Induced Abortion According to Socioeconomic Status in Chile

Abstract

Study Objective: The Chilean legislation forbids induced abortion, so little is known of the young women who have abortions and what determinants are associated with this practice. In this study we examined the association between adolescents and young women who have had induced abortions and socioeconomic status and compared them with counterparts who reported not having a history of abortion.

Design, Setting, Participants, and Main Outcome Measures: Drawing on the 2015 Chilean National Youth Survey, a population-based sample of general community youth aged 15-29 years, we conducted a study on 2439 sexually active females. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between participants who had induced abortions and participants that had not according to socioeconomic status (low, middle, high), while controlling for demographic, sexual behavior, and cultural covariates.

Results: 5.15% (n = 129) of participants declared having induced an abortion in the past. Participants with high socioeconomic status had 4.89 (95% confidence interval, 1.44-16.51) higher odds of induced abortion compared with participants with low socioeconomic status. Those with middle socioeconomic status had 1.8 (95% confidence interval, 1.02-3.24) higher odds of induced abortion compared with those with low socioeconomic status. Urban or rural residence, indigenous identification, age of sexual debut, contraceptive use at the time of sexual debut, adolescent pregnancy, and religious and political identification did not correlate with induced abortion rates.

Conclusion: In Chile, where induced abortion is legally restricted, a social gradient was found in the chance of having had an induced abortion according to socioeconomic status; adolescent and young women with higher socioeconomic advantage reported more induced abortions compared with those with low socioeconomic status.