Abortion Rate at Lowest Point Since 1973
Video by Madison Mills
The U.S. abortion rate has reached its lowest point since 1973, when abortion was legalized, according to a study released Monday.
The abortion rate fell 13 percent between 2008 and 2011, according to the study by the Guttmacher Institute.
The abortion rate has declined to about 17 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 through 44, which is still slightly higher than the rate in 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.
Researchers offered no definitive reasons for why the abortion rate declined, but partly attributed the downward trend to recently developed contraceptive methods, such as more reliable forms of birth control, which preventing a large number of unwanted pregnancies. Researchers also said the stagnant economy - which has already been linked to falling rates of unwanted pregnancy - also contributed to the decline in abortions.
One possible flaw in the study: the study did not account for multiple states' restrictions on access to abortion after 2011. Representatives of the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion rights organization, believe that anti-abortion laws would reverse this declining trend.
The Guttmacher Institute's full report will be published in March's issue of the academic journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
