Recourse to abortion is decreasing, but repeat abortions are more frequent

Abstract

In 2011, there were nearly 210,000 abortions in France, corresponding to 0.53 per woman during her lifetime. After falling between 1975 and 1995, numbers of abortions rose again slightly and have levelled out since around 2010. Average age at abortion remains stable, at 27.5 years. The proportion of repeat abortions is increasing steadily. One-third of women have at least one abortion during their lives, of whom 10% have two and 4% three or more. As the proportion of medical abortions rises, average gestational age at abortion is falling. It stood at 6.4 weeks in 2011, down from 7.1 in 2002.