The number of teen abortions in the U.S. fell to a historic low in 2011, following a national trend, according to a new report.
The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, a former research arm of Planned Parenthood, released the new report showing that abortions among teenagers are at the lowest point since 1973 when Roe v. Wade allowed abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy. Teen pregnancies also hit an all-time low in 2011, according to the report.
The 2011 teenage abortion rate was 13.5 per 1,000 women, the lowest since 1973, according to the report. The new number is a drop of nearly two-thirds since 1988, when the teen abortion rate peaked, the report states.
The numbers appear to indicate that more pregnant teens are choosing to give birth to their babies. While the report found that fewer teens are getting pregnant, the numbers also indicated that the teens who are getting pregnant are not as likely to choose abortion. The researchers found that the number of teenage pregnancies that ended in abortion declined by one third from 1985 to 2007.
Fewer teens are getting pregnant at all. The report found that about 5 percent of American teens became pregnant in 2011, or about 52 per 1,000. That’s a drop of 23 percent from 2008 and a more than 50 percent drop from 1990, according to the report.
The report also discovered major differences in birth and abortion rates between racial groups: “The birthrate in 2011 for non-Hispanic white teenagers (21.7) was less than half that among non-Hispanic black teenagers (47.2) and Hispanic teenagers (49.6). The abortion rate for non-Hispanic black teenagers (32.6) was almost four times that for non-Hispanic whites (8.5) and more than two and half times that for Hispanics (12.7).”
Keep up with the latest pro-life news and information on Twitter. Follow @LifeNewsHQ
While Guttmacher said the decline in abortions was likely due to increased access to contraception, many pro-lifers believe that an increased level of pro-life education and support for moms and babies are causing the decline. Teens today are benefiting from abstinence education programs in schools and resources that show the humanity of the unborn child.
The decline in teen abortions reflects a larger trend across the U.S. In 2015, the Centers for Disease Control reported abortions reached their lowest point since Roe v. Wade in 2012.
At their high decades ago, approximately 1 in 3 pregnancies ended in an abortion — resulting in brochures, banners and billboards proclaiming that fact and greying out every third baby displayed in pictures of newborn children. Thanks to pro-life laws, educational efforts, pregnancy centers and the actions of pro-life groups that have resulted in closing abortion clinics, now one in five pregnancies in the United States end in an abortion.
