| Objectives: The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of the association between religion and the contraceptive behavior of women who obtain abortions in the United States. Secondary analyses included investigations of the association between select sociodemographic factors and contraceptive behavior. The three contraceptive behavioral outcomes examined in this research included: (1) the use of contraception during the month of conception; (2) the never-use of contraception; and (3) the use of hormonal contraception during the month of conception. Methods: This study is a cross sectional analysis of the 2008 Abortion Patient Survey, a nationally representative survey of women who obtain abortions. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to examine the data. Results: Catholics had lower odds of having used contraception compared to women who were religiously unaffiliated (OR 0.773, 95% CI 0.625--0.956). Protestant religious service attenders had higher odds of having used contraception compared to unaffiliated non-attenders (OR 1.470, 95% CI 1.116--1.936). Catholic, Non-Hispanic African Americans had higher odds of having used hormonal contraception compared to unaffiliated, Non-Hispanic Whites (OR 2.897, 95% CI 1.349--6.221). Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that religion is a significant factor associated with the contraceptive behavior of women who obtain abortions in the United States. |
