Not all women benefit from access to contraceptives and abortions

Article

A recent report from the Guttmacher Institute has found a "reproductive health gap between poor women and higher-income women." According to the report, unplanned pregnancy rates for poor women have risen 29% since 1994, while the rates for higher-income women dropped 20%-this, despite greater access to contraceptives and legal abortions over the past three decades. Income also seems to have an influence over the timing of abortions: Lower-income women take up to 3 weeks longer than higher-income women to obtain an abortion-a delay that could put poorer women at greater risk.

A recent report from the Guttmacher Institute has found a "reproductive health gap between poor women and higher-income women." According to the report, unplanned pregnancy rates for poor women have risen 29% since 1994, while the rates for higher-income women dropped 20%-this, despite greater access to contraceptives and legal abortions over the past three decades. Income also seems to have an influence over the timing of abortions: Lower-income women take up to 3 weeks longer than higher-income women to obtain an abortion-a delay that could put poorer women at greater risk.

Based on the findings of the report, Abortion in Women's Lives, the institute, which serves to advance sexual and reproductive health worldwide, calls on state and federal lawmakers to:

Recent Videos
Elizabeth Gandee, APRN-CNP, highlights gaps in women's menopause knowledge | Image Credit: wexnermedical.osu.edu
Doula highlights how postpartum care is failing new mothers | Image Credit: linkedin.com
Nicky Herrick MD; and Anushree Agarwal, MD, MBBS, highlight their study on cardiac arrhythmias in pregnancy | Image Credit: © Igor Borodin - stock.adobe.com.
Lisa Becht, MD, FACOG, sheds light on fertility awareness | Image Credit: havingbabies.com.
First US national HPV conference highlights advances in cancer prevention | Image Credit: uchealth.com.
Mitchell Creinin, MD, reports estetrol pill eases menstrual symptoms | Image Credit: health.ucdavis.edu
1 expert is featured in this series.
Susanna Mitro, PhD, reveals ethnic disparities in uterine fibroid diagnosis | Image Credit: divisionofresearch.kaiserpermanente.org.
Shayna Mancuso, DO, highlights the real impact of menopause | Image Credit: linkedin.com.
Jihong Liu, ScD, explains how to improve perinatal outcomes in COVID patients | Image Credit: sc.edu.
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.