Abortion Rate at Lowest Level Since 1973
Sharon Jayson of USA Today reports that new data from the Guttmacher Institute find that the 2011 abortion rate fell to 16.9 abortions per 1,000 women, the lowest since 1973. It is a 13 percent drop over a three-year period, a significant decline that researchers attribute to more effective contraception and the economic recession. Also, the report notes, “No evidence was found that the overall drop in abortion incidence was related to the decrease in providers or to restrictions implemented between 2008 and 2011.”