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Investigating Racial Differences Among Reasons Why Women Have Abortions: A Black
Feminist Thought Perspective
By Tamika C. Odum
Most available explanations share an assumption that black women somehow are less able to
gain reproductive control over their lives, and hence, use abortion services as a form of
emergency contraception. In this paper I argue that black feminist thought can provide a unique
perspective on self, society and family for African American women (Collins 1986), and
consequently that black feminist thought provides a rewarding analytical entry point into
understanding why the rate of abortion is higher for African American women than for white
women.
Introduction
In 1997 the abortion rate for African American women was 2.8 times the rate for white
women (Abortion Surveillance 1997). Researchers have found that fertility behavior in the
United States varies with regard to marital status and education (Cochrane 1979). In general,
married women are less likely to have an abortion than unmarried women (Parnell et al. 1994),
and highly educated women are more likely to have an abortion than uneducated women
(Solinger 1989). Things get more complicated, however, when these relationships are examined
in conjunction with race. For example, looking at unmarried women only, white women are
more likely to have an abortion than black women, whereas married, black women are more
likely to have an abortion than white women (Trent and Powell–Griner 1991).
There is not much literature that can provide a theoretical framework explaining such differences
in rates of abortion by race. Three categories of explanations of why women have abortions can
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Convention