Connecticut Report Shows Abortions Increasing, State Reporting a Problem
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 13, 2009
Hartford, CT (LifeNews.com) — A new report drafted by the Connecticut Catholic Conference shows the number of abortions and abortion rates increasing in the northeastern state. The report has the abortion rate increasing in Connecticut even as national numbers show abortions on the decline.
This is the second annual report issued by the Connecticut Catholic Conference and it shows the abortion rate in the state has grown by 15.5 percent between 2000 and 2007.
The abortion rate rose from 18 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age in 2000 to 20.79 abortions in 2007.
The Catholic pro-life group says it had to compile the report in part because of problems with the Connecticut Department of Public Health compiling accurate abortion figures.
The CCC says the state is not compiling the age of the woman having the abortion and the age of the unborn baby at the time of the abortion as required by state law. That raises concerns about abortion centers requiring other state laws on abortion, such as counseling requirements for minors.
The report indicates the state health department is looking into the problem.
According to the new report, Connecticut abortion businesses took in approximately $8.7 million in annual revenue from abortions in 2008 — and that that was a low tabulation based on the lowest cost for an abortion. because abortions done later in pregnancy cost more, that figure could be much higher.
The CCC also notes that the use of the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug is on the rise and it has grown by over 640 percent from 2002 to 2008. The drug has killed at least 13 women worldwide and injured another 1,100 in the United States alone according to 2006 FDA figures.
The report says most abortions in the state are done on state residents and that the number of teenage abortions dropped from 111 in 2007 to 98 in 2008.
The report coincides with numbers issued by the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research group formerly affiliated with Planned Parenthood.
According to its July 2008 figures, Connecticut abortions rose from 12,110 in 2005 to 14,112 in 2006. In 2007, the number rose again to 14,534, an increase of 422 more abortions.
Officials at AGI said the rise in Connecticut abortions is only because more women are coming there from surrounding states to have abortions.
In June, Planned Parenthood affiliate groups in Connecticut and Rhode Island announced plans to merge to form Planned Parenthood of Southern New England. The new group will oversee 18 centers in Connecticut and one in Providence, the capital of Rhode Island.
Prior to the merger, according to numbers from the Journal, Planned Parenthood of Connecticut had a $22 million budget and 230 employees while the Rhode Island affiliate’s $2.8 million budget covers 22 workers.
Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.
