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Most abortions in the U.S. are performed at or before 12 weeks' gestation. Second-trimester abortions are relatively difficult to access. To provide insight into the characteristics of women seeking second-trimester services, researchers evaluated data from 9493 evaluable responses to the Guttmacher Institute's 2008 Abortion Patient Survey.
Second-trimester abortions constituted 10.3% of all abortions. Rates of second-trimester abortion were highest in:
Women who experienced three or more disruptive life events during the past year, such as intimate partner violence, physical or sexual abuse, and financial difficulties (14.8% of all abortions)
Women younger than 18 (14.0%)
Women who used private insurance or Medicaid to pay for the abortion (13…