Abortion Surveillance - United States, 2003

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been documenting the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions in the United States since 1969, obtaining data from central health agencies of 52 reporting areas (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City). A legal induced abortion is defined as an intervention performed by a licensed clinician (e.g., a physician, nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant) that is intended to terminate an ongoing pregnancy. States and areas report this information on a voluntary basis as there is no national requirement for data submission or reporting.