According to a national public survey, the rate of abortion has never been so high since the early 1990s.
232,200. This is the number of voluntary terminations of pregnancy (abortions) performed in 2019, according to a study by the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (DREES), published this Thursday, September 24 . This figure, compared to the number of women of childbearing age, corresponds to the highest abortion rate ever recorded since the early 1990s. The vast majority of abortions performed (217,500) were performed on women residing in metropolis.
A figure on the rise in the thirties
While the use rate has reached a rate of 15.6 abortion per 1000 women aged 15 to 49 in metropolitan France and 28.2 in the overseas departments and regions (DROM), it is sharply increasing among 30-34 years old. From 2010 to 2019, the increase is 3.9 points. Women aged 20 to 29, however, remain the most affected by abortion.
Over the same period from 2010 to 2019, we see that the abortion rate has decreased among women under 20 years old. It went from 10.5 per 1,000 young girls in 2010, to 5.7 in 2019 among adolescents aged 15 to 17. Among 18-19 year olds, it went from 22.2 to 16.7 voluntary terminations of pregnancy.
Rates that vary by region
The study also showed that the rate of abortion changes from one region to another. Indeed, the lowest rates are observed in Pays de la Loire (11.8 abortion per 1,000 women), in Brittany (12.3) and in the Grand-Est region (12.9). In Corsica and Provence-Alpes-Côte d´Azur, on the other hand, there are 19.4 abortions per 1,000 women and 22.9 respectively. The 39 abortions per 1000 women were exceeded in Guadeloupe and Guyana.
Low-income women more affected by abortion
For the first time, the study was able to link the use of abortion and the social situation of women, by cross-checking the data. The 10% of women with the lowest standard of living have an abortion rate per 1000 women 11 points higher, compared to that of the 10% of women with the highest standard of living.
Clearly, if a woman (in a marital situation and an equal age group) is part of the 10% of the poorest of the population, she has a 40% more chance of having an abortion during the year, than a woman with a median standard of living.