Spanish abortions almost double in 10 years

6 July 2004

MADRID – Half of Spanish teenagers who become pregnant opt for abortions, a study published Tuesday found.

The General Council of Scientific Investigation (CSIC) found that at least 40 percent of the abortions carried out in Spain were for women under the age of 25.

The actual number of terminations rose between 1990 and 2001 by 87 percent from 37,231 to 69,857.

Margarita Delgado, author of the report, said the number of abortions had almost doubled in the 10 years covered by the study.

In 1990, only 8 percent of Spanish women had had abortions, while this figure rose to 15 percent in 2001.

Among the women who had abortions, the number of teenage women had also risen sharply from 21 percent in 1990 to 50 percent in 2001. 

The number of women aged between 18-19 who had terminations had also increased from 20 percent in 1990 to 43.2 percent in 2001.

The report also found that of women aged between 20-24, 31 percent had abortions, compared with only 11 percent in 1990.

The overall number of women aged between 15-49 who had terminations stood at 16 percent for 2002, the report found.

Delgado said it was necessary to increase sex education among teenagers and to spread knowledge about using contraceptives.

The report said it was possible the rising number of foreigners in Spain could have influenced the increase in unwanted pregnancies and abortions.

But it added that it was “lamentable” that the Ministry of Health did not have data to support or reject this theory.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news