Resumen : A 1991 research project initiated by the Women's Studies Project of the University of Puerto Rico provided, for the first time, a scientific estimate of the extent of abortion in Puerto Rico. Utilized in the study was a sample of 371 women who visited 10 of the 13 abortion clinics in the country. Extrapolation from this sample suggests that there are 17,000 abortions each year in Puerto Rico, or that 20% of pregnancies are terminated. Only 9% of these procedures involve women under 20 years of age. The average abortion seeker is married (71%) and has one or more children (68%). 73% are Catholic. The reasons most frequently cited for the abortion decision were: financial instability (68%), inability to assume the responsibility for a child (68%), and child care problems (57%). 59% of abortion seekers had used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant; 32% had recently discontinued use due to side effects. Although abortion has been legal in Puerto Rico since 1973, accessibility is severely limited and only 2 of the country's health regions have full-time abortion clinics. These clinics perform 95% of total procedures. Moreover, regulations imposed on abortion clinics by the Department of Health are more restrictive in terms of facility and equipment specifications than those in US. As in the US, Penal Code amendments and other legislation aimed at restricting abortion further are under consideration. Pro-choice groups in Puerto Rico are insisting that abortion should be regulated like any other medical procedure, not through the Penal Code.
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