2003 Louisiana Vital Statistics Report - Louisiana Department of ...

2003 LOUISIANA VITAL STATISTICS REPORT INDUCED TERMINATIONS
INTRODUCTION
Purpose of Induced Termination of Pregnancy Surveillance
INDUCED TERMINATIONS OF PREGNANCY
An induced termination (abortion) is the intentional interruption of a pregnancy with the objective of preventing a live birth.
Abortion surveillance provides information that is useful in identifying population groups experiencing unintended pregnancies,
and in targeting pregnancy prevention programs.
Source of Data: Report of Induced Termination of Pregnancy
Induced termination information presented in this report is gathered from data recorded on the Report of Induced Termination of
Pregnancy forms that were filed for abortions performed in Louisiana in the 2003 calendar year. State law requires that the
attending physician report each induced termination of pregnancy he/she performs to the Vital Records Registry in New Orleans
within 15 days of the procedure.
No accurate counts of the number of terminations among Louisiana residents are available. Counts used in this chapter
represent terminations that occurred in Louisiana, and include out-of-state residents who obtained induced terminations in
Louisiana.
Induced Termination Counts
There were 10,642 induced terminations of pregnancy reported in Louisiana in 2003. The age group encompassing women 20-
24 years is historically the group with the highest number of abortions; in 2003, women in this age group accounted for more
than one-third (36.6%) of all abortions (Table 4.1).
Table 4.1 Counts of Induced Terminations of Pregnancy by Age Group
Occurring in Louisiana, 1994-2003
Age Groups in Years
Year Total Under 15 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45 & Older Unknown
1994 12154 169 2500 4215 2505 1517 929 257 17 45
1995 11491 141 2333 3895 2428 1468 936 226 11 53
1996 11884 143 2489 4083 2553 1417 876 262 16 45
1997 11739 147 2285 4087 2650 1375 849 265 22 59
1998 11351 120 2238 3818 2538 1386 829 262 13 147
1999 12008 103 2234 4253 2761 1435 903 236 13 70
2000 11384 115 2045 4133 2618 1364 800 238 7 64
2001 10932 85 1868 4001 2611 1378 700 238 13 38
2002 10451 97 1765 3794 2430 1325 728 224 18 70
2003 10642 103 1767 3899 2475 1356 692 266 12 72
Source: Louisiana State Center for Health Statistics.
An early abortion is performed at or before 8 weeks gestation, while a late abortion is performed at or after 16 weeks
gestation. In 2003, there were 5,358 early abortions reported in Louisiana, which accounted for 50.3% of all abortions reported.
Louisiana Office of Public Health, State Center for Health Statistics Page 57