US State Evaluation Rank for Women Facing Unplanned Pregnancy

Worse & Best US State for Women with Unwanted Pregnancies

In order to compare which states are more tolerant to women with unwanted pregnancies, we created an evaluation system to rank all 50 states and Washington, DC. We found that the top 20 states were predominantly Republican states, while the bottom of the rankings were generally Democratic states.

To clarify, number one is the worst state and number fifty is the best!

The State living in 
Flag
Rank
Alaska
1
Iowa
2
Delaware
3
South Dakota
4
Wyoming
5
Kansas
6
Hawaii
7
South Carolina
8
Arkansas
9
Maine
10
Utah
11
New Hampshire
12
Mississippi
13
Colorado
14
Ohio
15
Kentucky
16
Alabama
17
Texas
18
Georgia
19
New Mexico
20
Missouri
21
Connecticut
22
North Carolina
23
New York
24
Indiana
25
Nevada
26
Tennessee
27
Arizona
28
Oklahoma
29
Maryland
30
West Virginia
31
Louisiana
32
Virginia
33
Michigan
34
California
35
Idaho
36
Pennsylvania
37
Washington
38
Florida
39
Illinois
40
Vermont
41
District Of Columbia
42
Minnesota
43
North Dakota
44
New Jersey
45
Nebraska
46
Wisconsin
47
Massachusetts
48
Rhode Island
49
Oregon
50
Montana
51

Description of the Evaluation System

The data collected varies greatly from state to state, with the largest number of women from Texas with 1,500 respondents, and the smallest number from Vermont at 15 respondents. As a result, comparing by numbers is not accurate.

In this evaluation system, the number of respondents for each question, are converted into percentages. Using statistical methodology, we assign different weights depending on the severity of the consequences women face. For example, under the category where women faced Pressure, Drugged, and Violence, we give a weight of 1 for Pressure, 4 for Drugged, and 6 for Violence. 

In addition to the severity of the consequences women face as a result of their unwanted pregnancy, the evaluation system gives a heavier weight to factors that lead to unplanned pregnancy than potential negative consequence that women report. For example, the weight of violence is 6 because it is what women have reported as already happened to them. The weight of death threat is calculated at 4 as it is a potentiality that is possible but not necessarily going to happen.

Using this methodology, we add the weighted values and rank the final evaluation score to get the final comparison.

Limitations of Conclusion

There are some flaws in our evaluation system based on the premise that reported factual consequences for a woman are given greater weight than reported potential consequences which are more subjective. 

The change in the ranking is subtle. While we can’t claim our results are completely accurate we believe our ranking system provides a meaningful picture of women facing unwanted pregnancy in the US.