Abortion

Like the rape article, this subject is too serious to have a cute rock and roll inspired title. Let's just get to it. All numbers are based on fact and no judging of those that have had abortions is intended. I'm not here to pass judgement or criticize. You can go to a multitude of websites for that. I'm really just adding my two cents through the window of evolutionary biology.


Ok, so we've well established that our bodies are trying to create new life, whether we want them to or not. If evoultionary biology is right, than many young women should have unintended pregnancies.

According to a 2003 Fox News report, there are around 6 million new pregnancies in the US every year. Half of them are unintended and 1.6 million of them are aborted. In many of those cases, the partners didnt use contraception or the method failed. (While this is not a scientific survey, the May 2010 Esquire also had a survey of women. It found that 57% of women always use protection, 7% never do and 36% sometimes do.)Of women that choose to have abortions, 80% are unmarried and 53% are younger than age twenty four, as of the year 1995. At some point in their lives, 46% of women will have an abortion.

The Center for Disease Control's 2009 report on abortion was much the same as the 2003 numbers supplied by Fox News. In addition to the Fox numbers, it added that in 2002, 98% of women that had ever had sex had used at least one form of birth control. It also said that as of that time, 2009, 7.4% of women were not using any form of protection. Consider the finding that said the odds of getting pregnant from just one act of unprotected sex were better than first thought, and you see a lot of unintended pregnancies. The fact that half of all pregnancies between 2003 and 2009 were accidental proves that out.

The reasons given for the abortions were all pretty steady over the years. Consistently, 93% of pregnancies were ended because it was inconvenient for the mother. Four percent were because of the mother's health. Two and a half percent because of the health of the embryo. One half of a percent of abortions were performed because of rape or incest.

Look at the numbers and think of the scientific findings in the previous posts. The 2007 Polish study that said attractive young women were easier to get pregnant and tended to get pregnant earlier. The hormonal studies that said women want to have sex the most when they are most likely to get pregnant.

I know that the following ideas would never happen, but I do wonder a few things. I think it would be interesting to determine the symmetry of women that have had abortions and the symmetry of the men that got them pregnant. If evolutionary theory is correct, than those that have had abortions should be more attractive than those that have not. Also, genetic testing could be done on the aborted fetuses, to see if they are genetically healthier than the rest of the population. As I said, this would never happen, as its a huge violation of a woman's privacy.

Center for Disease Control site:
http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/unintendedpregnancy/contraception.htm

Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,880,00.html