The number of abortions in the U.S. hits a historic low

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

By Ariana Eunjung Cha November 21 at 1:17 PM

Fewer U.S. women are having abortions today than at any time since Roe v. Wade, according to new government figures released Wednesday.

In 2015, a total of 638,169 abortions were reported, a decrease of two percent from 652,639 abortions in 2014. The abortion rate was 11.8 abortions per 1,000 women in 2015 compared with 12.1 in 2014 and 15.9 in 2006.

In the years immediately after abortion was legalized nationwide in 1973, the number of legal abortions rose dramatically, reaching its peak in the 1980s. Abortions then began dropping at a slow rate until around 2006 to 2008, when they increased slightly, followed by even greater decreases in recent years.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance report comes at a heated time for abortion politics in the country, with Trump Administration officials introducing new policies to reduce funding to abortion providers and state legislatures debating ever more restrictive laws on abortion. Just this week, a federal court in Mississippi blocked the state’s ban against abortions past 15 weeks gestation. In signing the bill into law, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) had said he hoped to make the state the “safest place in America for an unborn child.”

-snip-


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2018/11/21/number-abortions-us-hits-historic-low/

[Freethinker65]

1. Because of increase in birth rates or increase in birth control/contraceptive use and coverage?

[OnlinePoker]

2. I would think the latter.

Fertility rate has been dropping steadily since 2007 and in 2015 was down to 1.844 children per woman. It wasn't this low since 1986. In 2016, it dropped even further to 1.8 children per woman, less than half what it was in 1960.

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=US

[bronxiteforever]

3. And it is too expensive to have kids

Daycare costs plus enormous student loans face the next generation of potential young parents. Try to buy a house and keep 2 cars on that scenario.

[OnlinePoker]

6. Yep, birth control is far cheaper.

Here in BC, they're experimenting with $10-a-day daycare for pre-schoolers. The pilot program is funded to March 2020 at $60 million for 2500 kids. That's $24,000 per child. If they wanted to expand it province wide, it would cost over $4 Billion. But the government says they would get a lot of that back with increased employment as stay-at-home parents enter the job market and those that have been working would have much more to spend in the economy rather than giving it all to daycare providers.

[bronxiteforever]

8. Novel approach! Unlikely here in Trump world however.

[lamsmy]

4. According to the article, both plus

Plus medical abortions or pills such as RU-486, meaning women don't have to undergo an invasive procedure to end a pregnancy.

But not included in this article: Since 1993 teenage pregnancies have been reduced by 66%. The number of abortions has gone down by 70% (per 1000 of population.) The two absolutely go hand in hand.

If right to life people were serious about reducing abortion, they would be demanding increased access to birth control for young people.

[GulfCoast66]

14. But we all know if they make abortion illegal birth control is next on the agenda

Because their real goal is putting women back where they want them. Under the control of a man.

[still_one]

15. Birth Control

[bronxiteforever]

5. Also this birth rate has fallen

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/17/611898421/u-s-births-falls-to-30-year-low-sending-fertility-rate-to-a-record-low

[matt819]

7. It would also be interesting to see a geographic breakdown

To see what the impacts have been the rates of abortion in the more extreme states. Perhaps by seeing increases in nearby states.

IOW, the raw data is interesting, but the analysis is crucial.

[sandensea]

9. The number of REGISTERED abortions is down

But the unregistered, back-alley kind is probably skyrocketing.

This is why maternal mortality rates have doubled in the last 20 years: GOPee governors who've made safe, legal abortions practically inaccesible just to score political points with the Kim Davis vote.

[SpankMe]

10. Abortion's down because pregnancy's down

Pregnancy's down because people don't want to bring kids into the world of Trump.

[Delphinus]

11. And

there have been numerous articles recently about couples not having sex.

[BigmanPigman]

12. It is likely a combination of factors.

Of course a real study would be useful but our current GOP admin doesn't support either Science or Women (those who want rights and equality) so the answers won't be "discovered" due to NO funding on this "unimportant" issue.

[forthemiddle]

13. The younger generations are having much less sex

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/there-isnt-really-anything-magical-about-it-why-more-millennials-are-putting-off-sex/2016/08/02/e7b73d6e-37f4-11e6-8f7c-d4c723a2becb_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.43319688c4a6


Here is one of many articles on the subject.

Good or bad? You decide........