiency of use of this method in the Kyrgyz Republic. In the interests of providing a broad range of safe and effective methods, information about and access to sterilization should be increased so that individual women can make informed decisions about using this method. INDUCED ABORTION Abortion Rates. From the KRDHS data, the total abortion rate (TAR)-the number of abortions a woman will have in her lifetime based on the currently prevailing abortion rates-was calculated. For the Kyrgyz Republic, the TAR for the period from mid-1994 to mid-1997 is 1.6 abortions per woman. The TAR for the Kyrgyz Republic is lower than recent estimates of the TAR for other areas of the former Soviet Union such as Kazakhstan (1.8), and Yekaterinburg and Perm in Russia (2.3 and 2.8, respectively), but higher than for Uzbekistan (0.7). The TAR is higher in urban areas (2.1 abortions per woman) than in rural areas (1.3). The TAR in Bishkek City is 2.0 which is two times higher than in other regions of the Kyrgyz Republic. Additionally the TAR is substantially lower among ethnic Kyrgyz women (1.3) than among women of Uzbek and Russian ethnicities (1.9 and 2.2 percent, respectively). INFANT MORTALITY In the KRDHS, infant mortality data were collected based on the international definition of a live birth which, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, is a birth that breathes or shows any sign of life (United Nations, 1992). Mortality Rates. For the five-year period before the survey (i.e., approximately mid-1992 to mid1997), infant mortality in the Kyrgyz Republic is estimated at 61 infant deaths per 1,000 births. The estimates of neonatal and postneonatal mortality are 32 and 30 per 1,000. The MOH publishes infant mortality rates annually but the definition of a live birth used by the MOH differs from that used in the survey. As is the case in most of the republics of the former Soviet Union, a pregnancy that terminates at less than 28 weeks of gestation is considered premature and is classified as a late miscarriage even if signs of life are present at the time of delivery. Thus, some events classified as late miscarriages in the MOH system would be classified as live births and infant deaths according to the definitions used in the KRDHS. Infant mortality rates based on the MOH data for the years 1983 through 1996 show a persistent declining trend throughout the period, starting at about 40 per 1,000 in the early 1980s and declining to 26 per 1,000 in 1996. This time trend is similar to that displayed by the rates estimated from the KRDHS. Thus, the estimates from both the KRDHS and the Ministry document a substantial decline in infant mortality; 25 percent over the period from 1982-87 to 1992-97 according to the KRDHS and 28 percent over the period from 1983-87 to 1993-96 according to the MOH estimates. This is strong evidence of improvements in infant survivorship in recent years in the Kyrgyz Republic. It should be noted that the rates from the survey are much higher than the MOH rates. For example, the KRDHS estimate of 61 per 1,000 for the period 1992-97 is twice the MOH estimate of 29 per 1,000 for 1993-96. Certainly, one factor leading to this difference are the differences in the definitions of a live birth and infant death in the KRDHS survey and in the MOH protocols. A thorough assessment of the difference between the two estimates would need to take into consideration the sampling variability of the survey's estimate. However, given the magnitude of the difference, it is likely that it arises from a combination of definitional and methodological differences between the survey and MOH registration system. MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH The Kyrgyz Republic has a well-developed health system with an extensive infrastructure of facilities that provide maternal care services. This system includes special delivery hospitals, the obstetrics and gynecology departments of general hospitals, women counseling centers, and doctor's assistant/midwife posts (FAPs). There is an extensive network of FAPs throughout the rural areas. Delivery. Virtually all births in the Kyrgyz Republic (96 percent) are delivered at health facilities: 95 percent in delivery hospitals and another 1 percent in either general hospitals

