US Abortion Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since Roe v. Wade
The results of a study released this week by the Guttmacher Institute reveal the abortion rate in the U.S. fell to an all-time low in 2017.
Estimates suggest “862,320 abortions were provided in clinical settings” across the country that year, according to the 23-page report.
The abortion rate fell to approximately 13.5 abortions for every 1,000 women of child-bearing age — a historic low for the procedure since the Supreme Court landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide.
“Abortion rates fell in most states and in all four regions of the country,” according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research group.
Prominent pro-life politicians and organizations celebrated these statistical trends on Twitter, but did not allow progress to cloud their vision.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, organizers at the March for Life and the youth organization Students for Life were among those who declared that though the numbers are encouraging, the pro-life movement cannot rest on its laurels.
“Close to 900,000 unborn human beings were killed last year before they even had a chance to do anything — to even have a name,” Rubio reminded those celebrating on Twitter.
“Close to 900,000 unborn human beings were killed last year before they even had a chance to do anything — to even have a name.”
Watch Senator Marco Rubio’s video on fighting for the right to life. #prolife⬇ pic.twitter.com/oN2gNNY82r
— Senator Rubio Press (@SenRubioPress) September 18, 2019
“The declining rate of abortion is evidence of the significant impact of the pro-life movement,” March for Life responded, “but we must continue to speak up for the 900,000 innocent lives lost to abortion every year.”
The declining rate of abortion is evidence of the significant impact of the pro-life movement, but we must continue to speak up for the 900,000 innocent lives lost to abortion every year.
Thank you @SenRubioPress for being a voice for the preborn. #whywemarch https://t.co/2NOHq5TO6a
— March for Life (@March_for_Life) September 18, 2019
“Thank you @SenRubioPress for being a voice for the preborn,” the organization added.
The abortion rate has hit a record low.
We will continue to work EVERY SINGLE DAY to abolish every abortion!
— Students for Life (@StudentsforLife) September 18, 2019
The Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, which cemented women’s legal right to the expectation of privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment, meant that states could not enact laws making abortion illegal.
The total number of abortions skyrocketed following 1973, consistently registering at well over 1 million per year well into the 2000s, according to some estimates.
It wasn’t until 2013 that this number finally fell below the 1 million benchmark, according a data table provided by Guttmacher researchers Rachel K. Jones, Elizabeth Witwer and Jenna Jerman.
The report says the total number of abortions decreased from just under 959,000 in 2013 to 862,320 in 2017.
Pro-abortion Democrats have in recent months indicated that this would be the case, arguing that pro-life legislation enacted nationwide would be a detriment to women, depriving them of their so-called “right” to choose to end the life of their unborn child.
Similar arguments have also been made in regard to recent laws that have resulted in a number of shuttered abortion clinics throughout the southern U.S.
The Guttmacher Institute report suggests a different reality, however.
With abortion rates decreasing nationwide, regionally and in almost every state, the researchers stated they were not only unable to conclude more restrictive pro-life legislation had caused the abortion rate to plummet, but they also couldn’t tell if there was any relationship between restrictions on abortion and a declining abortion rate.
“Restrictive policies do not appear to have been the primary driver of declining abortion rates,” the report says. “There was also no consistent relationship between increases or decreases in clinic numbers and changes in state abortion rates.”
The only consistent relationship here seems to be between Americans and a renewed sense of support for protecting the unborn.
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