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Right now, there are women sitting in waiting rooms across the country preparing for a moment that will inevitably have an impact on the rest of their lives.

They live in small towns and big cities. Some aren't yet old enough to drive, while others are only a few years away from menopause. Some have even been there before.

Abortion cuts across the lines of class, education, age and income to affect women from all walks of life. It's an inexorably controversial topic that never fails to elicit impassioned responses from the left and right ends of the political spectrum, as Canada witnessed this week when Henry Morgentaler, who is both admired and hated for his dedication to abortion rights, was named to the prestigious Order of Canada.

But for a topic that is so often discussed and is ingrained in political debate, the personal side to the act of abortion is largely a private matter marked by feelings of guilt, relief, shame and confusion for those who have experienced it.

There were 96,815 abortions performed in public hospitals and clinics in Canada in 2005, according to Statistics Canada, but we know very little about the lives of the women who have made that life-altering decision.

Although the number of recorded abortions performed in Canada has been declining for the past few years, many medical experts agree the Statistics Canada figures underrepresent the actual abortion rate. That's because the numbers don't reflect abortions performed in private clinics or doctors' offices.

While teenaged girls are often stereotyped as most likely to have an unplanned pregnancy, the Statscan figures show fewer than 17 per cent of all abortions performed in Canada in 2005 were on women under age 20.

Women who are between 20 and 24 are more likely than any other age group to seek an abortion, according to Statistics Canada. In fact, that age group represented nearly one-third of all abortions performed in Canada in 2005.

There were 28.3 abortions for every 100 live births in Canada in 2005, says Statistics Canada. That rate was highest in the Yukon, where 43.8 abortions were performed for every 100 live births. It was lowest in Prince Edward Island, at 9.4.

Canada doesn't collect information on the marital status, education or income level of women who seek abortions. But data from other countries, such as the United States, and information collected in the past in this country, suggests the portrait of women who seek abortions may differ from the common assumption.

For instance, more than half of women who had abortions in the United States from 1990 to 2003 were already mothers, according to a report from the Guttmacher Institute, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that focuses on sexual and reproductive health. The organization said that nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and that 40 per cent of those end in abortion.

In Canada, 20 per cent of women who had an abortion between 1975 and 1993 had already had at least one previous abortion, according to a study published in 1997 in the Family Planning Perspectives Journal.

But there is no common element that binds women who are seeking an abortion, other than the fact that they are trying to end an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy, according to Debby Copes, quality adviser at the Choice in Health Clinic, a licensed pregnancy and abortion clinic in Toronto.

"There's absolutely no typical woman. ... The range of ages is 14 to 45," she said. "Whatever women are doing, whatever demographic group they're in, you will find them represented."

Although Canada's abortion rate has declined slightly in the past few years, it remains consistently higher than in many European countries. But Dr. Copes said she doesn't believe that can be explained by saying many women take the idea of abortion lightly.

"I've done probably in my career [50,000] or 60,000 abortions and I never met a woman who came to me, who ended up in that position, who said, 'I'm going to have sex now, I'm going to get pregnant and then I'll just have an abortion,' " she said.

Dr. Copes said that a major part of the problem is probably that parts of North American culture still don't accept sexual activity as a normal subject that can be openly discussed.

"You need a social atmosphere where people think it's okay to take care of birth control and to be ready to have sex in a responsible way."

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BY THE NUMBERS: ABORTION

28.3

Number of abortions for every 100 live births in Canada in 2005

31%

Proportion of total abortions performed on women aged 20 to 24

16.9%

Proportion of total abortions performed on women under age 20

3.2%

Decrease in the rate of abortions performed in Canada from 2004 to 2005

Source: Statistics Canada

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CANADIAN ABORTION NUMBERS

Henry Morgentaler was named to the Order of Canada this week for his efforts to make abortions accessible to Canadian women. A report released by Statistics Canada in May gives a snapshot of abortion use in Canada up to 2005.

INDUCED ABORTIONS IN CANADA IN ALL HOSPITALS AND CLINICS

1970: 11,200

2005: 97,254 (includes non-Canadian residents and abortions performed on Canadian residents in the United States.)

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RATE PER 100 LIVE BIRTHS, 2005

Canada: 28.3

Nfld./Labrador: 19.6

P.E.I.: 9.4

Nova Scotia: 22.2

New Brunswick: 13.7

Quebec: 38.3

Ontario: 25.1

Manitoba: 15.8

Saskatchewan: 15.2

Alberta: 25.8

British Columbia: 35.4

Yukon Territory: 43.8

NWT: No data

Nunavut: No data

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BY AGE GROUP, 2005

TOTAL: 96,815

Under 15: 284

15-19: 16,065

20-24: 30,359

25-29: 21,419

30 to 34: 14,450

35 to 39: 9,973

40 and older: 4,263

Two abortions were performed on women whose ages were not known

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA