Alaska abortions up in '05

May 7, 2006

JOEL DAVIDSON

Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - While national numbers are declining, Alaska abortions increased for the third straight year since the state began publishing annual data. In 2005, the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics reported 1,956 induced abortions.

Alaska law requiring annual abortion reporting began in 2003 as a way for the state to monitor abortion trends, types of abortion performed, and characteristics of women at risk for unintended pregnancies.

Issued by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, the data also serves to evaluate the effectiveness of family-planning programs and efforts that aim to prevent unintended pregnancies.

The publication offers a comprehensive picture of abortions statewide, while protecting the confidentiality of all patients and abortion providers.

Hospitals, clinics and other institutions that perform abortions must submit their annual statistics. The data they provide, however, cannot be used to identify the locations where abortions occur.

According to the 2005 report released earlier this year, the total number of Alaska abortions increased by 150 from two years ago. This number does not include the estimated 200 or more Alaska women who received abortions outside the state each year.

Most (65.5 percent) abortions in Alaska were performed on women who had never had an abortion before. Slightly fewer Alaska women (57.7 percent) who received abortions in 2005 already had given birth to at least one child.

The report states that women younger than 25 accounted for more than half (54.4 percent) of all statewide abortions - slightly more than the national average of 50.5 percent.

Abortions for Alaska women 19 years and younger decreased by a total of 41 from 2004, but teen abortions for the state still represented 19 percent of all the procedures, higher than the national average of 16.8 percent.

Unmarried women accounted for more than eight out of every 10 Alaska abortions in 2005; that is nearly identical to the national average. At the same time, white, unmarried women between 20 and 29, comprised more than one quarter (26.8 percent) of Alaska abortions.

More than nine out of every 10 (94.9 percent) Alaska abortions took place at or before 12 weeks of gestation.

From the financial side, roughly 40 percent of women used their own resources in 2005 to pay for abortions, while approximately the same number used Medicaid. This represents a shift from one year ago when nearly half of women used their own financial resources and only 34.1 percent utilized Medicaid.

The complete state report is available online at www.hss.state.ak.us/dph/bvs/.

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266 or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.