The Alan Guttmacher Institute performed a survey in 1998 of women who were acquiring abortions. The institute asked them why they had elected to have an abortion. The Institute received responses from 1900 women at 27 abortion clinics and three hospitals. The results were originally printed in Family Planning Perspectives (Planned Parenthood's Magazine, were the Institute and magazine to have exerted any prejudicial influence, it would have been slanted toward presenting abortion as favorably as possible, since both the Institute and magazine are noted for being pro-abortion). Here are the results: (Notice the small percentages regarding rape and health problems associated with the mother and/or unborn child.)

Woman is concerned about how having a baby could change her life - 16%

Woman can not presently afford a baby - 21%

Woman has problems with relationship or does not want single parenthood - 12%

Woman is unready for responsibility - 21%

Woman does not want others to know she has had sex or is expecting - 1%

Woman is not mature enough, or is too young to have a child, she thinks - 11%

Woman has all the children she wants or they are all adults - 8%

Husband or partner wants the woman to have an abortion - 1%

The unborn has health problems - 3%

The woman has health problems - 3%

Woman was a victim of rape or incest - 1%

Other - 3% (Totals do not add up to 100% because of the rounding of numbers).