A new report from the state health department in Michigan shows the number of abortions in 2011 — the most recent year for which figures are available — are up very slightly. But, since 1987, abortions in Michigan have dropped more than 50 percent.
Right to Life of Michigan provides LifeNews with the most recent numbers:
A total of 23,366 induced abortions were reported in Michigan in 2011, which was a 0.25 percent increase from the total of 23,307 reported in 2010. Since 1987 there has been a 52.4 percent decrease in the number of Michigan abortions (the year with the largest number of induced abortions).
Michigan residents received 97.7 percent of the induced abortions that occurred in Michigan in 2011. This proportion is similar to that which was observed in previous years.
In 2011, 50.3 percent of the resident women receiving abortions have had at least one previous induced abortion. In general, from 1985 through 2011, a gradual increase has been observed with the proportion of women reporting two or more induced abortions, going from 14.6 percent in 1985 to 24.1 percent in 2011. The proportion of women who had no previous induced abortion has been generally declining, falling from 59.5 percent in 1985 to 49.7 percent in 2011.
The majority of Michigan residents receiving induced abortions (51.1 percent) were under 25 years of age, while 15.7 percent were less than 20 years old. These are much smaller proportions than the 64.6 and 30.6 percent observed, respectively, in 1985.
In 2011, 89.6 percent of the Michigan women who obtained an induced abortion were not married, an 8.7 percent increase from the 82.4 percent reported in 1985.
Abortions should continue to decline in Michigan now that the governor has signed a new law that could put some abortion clinics there out of business if they fail to follow basic health and safety standards protecting women.
CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!
The bill Gov. Rick Snyder has signed includes measures to license and inspect abortion clinics, prevent coercive abortion, and stop so-called telemed abortions are intended to protect women and unborn children and further drive down the number of abortions in the state.
Governor Snyder signed HB 5711, an omnibus bill, also known as the Prolife Bus. The purpose of the Prolife Bus is to hold the abortion industry to the same health and safety standards as other medical providers. Patients’ safety must be put ahead of abortion profits.
Planned Parenthood, the nation’s major abortion chain, had called on Snyder to veto the bill, saying it “creates unnecessary, burdensome and costly licensing requirements for women’s health centers and will reduce access to comprehensive care for women in rural areas via a telemedicine ban.”
After the vote in the state legislature, pro-life groups applauded the state legislators.
“It is regrettable for a woman to seek an abortion; the least that can be done is to make sure abortion facilities in Michigan are clean and meet basic standards of care, and that’s what this legislation accomplishes,” said Rebecca Mastee, Michigan Catholic Conference Policy Advocate. “Michigan Catholic Conference has said throughout this debate that a woman’s health and safety must be a priority, and we’re thankful that the Senate has placed the dignity of women ahead of the financial interests of the abortion industry.”
The licensing and inspection component of the legislation was recently found to have overwhelming support, with 85 percent of respondents to a statewide survey of likely voters approving the provision while 76 percent of Democrat pro-choice women approved the measure.
Currently, only 4 of the 32 abortion facilities in Michigan are licensed by the state and, as such, the other 28 are rarely or if ever inspected by the state health bureau for basic sanitary requirements that are expected of other outpatient surgical facilities in Michigan.
