The typical American woman has intercourse for the first time at age 17 and reaches menopause at age 51. Even taking into account an average of two desired children per woman, most women will spend at least 30 years trying to avoid unintended pregnancy. (1)
If a woman decides to be sexually active, without seeking pregnancy, her access to effective birth control is limited by knowledge, income, geography, insurance coverage, and many other factors. No birth control method is, in current practice, 100% effective. Considering these facts, it is not surprising that half of all pregnancies in the United States (about 3.1 million) are still unintended. (2) About half of those unintended pregnancies will end in abortion, making abortion one of the most common procedures in the United States.
This website invites you to test your knowledge about abortion, your knowledge of what legal rights you have to access this service, and your knowledge of the environment and common concerns that women consider when making a choice about their own unintended pregnancy. It is New York-specific in its facts, but a tool we hope will improve understanding among a much broader audience.
Abortion in Context invites you to put yourself in the footsteps of women, living in New York, who have faced--or who are currently facing- an unintended pregnancy. Start by choosing your identity--are you a 40 year old Caucasian, married woman in her 40s with a first trimester pregnancy; a Catholic, Hispanic, single woman with a second trimester pregnancy...your identity will impact your choices and your decision. Then proceed with the quiz and find out how your identity can impact some of the questions thousands of women ponder each year as they face this decision.
Abortion: Your History and Rights is a basic, true/false quiz designed to test your knowledge about reproductive rights.
We hope this short quiz will help inform your discussions about reproductive choice and lead you to find out more about birth control, abortion, and reproductive health in the U.S. and around the world.