Abortions Drop 8% in Arizona After New Pro-Life Law in Place

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 19, 2012   |   2:55PM   |   Phoenix, AZ

A new analysis of abortion figures in Arizona finds abortions have dropped 8 percent following the enactment of a new pro-life law requiring better reporting of the number of abortions to state officials.

This latest reduction comes after a 30% drop in abortions the year before.

The latest statistics from the Arizona Department of Health Services show an 8 percent decrease in abortions performed in Arizona in the 12 months following the new legislation.  According to the Center for Arizona Policy, there were 1,173 fewer women harmed by abortion, and fewer unborn children who lose their lives from August 2011-July 2012 (13,538) compared to August 2010-July 2011 (14,711).

UPDATE: The actual drop is 7.3 percent. From CAP: “A previous release reported an 8% decrease in abortions in Arizona. This statistic originated from reports provided to Center for Arizona Policy earlier this week from the Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS). DHS has since notified CAP that the report they provided had an error, and has provided new information. ”

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Cathi Herrod, president of Center for Arizona Policy informed LifeNews that, on Friday, the Arizona Department of Health Services released their annual statistical report on abortions in Arizona. Initial media reports claimed a 25% increase in abortions in 2011 compared to 2010.

As the DHS report indicates, however, abortion businesses were not required to report abortion numbers until August of 2010. Consequently, any reports prior to August 2010 are unreliable, Herrod said.

“You’re comparing apples to oranges if you look at 2010 to 2011,” said Cathi Herrod, president of Center for Arizona Policy. “It wasn’t until Senate Bill 1304 took effect in August of 2010 that abortion providers were required to furnish accurate data on the number of abortions they were performing. So, it wasn’t until August 2010 that we began to get a more complete picture of these statistics.”

The chart below shows the difference in abortions performed August 2010-July 2011 compared to August 2011 – July 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“In recent years, Arizona has seen a number of common sense abortion safety standards and informed consent provisions take effect. It is encouraging to see that more and more moms are choosing life,” said Herrod.

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Earlier this year, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a pro-life bill into lawto ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

This bill, called “The Mother’s Health and Safety Act”:

  • Prohibits abortion after 20 weeks because of the safety risks to the mother and the pain endured by the preborn child
  • Ensures women have an ultrasound at least 24 hours prior to an abortion
  • Establishes an informed consent website which details the facts about fetal development, risks of abortion, and services available.
  • Requires doctors performing surgical abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within thirty miles of the abortion facility.

Arizona Right to Life is also supportive of the legislatio

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