U.S. Abortion Rate Continues to Decline, Reaching Historic Low in 2017

U.S. Abortion Rate Continues to Decline, Reaching Historic Low in 2017
Regional and State Disparities in Abortion Access Have Widened

September 18, 2019
News Release, Guttmacher Institute

The U.S. abortion rate dropped to 13.5 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 in 2017, the lowest rate recorded since abortion was legalized in 1973 and an 8% decline from 2014, according to a new Guttmacher report by Rachel Jones, Elizabeth Witwer and Jenna Jerman. The number of abortions also declined to 862,320 in 2017, 7% fewer than in 2014. Birthrates declined in almost all states during this period, indicating that fewer people became pregnant, not that more individuals chose or were made to give birth rather than have an abortion.

The Guttmacher Institute’s 18th census of all known abortion-providing facilities in the United States identified 808 clinic facilities providing abortions in 2017, a 2% increase from 2014. However, during that time, longstanding regional and state disparities in abortion access grew even more pronounced: The number of clinics increased in the Northeast (by 16%) and the West (by 4%) and actually decreased in the Midwest (by 6%) and the South (by 9%). In 2017, 89% of U.S. counties did not have a clinic that provided abortion services, and 38% of women of reproductive age lived in these counties.

Continued: https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2019/us-abortion-rate-continues-decline-reaching-historic-low-2017


USA: Abortion is down — so the GOP’s coming for your birth control

Abortion is down — so the GOP’s coming for your birth control
Lower abortion rates suggest women are getting better at preventing pregnancy. So the right is trying to stop them

Amanda Marcotte
Oct 22, 2017

The abortion rate has fallen yet again, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health, dropping by 25 percent from 2008 to 2014. Thanks, Obama! Or really, thanks to the widespread use of contraception, which researchers Rachel Jones and Jenna Jerman of the Guttmacher Institute argue is the largest single factor in the drop in the abortion rate. And in fairness, the Obama administration did significant work to expand contraception access through the Affordable Care Act.

Fewer abortions is what Republicans and conservatives claim they want, which is why they are constantly passing arcane restrictions on abortion access. So why is the Trump administration ramping up the war on contraception? A leaked White House budget memo, published Thursday by Brian Beutler of Crooked Media, exposed the far-reaching anti-birth-control agenda of the Trump administration.

Continued at source: https://www.salon.com/2017/10/22/abortion-is-down-so-the-gops-coming-for-your-birth-control/


Abortion Is a Common Experience for U.S. Women, Despite Dramatic Declines in Rates

Abortion Is a Common Experience for U.S. Women, Despite Dramatic Declines in Rates
October 19, 2017
Rates of Abortion Have Declined Among All Groups of Women, But Vary Considerably Between Them

Nearly one in four women in the United States (23.7%) will have an abortion by age 45, according to a new analysis by Guttmacher Institute researchers Rachel Jones and Jenna Jerman, just published in the American Journal of Public Health. By age 20, 4.6% of women will have had an abortion, and 19% will have done so by age 30.

“Despite recent declines in abortion, it is still a common procedure, and nearly one in four U.S. women will have an abortion in her lifetime,” says Rachel Jones, lead author of the analysis.

Continued at source: https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2017/abortion-common-experience-us-women-despite-dramatic-declines-rates


U.S. Abortion Rate Continues to Decline, Hits Historic Low

U.S. Abortion Rate Continues to Decline, Hits Historic Low
January 17, 2017
News Release

Improvements in Contraceptive Use Are Likely Contributing to the Decline, But Punitive Abortion Restrictions May Also Be a Factor

For the first time since 1975, the number of abortions in the United States dropped under one million (958,700 in 2013 and 926,200 in 2014), according to “Abortion Incidence and Service Availability in the United States, 2014,” by Rachel Jones and Jenna Jerman. The abortion rate also continued to decline, falling to 14.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44, the lowest rate ever recorded, and a 14% decline from 2011.

[continued at link]
Source, Guttmacher Institute: https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2017/us-abortion-rate-continues-decline-hits-historic-low