Who is the typical abortion patient? They don’t fit any neat profile — not in Florida and not around the country. They come from all walks of life. Their reasons vary. Nearly half have the procedure in the first six weeks of pregnancy and more than 90% in the first 13 weeks.
What they might have in common, according to Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that studies sexual and reproductive health and supports abortion rights, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, is that most women are in their 20s, are already mothers, are single or living with a partner, have a low income, have attended some college and have not had a previous abortion. In the U.S., the abortion rate is about half what it was 30 years ago — mostly due to more effective use of contraceptives and fewer teenagers having sex and getting pregnant. Still, about 25 percent of American women will have an abortion during their childbearing years, according to the Guttmacher Institute’s demographic research.
Here are the stories of three Floridians who had abortions and their views on the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade and allowing states to restrict or remove women’s rights to an abortion. Two have no regrets; one does. But the common thread is how the decision shaped their lives in the years afterward.
