New report proclaims abortion rate lowest since Roe v Wade legal in 1973
The abortion rate in the US has dropped to the lowest level since Roe v Wade became legal in 1973, says a new report by the Guttmacher Institute.
The report states the US abortion rate has declined to 16.9 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 in 2011, the lowest since 1973 when the rate was 16.3 per 1,000.
In the details we can report that “The number of abortion providers declined 4%; the number of clinics dropped 1%. In 2011, 89% of counties had no clinics, and 38% of women of reproductive age lived in those counties. Early medication abortions accounted for a greater proportion of nonhospital abortions in2011 (23%) than in 2008 (17%). Of the 106 new abortion restrictions implemented during the study period, few or none appeared to be related to state-level patterns in abortion rates or number of providers.”
Guttmacher Institute made the conclusion was that the decrease in abortions; therefore, was not related to the decrease in providers or to restrictions on procedures which were implemented between 2008 and 2011.
The peak in abortion rate occurred in 1981 when the figure hit 29.3 abortions per 1,000.
“With abortion rates falling in almost all states, our study did not find evidence that the national decline in abortions during this period was the result of new state abortion restrictions. We also found no evidence that the decline was linked to a drop in the number of abortion providers during this period,” says Rachel Jones, lead author of the study. “Rather, the decline in abortions coincided with a steep national drop in overall pregnancy and birth rates. Contraceptive use improved during this period, as more women and couples were using highly effective long-acting reversible contraceptive methods, such as the IUD. Moreover, the recent recession led many women and couples to want to avoid or delay pregnancy and childbearing.”
Beginning in 2011, state efforts to restrict abortion have surged, according to Guttmacher research. States enacted 205 abortion restrictions between 2011 and 2013, more than in the entire previous decade combined. “Over the past three years, we have seen an unparalleled attack on abortion rights at the state level, and these new restrictions are making it harder for women to access services and for providers to keep clinic doors open,” says Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager at Guttmacher. “As we monitor trends in abortion going forward, it is critical that we also monitor whether these state restrictions are preventing women who need abortion services from accessing them.”
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photo Chris Darling from Portland via wikimedia
