Posted Sep 27, 2022, 8:48 AM
What results for the use of voluntary termination of pregnancy in France last year? According the latest DREES study on the subject, between 2020 and 2021, the number of abortions remained stable, but the figures are down for women under 25, especially minors. A total of 223,300 abortions were recorded in 2021, compared to 222,000 in 2020, a year marked by a drop in conceptions during the first confinement linked to Covid-19 from March to May 2020. In 2019, 233,000 abortions were performed.
In relation to the number of women of childbearing age (estimated between 15 and 49 years), the rate of recourse to abortion therefore reached 15.5 per 1,000 women last year. A figure practically similar to 2020 with 15.4 per 1,000.
A notable drop among 18-19 year olds
Abortion “continues to decrease among the youngest women”, below 30 years old, notes the Drees. The decline is particularly notable for women aged 18 and 19, among whom the rate of recourse fell from 21.5 per 1,000 in 2014 to 14.3 in 2021. For minors aged 15 to 17, the rate is fell over the same period from 8.7 to 4.9.
Recourse to voluntary termination of pregnancy is most common among women aged 20 to 29 years. The recourse rate thus rises to 24.8 per 1,000 among 20-24 year olds and reaches 27.2 for 25-29 year olds.
The number of births has also fallen among young women, so that among those under 30, “abortion ratios” – the ratio between the number of abortions and the number of births – have remained stable between 2018 and 2020.
In Overseas France, recourse twice as frequent
Regional disparities in abortion are very marked, note the authors of the study. Thus, in 2021, the rate of recourse to abortion reaches 11.5 per 1,000 in the Pays-de-la-Loire, but 22.1 in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
In the overseas departments, abortion is even twice as common as in mainland France, with an average rate of 29.6 per 1,000, compared to 14.9. It was in Guadeloupe that the highest rate was recorded last year, with 47.2 abortions per 1,000 women.
More abortions performed outside health establishments
Regarding the place of performance of the medical act, the study finds that “the number of abortions performed in health establishments is down sharply between 2019 and 2020” and “continues to decrease”. Thus, the DREEs recorded 146,700 abortions in healthcare settings in 2021, compared to 154,200 in 2020 and 171,000 in 2019. On the other hand, acts outside establishments continue to increase, with 76,600 in 2021 compared to 62,100 in 2019.
Another data from the report: 76% of all abortions are medical, whether they are performed in an establishment or not. Of these, 76% are performed at less than eight weeks of amenorrhea, while 18% are performed from twelve weeks of amenorrhea.
