• 76% of those who identify themselves as Protestants,
• 85% of those who specify they are Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Lutheran, or United Church of Christ,
• 79% of Methodists,
• 57% of Baptists,
• 74% of Catholics,
• 62% of those who identify as born-again Christians, and
• 67% of those who identify as fundamentalist/evangelist Christians.

• 89% agreed that sexuality education should be part of the congregation’s educational program,
• 95% agreed that individuals can benefit from dialogue within the congregation about sexuality issues
• 85% agreed that it is appropriate to speak about sexuality in religious schools or youth groups,
• 98% agreed it is appropriate to speak about sexuality in adult education settings
• 75% considered lack of faith-based sexuality education a serious problem in their community,
• 76% would be interested in a program to stimulate congregational dialogue from a faith-based perspective on human sexuality.

(Source: RCRC National Clergy Survey, 1998)


Abortion
Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures performed in the United States. An estimated 43% of women in the U.S. will have at least one abortion by the time they are 45 years old. In part, that is a result of the high number of unintended pregnancies.

Approximately 48% of pregnancies among American women are unintended; half of these are terminated by abortion. (Source: Alan Guttmacher Institute)

Each year, 2 out of every 100 women aged 15-44 have an abortion. Almost half (48%) of these women have had at least one previous abortion and 61% have had a previous birth.

Worldwide, an estimated 46 million abortions occur each year. Of these, 20 million procedures are obtained illegally in countries where abortion is illegal. .

52% of U.S. women obtaining abortions are younger than 25. Women aged 20-24 obtain 33% of all abortions, and teenagers obtain 20%.

African American women are more than 3 times as likely as white women to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are roughly 2 times as likely.

Catholic women are about as likely as all women to have an abortion. Catholic women account for 27.4% of abortion patients and Protestant women have 42.8% of all abortions. Born-again Protestants have 13% of all abortions. ("Born-again" believers constitute about 30% of the American adult population, and are thus under-represented among women having abortions.)

Up to 32,000 women become pregnant each year as a result of rape or incest. 10,000-15,000 women have abortions each year following rape or incest.

Most abortions (67.3%) are obtained by never-married women.

Contraceptive Use
58% of women having abortions in 1995 had used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant.

11% of women having abortions had never used a method of birth control; non-use is greatest among those who are young, unmarried, poor, African American, Hispanic or poorly educated.

49% of the 6.3 million pregnancies that occur each year are unplanned; 47% of these occur among the 7% of women at risk of unintended pregnancy who do not practice contraception.

Overall, 64% of the more than 60 million women aged 15-44 use contraception.

The pill is the method most widely used by women in their 20’s.

Of the 2.7 million teenage women who use contraceptives, 44%--more than 1 million women--rely on the pill.

Low income and uninsured women need affordable contraception. A woman with low income is four times as likely to have an unintended pregnancy, five times as likely to have an unintended birth, and four times as likely to have an abortion than a woman with higher income (and the resources to pay for or access contraception.)

April 2009