Irresponsibility, Birth Control and Abortion

News from LifeNews.com, here, of a study indicating that 70 percent of women seeking abortions in Australia had used contraceptives reminded me of some U.S. statistics on abortion.

The Guttmacher Institute's annual "Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States" speaks volumes about birth control and abortion. Here's the "Contraceptive Use" section of Guttmacher's January 2008 report (The bold print is my emphasis on points worth noting.):

• Fifty-four percent of women who have abortions had used a contraceptive method (usually the condom or the pill) during the month they became pregnant. Among those women, 76% of pill users and 49% of condom users report having used their method inconsistently, while 13% of pill users and 14% of condom users report correct use.[9]

• Forty-six percent of women who have abortions had not used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant. Of these women, 33% had perceived themselves to be at low risk for pregnancy, 32% had had concerns about contraceptive methods, 26% had had unexpected sex and 1% had been forced to have sex.[9]

• Eight percent of women who have abortions have never used a method of birth control; nonuse is greatest among those who are young, poor, black, Hispanic or less educated.[9]

• About half of unintended pregnancies occur among the 11% of women who are at risk for unintended pregnancy but are not using contraceptives. Most of these women have practiced contraception in the past.[1,10]

How much do you want to bet that many among the 70 percent of Australian abortion seekers who used birth control before becoming pregnant were equally irresponsible in that practice?

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