ObjectiveTo determine which characteristics and circumstances were associated with very early and second-trimester abortion.MethodsPaper and pencil surveys were collected from a national sample of 8,380 non-hospital U.S. abortion patients in 2014 and 2015. We used self-reported LMP to calculate weeks gestation; when LMP was not provided we used self-reported weeks pregnant. We constructed two dependent variables: obtaining a very early abortion, defined as six weeks gestation or earlier, and obtaining second-trimester abortion, defined as occurring at 13 weeks gestation or later. We examined associations between the two measures of gestation and a range of characteristics and circumstances, including type of abortion waiting period in the patients’ state of residence.ResultsAmong first-trimester abortion patients, characteristics that decreased the likelihood of obtaining a very early abortion include being under the age of 20, relying on financial assistance to pay for the procedure, recent exposure to two or more disruptive events and living in a state that requires in-person counseling 24–72 hours prior to the procedure. Having a college degree and early recognition of pregnancy increased the likelihood of obtaining a very early abortion. Characteristics that increased the likelihood of obtaining a second-trimester abortion include being Black, having less than a high school degree, relying on financial assistance to pay for the procedure, living 25 or more miles from the facility and late recognition of pregnancy.ConclusionsWhile the availability of financial assistance may allow women to obtain abortions they would otherwise be unable to have, it may also result in delays in accessing care. If poor women had health insurance that covered abortion services, these delays could be alleviated. Since the study period, four additional states have started requiring that women obtain in-person counseling prior to obtaining an abortion, and the increase in these laws could slow down the trend in very early abortion.

The rate of legal abortions in the United States has decreased over the last few decades. In 2022, there were around 19.9 legal abortions per 100 live births, whereas the rate was 34 abortions per 100 live births in the year 1990. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022, states within the U.S. have the right to severely limit or completely ban abortion if they wish, meaning that access to such procedures varies significantly depending on the state or region. Abortion in the U.S. In 2022, there were over 613,000 legal abortions in the United States. Abortion rates in the U.S. are highest among women aged 25 to 29 years and more common among unmarried women than those who are married. In 2022, there were approximately 38 legal abortions per 100 live births among unmarried women compared to four abortions per 100 live births among women who were married.
Public opinion The issue of abortion has been and remains a divisive topic among the general public and continues to be a relevant political issue. As of May 2023, around 44 percent of the population was estimated to be pro-life, while 52 percent were pro-choice and three percent mixed or neither. However, this distribution has fluctuated over the years, with pro-lifers accounting for a larger percentage than pro-choicers as recently as 2019.

Health Statistics at a Glance tables contain information on socio-economic risk factors or determinants of health, health status, new information on health outcomes and expanded information on utilization of the health care system. The aim of Health Statistics at a Glance tables is to present a core data set using the most recent information available. The indicator tables show extended time series for Canada, provinces and territorial levels of geography. Depending on the indicator, cross-classifications are by age and sex, and, in some cases by education. Due to the large amount of sample survey data used to construct the indicators, many tables cannot be produced for sub-provincial areas. Health Statistics at a Glance is an integrated information product. Its content reflects the growing demand for analysis of many current health issues supplemented by the underlying data. Within this CD-ROM there are three major components: the Statistical Report on the Health of Canadians, 17 Health Reports articles cited in the Statistical Report, and all of the components of Health Indicators, including Causes of Death. Users access the data as tabulations that they can display in various formats according to their own needs. The Health Statistics at a Glance CD-ROM contains the entire database of over 100 indicators and the software to access the information on a personal computer. The database can be accessed on the mainframe computer by using Statistics Canada's CANSIM cross-classified database.

Number of induced abortions, by area of report (Canada, province or territory, and abortions reported by American states), by type of facility performing the abortion (hospital or clinic), 1970 to 2006.

Abortion statistics measure the number of induced abortions that occur in New Zealand hospitals or licensed abortion clinics.

In 2022, there were around 393 abortions carried out per 1,000 live births in Georgia, which was the highest rate of abortions in Europe in that year. Sweden and Bulgaria had 339 and 335 abortions per 1,000 live births, respectively. In Poland, where until very recently abortion was banned apart for some exceptional circumstances, only 0.3 abortions per 1,000 births were conducted in 2022. Births in Europe Bulgaria had the youngest mean age of woman at childbirth in the EU in 2022 at 27.8 years. Romania and Moldova both had mean age for childbirths at just over 28 years of age. On the other hand, the average age at childbirth in Ireland, Spain, and Luxembourg was over 32 years of age. In every EU country, the fertility rate for woman is under two children, with some of the lowest rates found in Italy and Spain at 1.1. Contraception use In 2022, Norway had the highest share of women aged 15 to 49 years using any sort of contraception in Europe with 85 percent using. Czechia and Finland both had high levels of contraception use among women at 84.5 and 82 percent respectively. Just over a quarter of women use any form of contraception in Montenegro, the lowest share in Europe.

