The abortion rate in the US has fallen sharply in the past decade, according to a new report.
Research carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the abortion rate for 2013 was 12.5 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years.
From 2004, this represents a 21 per cent decrease in the rate of reported abortions.
Support
The number of abortions in this period fell by 20 per cent from 817,906 to 652,582.
Both these reported statistics are at their lowest levels since 2004.
Pro-life group, National Right to Life (NRTL), welcomed the report’s findings.
‘Clear indication’
“The decline in the number of abortions, and in the abortion rates and ratios, is a clear indication that pregnant women are increasingly less likely to see abortion as the desired solution to an unexpected pregnancy,” said Dr Randall K. O’Bannon, Director of Education and Research for NRTL.
He added: “Right-to-life legislative, educational and outreach efforts to increase awareness of the unborn child’s humanity certainly continue to play a critical role in the abortion decline.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collated data from 47 reporting areas excluding California, Louisiana and a few other states.
Closures
The news comes after figures released earlier this year revealed that the number of abortion clinics has also fallen rapidly in recent years.
In May, US media company Bloomberg reported that since 2011, 162 abortion clinics have been shut down across the country while just 21 have opened.
The high number of closures is thought to be linked to the introduction of pro-life legislation in several states.