Theories vary on the reason the abortion rate decline
By Matthew Waller
AUSTIN — A report from the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute last week said the abortion rate in the United States dropped in 2011 to its lowest point since 1973, the year of the landmark Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion.
The peak was in 1981, with 29.3 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15-44. The rate dropped to 16.9 abortions in 2011. The rate in 1973 was 16.3, according the Guttmacher Institute’s report.
The institute surmised that because the decline spans most states, state-level restrictions aren’t the cause of the drop.
“While the study did not specifically investigate reasons for the decline, the authors note that the study period (2008-2011) predates the major surge in state-level abortion restrictions that started during the 2011 legislative session, and that many provisions did not go into effect until late 2011 or even later,” the institute’s report states.
The lead author of the study, Rachel Jones, is quoted as saying the cause of the decline coincides with a decline in pregnancy and birthrates and that “contraceptive use improved during this period.”
Texas Alliance for Life Director Joe Pojman, however, believes birth control and pregnancy rates aren’t all that accounts for the shift.
“More pregnant women give birth to a child than have an abortion,” Pojman said. “That obviously has nothing to do with birth control. That does have to do with her decision-making process.”
He added, “I think that some credit has to be given to the enormous network” of pregnancy help centers, where fewer women consider abortion because they have no other option.
Pojman said preliminary numbers show fewer abortions performed in the state as a result of the sonogram law Texas passed in 2011, which requires an ultrasound before an abortion. The state also has seen Planned Parenthood clinics close as a result of state funding cuts targeting abortion providers, he noted
“I think the upshot of that is that there are fewer abortions performed in Texas,” Pojman said.
Kyleen Wright, president of the Texans for Life Coalition, said a culture shift may be in the works, as well.
“I think two things have influenced the reduction in abortions very much. Certainly even though some of this research was done before some of these pro-life laws went into effect, the legislative debate … really forces people to think and gives them a lot more information than they typically have.
“The other thing is: sonogram nations. This is the generation that has grown up almost every first picture in every first baby book is or has been for 27 years now, a sonogram photo, and that changes the hearts of those kids, their parents, their grandparents. It’s all over Facebook, all over our refrigerators and all over our hearts. We really are becoming a pro-life nation.”
Meanwhile, Texas’ most recent law enacting regulations and restrictions on abortion is before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. That court already has prevented a Texas district judge from blocking the law, and it is expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court for a full decision.
The new law requires that a physician have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital; that doctors follow U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines for abortion-inducing drugs; and that clinics meet the code for ambulatory surgical centers. It also prevents abortion after five weeks pregnancy except in cases of harm to the mother or child.
Only the first two listed parts of the law have been challenged thus far.
Reprinted with permission from the San Angelo Standard-Times.