Abortion is increasingly becoming an issue for women who are closest to poverty, as new numbers show that women who are trying to obtain them are increasingly struggling with poverty.

Via USA Today:

Guttmacher, which has been tracking abortion since 1974, found that the abortion rate for low-income women increased 18% during the same period that the national rate dropped 8%.

Low-income women (as an example, those earning $17,170 or less in a three-person household) accounted for 514,040 abortions, or 42% of all abortions, in 2008. The abortion rate for the poor rose from 44.4 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15-44 in 2000 to 52.2 in 2008. At the same time, the 2008 national abortion rate was 19.6 per 1,000, which dropped 8% from a rate of 21.3 in 2000.

The increase in poor women obtaining a large share of the abortions is hardly surprising.  The number one factor being cited for unintended pregnancy is an inability to afford birth control.  If a woman can’t afford birth control, it’s highly unlikely she believes she can afford to raise a child, either. 

These numbers only show the rates through 2008, long before the anti-choice movement started their fixation on removing financial assistance for birth control.  Imagine what these numbers may be like in 2011, or even worse, a few years down the road if this current trend continues.