Since 2010, Abortion Rate Has Dropped 12%

Kate Scanlon / June 08, 2015

The abortion rate is declining in the United States, according to a report by the Associated Press.

According to the AP, the abortion rate has dropped about 12 percent since 2010.

States that have passed laws to reduce abortion such as Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and Oklahoma, have seen a drop in the number of abortions, but so have states with easier access to abortion such as New York, Washington and Oregon.

Only two states—Louisiana and Michigan—have seen a “significant increase” in the number of abortions.

Supporters of abortion say that making contraception readily available has reduced the rate of unexpected pregnancies. Opponents say that society is shifting, and becoming more pro-life.

Charmaine Yoest, the president of Americans United for Life told the AP that the reduced rate reflects “a change in attitudes.”

“There’s an entire generation of women who saw a sonogram as their first baby picture,” Yoest said. “There’s an increased awareness of the humanity of the baby before it is born.”

Advocates of abortion, such as Cecile Richards, the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, say that making birth control more readily available has reduced the number of abortions.

“Better access to birth control and sex education are the biggest factors in reducing unintended pregnancies,” Richards told the AP. “More restrictive abortion laws do not reduce the need for abortions.”

The AP notes that their report excludes California, Maryland, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Wyoming, where “comprehensive data” on the number of abortions is not compiled.

Sarah Torre, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Signal that “while there are many possible reasons for declining abortion rates, we cannot discount the pro-life movement’s tireless witness to the truth that has reoriented countless hearts and minds.”

“Thousands of pregnancy centers across the country are empowering women with the material and emotional support to make life-affirming choices, many providing a woman the chance to see a sonogram picture of her child – one of the most persuasive arguments for the humanity of unborn children. And hundreds of commonsense, pro-life laws have been enacted over the past few years that protect women and children,” Torre said.

“While the apparent drop in the percentage of abortions is something to cheer, the U.S. abortion rate is still high among other developed nations and our laws remain among the most permissive in the world. The U.S. is currently one of only seven countries – among them North Korea and China – in which elective late-term abortions after 20 weeks are allowed. Protecting women and unborn children from such dangerous and gruesome procedures is something the American people overwhelmingly support and our collective conscience demands,” Torre concluded.

This article has been updated to include Sarah Torre’s quotes.