A Sociodemographic Profile of Second-Trimester Abortion Patients

Abortions after 12 weeks LMP are a politically sensitive topic, but we know little about the characteristics of women who obtain abortions at later gestations. We use data from 9,493 U.S. women accessing abortion services at 95 facilities in 2008 to compare the demographic profiles of first- vs. second-trimester abortion patients, distinguishing between abortions at 13-15 weeks LMP and those at 16 weeks or later. The 2008 APS found that 90% of women were obtaining abortions at 12 weeks or earlier, 6% at 13-15 weeks LMP and 4% at 16 weeks or later. Groups overrepresented among second-trimester abortion patients include women under the age of 20 and those who were cohabiting, black, or had not graduated from high school. Economic disadvantage was associated with second-trimester abortions; poor women, who represent 42% of all abortion patients, accounted for 54% of abortions at 13-15 weeks and 50% at 16+ weeks. Similarly, women with Medicaid coverage were overrepresented among second-trimester abortions as were women able to use Medicaid to pay for their abortions. Women using private health insurance to pay for the procedure and women with intended pregnancies were overrepresented among abortions at 16 weeks or later. Women exposed to intimate partner violence by the man who got them pregnant were overrepresented among both groups of second-trimester abortion patients. Relative to all women of reproductive age, abortion patients are more disadvantaged, and this pattern is even more pronounced among second-trimester abortion patients.