U.S. Abortions Drop to Lowest Level Since 1976
From today’s Washington Post:
The number of abortions performed in the United States dropped to 1.2 million in 2005 — the lowest level since 1976, according to a new report.
…The total number of abortions among women ages 15 to 44 declined from 1.3 million in 2000 to 1.2 million in 2005, an 8 percent drop that continued a trend that began in 1990, when the number of abortions peaked at more than 1.6 million, the survey found. The last time the number of abortions was that low was 1976, when slightly fewer than 1.2 million abortions were performed.
That’s great news! Praise God.
But, the bad news:
Suzanne T. Poppema of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
speculated that wider availability of the morning-after pill also might
be playing a role.I would like to say that it’s at least partially due to increased
availability of emergency contraception, which is a really good
addition to reproductive health care in this country,” she said. The
emergency contraceptive known as Plan B, a high dose of standard birth
control pills, can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of
unprotected sex.…the long decline in the number of abortion providers appears to be
stabilizing, partly a result of the availability of the French abortion
pill RU-486, the report found, because some physicians who do not
perform surgical abortions provide it to their patients.
