The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #48515

Stanley Henshaw, PhD, Consultant, 140 Christie Street, Leonia, NJ 07605, 201-585-0846, shenshaw@concentric.net and Yamila Azize, PhD, Pro Mujer, University of Puerto Rico, Cayey, Collegio Universitario de Cayey, Cayey, PR 00736.

Puerto Rico is unusual in being a developing area with a relatively low abortion rate even though abortion is legal and the birthrate is low. Abortion reporting is not required in Puerto Rico, and little is known about the characteristics and circumstances of women having abortion.

In 2001 and 2002, a total of 550 randomly sampled patients were interviewed in Puerto Rico's seven abortion clinics. From this information, we estimate the abortion rate for the commonwealth as a whole and for various subgroups. The overall abortion rate is comparable to that of the United States and that of teenagers is low. We discuss the age, marital status, education, family income, and reproductive history of abortion patients, their reasons for terminating pregnancies, and their prior contraceptive use. Comparisons are made with other developing and developed countries.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Describe the abortion rate in Puerto Rico and of population subgroups and list the most common reasons for abortion in that area.
• Judge whether a given abortion rate in a similar developing area is relatively high or low, and identify the subgroups that are most likely to have problems with unintended pregnancy.

Keywords: Abortion, Diabetes

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.