Abortions on the decline, study says

Abortions on the decline, study says

(Shutterstock)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY – More effective use of contraceptives rather than stricter legislation may have led to a decrease in abortions since 2008, a new study says.

A study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute concluded that consistent contraceptive use, coupled with the rising use of long-acting reversible contraceptives led to the fewest number of abortions since 1973.

“The decline in abortions coincided with a steep national drop in overall pregnancy and birth rates,” said lead study author Rachel Jones. “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."

Consistent contraceptive use may be linked to the recession, as many women chose to hold off childbearing during times of economic uncertainty, they said.

One in three women will get an abortion during their childbearing years, according to the institute.

Nationally, six million of the 63 women million between the ages of 15 and 44 became pregnant in 2011, with 67 percent of them carrying to term and 18 percent terminating the pregnancy. Another 15 percent of the pregnancies ended in a miscarriage. The abortion rate in 2008 was 19.4 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age, but in 2011, the rate lowered to 16.9 per 1,000.

However, Plan B, has risen in usage, accounting for 17 percent of non-hospital abortions in 2008.

In Utah, 65,100 of the 611,461 women of reproductive age became pregnant in 2011, only 5 percent of whom aborted the pregnancy. A total of 3,290 women had abortions performed.

Abortions have been on the decline since 1980, according to Operation Rescue. Between 1990 and 2005, the rate went from 27.4 to 19.4 abortions per 1,000 women, The Guttmacher Institute reported. The Centers for Disease Control reported a 5 percent decline between 2008 and 2009, and another 3 percent decrease between 2009 and 2010.

Study authors noted the importance that as they go forward and legislation is enacted, it is important to continue studying how access effects abortion rates.

"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," said 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."

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahU.S.Family
Celeste Tholen Rosenlof

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast