A nationwide survey finds just 14 percent of obstetricians and gynecologists are performing abortions, a number that is about half of what researchers expected to find.
Just 14 percent of those who responded to a brief survey said they do the procedure, a smaller figure than the 22 percent measured by another recent survey.
The survey, conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago and Duke University, found that younger doctors, ages 35 or younger, were the most likely to perform abortions, compared with other age groups. Female physicians were more likely to provide abortions than were male physicians, 18.6 percent compared with 10.6 percent.
Researchers also noted that a decision not to perform abortions may stem from religious objections or moral convictions.
“Previous research has shown that substantial minorities of physicians do not believe they are obligated to refer patients for or provide information about how to obtain procedures to which the physician has a religious or moral objection,” researchers noted.
The study also found that ninety-seven percent of obstetrician-gynecologists have encountered patients seeking an abortion.
Geology also seemed to make a difference. Clinics in the Northeast or West, and in highly urban areas, were more likely to do the procedure than those in the South and Midwest or more rural areas.
The report comes as a number of states have sought to tighten abortion laws. In Arizona, Planned Parenthood has asked the Maricopa County Superior Court to temporarily halt the laws until the court could rule on their legality. In Kansas, which passed one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws earlier this year, similar legal action is taking place.
The findings were compiled from surveys mailed to 1,800 OB-GYNs across the U.S. More than 1,100 doctors provided valid responses.