The Ukraine Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) is a nationally representative survey of 6,841 women age 15-49 and 3,178 men age 15-49. Survey fieldwork was conducted during the period July through November 2007. The UDHS was conducted by the Ukrainian Center for Social Reforms in close collaboration with the State Statistical Committee of Ukraine. The MEASURE DHS Project provided technical support for the survey. The U.S. Agency for International Development/Kyiv Regional Mission to Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus provided funding. The survey is a nationally representative sample survey designed to provide information on population and health issues in Ukraine. The primary goal of the survey was to develop a single integrated set of demographic and health data for the population of the Ukraine. The UDHS was conducted from July to November 2007 by the Ukrainian Center for Social Reforms (UCSR) in close collaboration with the State Statistical Committee (SSC) of Ukraine, which provided organizational and methodological support. Macro International Inc. provided technical assistance for the survey through the MEASURE DHS project. USAID/Kyiv Regional Mission to Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus provided funding for the survey through the MEASURE DHS project. MEASURE DHS is sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to assist countries worldwide in obtaining information on key population and health indicators. The 2007 UDHS collected national- and regional-level data on fertility and contraceptive use, maternal health, adult health and life style, infant and child mortality, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. The survey obtained detailed information on these issues from women of reproductive age and, on certain topics, from men as well. The results of the 2007 UDHS are intended to provide the information needed to evaluate existing social programs and to design new strategies for improving the health of Ukrainians and health services for the people of Ukraine. The 2007 UDHS also contributes to the growing international database on demographic and health-related variables. MAIN RESULTS Fertility rates. A useful index of the level of fertility is the total fertility rate (TFR), which indicates the number of children a woman would have if she passed through the childbearing ages at the current age-specific fertility rates (ASFR). The TFR, estimated for the three-year period preceding the survey, is 1.2 children per woman. This is below replacement level. Contraception : Knowledge and ever use. Knowledge of contraception is widespread in Ukraine. Among married women, knowledge of at least one method is universal (99 percent). On average, married women reported knowledge of seven methods of contraception. Eighty-nine percent of married women have used a method of contraception at some time. Abortion rates. The use of abortion can be measured by the total abortion rate (TAR), which indicates the number of abortions a woman would have in her lifetime if she passed through her childbearing years at the current age-specific abortion rates. The UDHS estimate of the TAR indicates that a woman in Ukraine will have an average of 0.4 abortions during her lifetime. This rate is considerably lower than the comparable rate in the 1999 Ukraine Reproductive Health Survey (URHS) of 1.6. Despite this decline, among pregnancies ending in the three years preceding the survey, one in four pregnancies (25 percent) ended in an induced abortion. Antenatal care. Ukraine has a well-developed health system with an extensive infrastructure of facilities that provide maternal care services. Overall, the levels of antenatal care and delivery assistance are high. Virtually all mothers receive antenatal care from professional health providers (doctors, nurses, and midwives) with negligible differences between urban and rural areas. Seventy-five percent of pregnant women have six or more antenatal care visits; 27 percent have 15 or more ANC visits. The percentage is slightly higher in rural areas than in urban areas (78 percent compared with 73 percent). However, a smaller proportion of rural women than urban women have 15 or more antenatal care visits (23 percent and 29 percent, respectively). HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections : The currently low level of HIV infection in Ukraine provides a unique window of opportunity for early targeted interventions to prevent further spread of the disease. However, the increases in the cumulative incidence of HIV infection suggest that this window of opportunity is rapidly closing. Adult Health : The major causes of death in Ukraine are similar to those in industrialized countries (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and accidents), but there is also a rising incidence of certain infectious diseases, such as multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Women's status : Sixty-four percent of married women make decisions on their own about their own health care, 33 percent decide jointly with their husband/partner, and 1 percent say that their husband or someone else is the primary decisionmaker about the woman's own health care. Domestic Violence : Overall, 17 percent of women age 15-49 experienced some type of physical violence between age 15 and the time of the survey. Nine percent of all women experienced at least one episode of violence in the 12 months preceding the survey. One percent of the women said they had often been subjected to violent physical acts during the past year. Overall, the data indicate that husbands are the main perpetrators of physical violence against women. Human Trafficking : The UDHS collected information on respondents' awareness of human trafficking in Ukraine and, if applicable, knowledge about any household members who had been the victim of human trafficking during the three years preceding the survey. More than half (52 percent) of respondents to the household questionnaire reported that they had heard of a person experiencing this problem and 10 percent reported that they knew personally someone who had experienced human trafficking.

