(11/2/2006)

Vital Statistics: An Official Look at South Dakota Abortions

Some disturbing facts about this contentious issue

BY BOB ELLIS

DAKOTA VOICE

*Note: This article is reprinted from the November print edition of Dakota Voice.

SOUTH DAKOTA—KELO TV recently ran a story on the most recent state report on abortions performed in South Dakota, and while it was very comprehensive, I decided to examine the 14-page report firsthand.

The 2004 Vital Statistics report was compiled from information which doctors performing abortions are required by law to record according to South Dakota Codified Law 34-23A-34 to 34-23A-45. The full report is available on the South Dakota Department of Health website at http://www.state.sd.us/doh/Stats/2004VitalStats/Abortion.pdf.

The report says there were 814 abortions performed in South Dakota in 2004, down from 819 in 2003. Of that 814, 82% were performed on South Dakota residents; the remainder were from Minnesota, Iowa, and other locations.

By age group, the largest was 20-24 at 35%, followed by the 25-29 age group at 20%. The 35+ age group came in at 13%, and perhaps the most disturbing group, 0-17, comprised 7% of the total, or 55 girls.

By county, Minnehaha County, where the only abortion facility in the state is located, had the highest percentage at 39%. The next highest percentage by county was Pennington at 17%.

By ethnic background, 76.7% were white, 8.8% were American Indian, 9.1% were “other,” and 5.4% were “unknown.”

By education level, the highest was high school graduate at 34%, followed by “some college or attended vocational school” at 30%.

The abortions were paid for by 89.4% of the women by themselves, 8.1% by private insurance, and 1.8% by public health plans.

Most of the abortions (74.8%) cost between $450 and $499. A relatively small number were less than $300 or $600+.

Most of the women who had abortions had no living children (42%), followed by 25% that had one living child at the time of their abortion.

Most abortions (20%) occurred at the 8-week developmental stage of the unborn child. According to About.com, at this age, the baby’s hind brain is visible, their gonads either become testes or ovaries, and spontaneous movement begins. Some reports also indicate that the nervous system is developed enough for the baby to feel pain by this point. Another 47% were aborted after 8 weeks, with 3% in the highest category of 14 or more weeks (i.e. two weeks past the first trimester).

About 91% of abortions use the suction method which scrapes and sucks out the unborn child.

Another 5% are conducted with the Dilation and Evacuation method which involves the dilation of the cervix before removal of the unborn child with a scraping instrument; later term pregnancies require the skull to be crushed to fit through the cervix.

While the possibility of fetal abnormalities is often cited as a reason to keep abortion legal, the report says only 2% of abortions in 2004 were for this reason.

The most common reason for having an abortion in 2004 was “the mother did not desire to have the child” at 45.1%. The second most common was “the mother could not afford the child” at 31.1%, followed by “the mother’s emotional health was at risk” at 9.3%. Another 2.3% listed “substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function if the pregnancy continued.” Abortions for rape were listed at 1.8%, and none were listed to protect the life of the mother.