The past two decades have been kinder to unborn babies, as a new report based on federal resources revealed the abortion rate in the U.S. has followed a very steep decline, reaching the lowest rate in 20 years.
- The abortion rate has dropped significantly since the 1990s.
- The rate of unwanted pregnancies has also declined steeply among women under the age of 30
- More teenage girls choose to give birth rather than abort a baby, thanks to the assistance regarding adoption, financial aid and school help.
According to the figures presented in the report authored by Sally Curtin, a statistician for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, the rate dropped to an average of 17.7 procedures per 1,000 women aged between 15 and 44.
The report also mentions this year’s abortion figures are the lowest rate ever since the CDC started keeping track of the abortion statistics in 1976. After its peak in the 1980s, records show the rate of abortions has been on a constant decrease.
However, the CDC also revealed pregnancy rates for women under the age of 30 have also been dwindling, including a 67 percent reduction among teens aged 14 or younger. The pregnancy rate for teens between the ages of 15 to 19 has also seen a 50 percent fall. The feat of abortion hitting the all-time low was market one once before in 2010.
There are several factors that could be contributing to the drop in abortion rate, according to co-author Kathryn Kost, the leading research scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health think-tank. She suggested that a significant increase in the use of effective contraception is one of the most important trends.
It’s also encouraging to see that while the abortion rate saw a major drop among teenagers, the pregnancy rate has increased for women aged 30 and older, a trend visible throughout the 1990s and 2010s. These numbers indicate couples are using more effective birth control and starting their families later in life.
One of the other factors that had a major impact on the abortion rate is the lowering number of unintended pregnancies – namely, fewer women were getting pregnant when they didn’t want to, said Kost. Thanks to efficient contraception, the rate of unwanted pregnancies – and abortions – has been declining.
There are three possible outcomes of pregnancy: live birth, abortion, or fetal loss through stillbirth or miscarriage. Considering that the pregnancy rate has also seen a record low, it was only natural the other two were affected and dropped, as well.
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Tim B says
and maybe they saw some PP videos and said “No way”.