Abstract

The 1993 Romanian Reproductive Health Survey (RRHS-93) is a household-based survey designed to collect information from a representative sample of women of reproductive age throughout Romania. This nationwide probability survey of reproductive health is the first to be carried out in Romania since 1978.

During the previous regime, contraceptives and sex education were generally unavailable and importation and sale of contraceptives was forbidden; traditional contraceptive methods, with their high failure rates, were almost the only means to avoid unintended pregnancies.

In the absence of modern contraception, illegal abortions, most of them self-induced or induced by lay persons, were widely used to avert unwanted births. Although the extent of the prevalence of illegal abortions was impossible to assess, the dramatic effect on women's health was obvious to government officials but concealed from the public for many years. The true scope of the impact this policy had on reproductive health came to worldwide attention only after the December 1989 revolution and the change of government. During the last decade (1979-1989), Romania had the highest maternal mortality rate in Europe, a rate ten times higher than that of any other European country, and most of these maternal deaths were abortion-related (Stephenson et al., 1992). The magnitude of abortion complications is difficult to quantify but unofficial estimates suggest that nearly 20% of the 4.9 million women of reproductive age are thought to have impaired fertility (UNFPA 1990). The high number of unwanted pregnancies resulting in children abandoned in overcrowded orphanages by families who had been too frightened to attempt an illegal abortion, but who were too poor to afford to raise their child, was another shocking disclosure.

After revoking the restrictive law on abortion and contraception at the end of December 1989, the availability of safe abortion resulted in a drastic decline in me maternal mortality rate and improved women's health and their reproductive rights. However, the health planners who strived to design a family planning program were confronted with a difficult mission: to formulate and implement strategies aimed at improving family planning practices in a climate of economic and political changes and resistance to modern contraception by both the public and the health care providers. Also, insufficient infrastructure, absence of family planning logistics and managerial skills, and the shortage or uneven distribution of the contraceptive supplies were other critical factors that have diminished the impact of the newly founded program.

The survey was specifically designed to meet the following objectives: -to assess the current situation in Romania concerning abortion, contraception and various other reproductive health issues; -to enable policy makers, program managers and researchers to evaluate and improve existing programs and to develop new strategies; -to measure changes in fertility and contraceptive prevalence rates and study factors which affect these changes, such as geographic and socio-demographic factors, breastfeeding patterns, use of induced abortion, and availability of family planning; -to identify and focus further reproductive health studies toward high risk groups.

Geographic coverage

The 1993 RRHS was designed to collect information from a representative sample of women of reproductive age throughout Romania.

Analysis unit

Women of reproductive age

Universe

The universe from which the respondents were selected included all females between the ages of 15 and 44, regardless of marital status, who were living in Romania when the survey was carried out.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The 1993 RRHS was designed to collect information from a representative sample of women of reproductive age throughout Romania. The universe from which the respondents were selected included all females between the ages of 15 and 44, regardless of marital status, who were living in Romania when the survey was carried out.

The survey employed a stratified sample with independent estimates for Bucharest, the capital city, and the 40 judets outside of Bucharest, or the Interior. Bucharest, together with its surroundings, the Agricultural Sector of Ilfov, is the equivalent of a judet. The 1992 census was used as the sampling frame (Comisia Nationala pentru Statistica, 1992). Since there were roughly equal numbers of urban and rural households in the Interior, the Interior sample was designed to be self-weighting. With a projected area probability sample of 5,000 women, 1,000 in Bucharest and 4,000 in the Interior, regional estimates are also possible for the Interior. Based on census data (percentage of households with at least one women 15-44 and unoccupied households) and a projected response rate of 90%, a total of 12,387 households were sampled to obtain complete interviews for approximately 5,000 women. Bucharest was oversampled and represents 22 percent of the sample, although it includes 11 percent of the total population.

