The rate of abortions among American women has fallen to its lowest in a decade.
Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show the total number of US abortions fell from 842,855 in 2006 to 638,169 in 2015 – the most recent year for which data is available.
Pro-life and pro-abortion activists agree that states offering legal protections for women and the unborn is partially responsible for this decline.
Statistics
In 2006, when the CDC study began, there were 15.9 abortions taking place per 1,000 women.
This figure fell 26 per cent to 11.8 abortions per 1,000 women in 2015.
Young women aged 15 to 19 experienced an even greater drop, with the rate falling 54 per cent.
Life-affirming solutions
Carol Tobias, President of the National Right to Life Committee, said that the fall is due “to pro-life legislation that seeks to provide life-affirming solutions to abortion, combined with pro-life efforts that educate Americans about the effects of abortion and the humanity of the unborn child”.
State lawmakers are increasingly passing pro-life laws in the US.
Last month, Ohio approved a measure that would ban abortions as early as six weeks.