DeShawna Taylor, MD, FACOG, from Desert Star Family Planning was the guest speaker at our June 23 meeting.
These are some of the statistics she shared with us: 50% of women under 45 will have an unintended pregnancy; 40% of those will result in abortion. 66% use birth control and 5% of those fail and an abortion is needed. 95% of abortions are from those not using birth control. 17% of women are classified as poor but make up 40% of those with unintended pregnancy. 65% are religious, 61% have one or more children; 70% already have a covered dependent; 67% are impoverished.
AZ laws require an ultra sound and scripted text and then a 24 hour wait. Most women have given it a lot of thought before ever coming to a clinic. Law also mandates a pelvic exam if the woman wants. Minors have to have parental permission but there is a judicial bypass procedure. There is also a law that doctors must eventually tell you if there is a material fact that could impact your decision to have an abortion like fetal abnormalities but they also wait to tell you until it’s too late to do anything about it. The only reason to give a “reason” for having an abortion is for insurance coverage.
Maternal mortality rate is very high, especially among Black women, and climbing. When TX closed all their abortion clinics, maternal mortality went up. The U.S. is the worst in the developed world and worse than many third world countries.
Only 1% of abortions are after 20 weeks. Most are within 12. While 26 weeks is “viability” 90% of them will have a deficit. 60% of abortions are with independent providers, 35% Planned Parenthood, 4% hospital and 1% physician’s offices.
