The number ofvoluntary interruptions of pregnancy (IVG) It remained practically stable in 2021 compared to 2020 in France, but the figures drop for women under 25 and especially for minors, according to a study by Drees published this Tuesday.
In 2021, a total of 223,300 abortions were registered, compared to 222,000 in 2020 (a year marked by a drop in conceptions during the first confinement linked to Covid-19), and 233,000 in 2019, specifies the study carried out by the statistics department of the social ministries.
2019 had marked the peak of a continuous increase since 1995 had become the year that most abortions have been performed since 1990.
A notable drop for 18-19 year olds.
In relation to the number of women of childbearing age (between 15 and 49 years), the rate of recourse to abortion reached 15.5 per thousand last year, practically stable compared to 2020 (15.4 per thousand).
Abortion “continues to decline among younger women,” under the age of 30, the Drees notes.
The decrease is especially notable in the case of women between the ages of 18 and 19, among whom the recourse rate went from 21.5 per thousand in 2014 to 17.2 in 2019 and then to 14.3 in 2021. minors, older than 15 to 17 years, the rate fell during the same period from 8.7 to 6.0 then 4.9 per thousand.
But the number of births among young women has also fallen, so much so that, among those under 30, “abortion ratios,” that is, the ratio of the number of abortions to the number of births, remained stable between 2018 and 2020. .
Strong geographic disparities
The regional disparities in this area are very marked, the authors of the study point out: the rate of recourse to abortion thus reaches 11.5 per thousand in Pays de la Loire, but 22.1 in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
In the overseas departments, abortion is twice as frequent as in mainland France, with an average rate of 29.6 per thousand, compared to 14.9. It was in Guadeloupe that the highest rate was recorded last year, with 47.2 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49.