The first stage of the three-stage sample design was a selection of "Census Sectors" with probability proportional to the number of households recorded in the 1992 Census. This was accomplished using a systematic sample with a random start in both strata or domains. In the second stage of sampling, clusters of households were randomly selected in each Census Sector chosen in the first stage. Cluster size determination was based on the number of households required to obtain 15 interviews per cluster, on average, in Bucharest, and 20 in the Interior. To obtain an average of 15/20 interviews, cluster sizes varied from 39 to 50 households due to different proportions of unoccupied household and variations in the proportion of households containing females 15-44 years of age by geographic area. Finally, one woman between the ages of 15 and 44 was selected at random for interviewing in each of the households.

Since only one woman was selected from each household containing women of reproductive age, all results have been weighted to compensate for the fact that some households included more than one eligible woman. Survey results are also weighted to adjust for the oversampling of households in Bucharest.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaire was first drafted by CDC/DRH consultants based on a core questionnaire used in the 1993 Czech Republic RHS. This core questionnaire was modified, including adding modules targeted to explore important issues for Romania, such as induced abortion and maternal mortality. The survey instrument was then reviewed by Romanian experts in reproductive health and family planning, as well as by AID and AID cooperating agencies who have worked in Eastern Europe. Based on these reviews, a pretest questionnaire was developed and field tested in April 1993.

The RRHS questionnaire covered a wide range of topics related to reproductive health in Romania. The specific areas included were: - Social, economic and demographic characteristics - Pregnancy history - Knowledge and use of contraceptive methods - Sexuality and contraception among young adults - Use of maternal and child health services - Morbidity during pregnancy - Women's health issues - Knowledge and attitudes about contraception - Knowledge about HIV/AIDS

The questionnaire had two components: (1) A short household module that was used to collect residential and geographic information, as well as selected characteristics about all women of childbearing age living in sampled households, and information on interview status. This module was also used to select a respondent randomly when there was more than one eligible woman in the household. (2) The longer individual questionnaire collected information on reproductive health topics discussed below. For Hungarian language speakers, the interview was conducted in their native language.

The major subjects on which information was collected are: pregnancies and childbearing (a history of all pregnancies and births, including use of abortion and planning status of pregnancies); family planning (knowledge and history of use of methods of preventing pregnancy, reasons for use of less effective methods of contraception, pregnancy intentions, and fecundity); maternal and child health (health information about the most recent pregnancy and birth and the use of services); young adult reproductive health (information on sexual relations and pregnancy among females 15-24 years old); women's health (health behavior and use of women's health services); reproductive health knowledge and attitudes (especially regarding birth control pills and IUDs); knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention; and socioeconomic characteristics of women and their husbands/families. The sisterhood module to estimate maternal mortality was also part of the questionnaire.

Response rate

Of the 12,387 households selected, 5,283 included at least one 15- to 44 year-old woman. Of this number, 4,861 were successfully interviewed, for a response rate of 92.0%. Only 1.1% the of selected women refused to be interviewed, while another 6.1% could not be located. Response rates were slightly better in Bucharest and other urban areas (93%) than in rural areas (89%).

Data appraisal

The age distribution of the RRHS sample closely reflected that of the female population as a whole (Comisia Nationala pentru Statistica, 1993A). The sample population is essentially within two percentage points of the census

More than 467,000 abortions were performed in Russia in 2023. Starting from over 2.1 million abortions recorded in the country in 2000, the number of terminated pregnancies has continuously decreased over time. The figures include induced abortions as well as miscarriages. The abortion rate in Russia stood at 303 procedures per 1,000 live births in 2022. How is abortion regulated in Russia? Abortions are legal in Russia up to the 12th week of pregnancy and up to the 22nd week in cases of rape. They are conducted in state as well as private medical facilities. In 2022, approximately one-fifth of all pregnancy terminations in the country were conducted in commercial clinics. However, over the past decade, the laws regarding abortion have been tightened, allowing for fewer reasons for pregnancy termination. Moreover, there are proposals to ban abortions in private clinics. In a ranking of European policies by progressiveness and openness to abortion, Russia listed below most Western European countries. Contraception use in Russia Russia was one of the lowest-ranking countries in Europe by access to modern contraception. Approximately 11 percent of Russian women aged 15 to 49 years used hormonal contraceptives, while seven percent used an intrauterine device (IUD). In 2023, the country’s health ministry increased control over the sale and storage of mifepristone and misoprostol, medicines for pregnancy termination.