An untold story: Abortion rates among black women of different socioeconomic positions

In the United States, abortion rates are higher among black women and women of low socioeconomic position (SEP) compared to white women and women of high SEP. Disparities in abortion can be explained by differences in unintended pregnancy, contraceptive use, access to sex education, and access to socioeconomic resources. 

Based on current data collection methods, it is impossible to determine abortion rates for black women by socioeconomic position or for any intersectional group of women across racial/ethnic and socioeconomic lines. Using a reproductive justice framework, I argue that without such data, we cannot truly know the reality of abortion prevalence in the United States. If we had these data, we could tailor programs pertaining to unintended pregnancy prevention and access to abortion towards specific communities of women, rather than designing ‘one-size-fits-all’ interventions.

My research suggests that the United States government should federally mandate data collection of abortion rates by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic position by all local clinics and submission of these data to a state agency and then to a national agency. Additionally, I recommend that these rates be presented by intersecting identities (e.g., race/ethnicity and SEP together, not just by race/ethnicity and SEP separately and that further research be conducted to understand the impact of common explanations of abortion (such as sex education and contraceptive use) on specific groups (e.g., black women of low SEP compared to black women of high SEP).