Nation’s Abortion Rate Is Lowest in Two Decades

The nation’s abortion rate has reached a two-decade low, largely because of more effective contraceptive methods, including new techniques such as implants and injections, according to a study.

But the rate exceeded that of many other developed Western countries, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that receives some funding from Planned Parenthood.

The decline in the U.S. rate was accompanied by a drop in the number of abortion providers, some of whom may have been frightened by violence, according to the study.

“When providers face harassment or violence from anti-abortion groups, and abortion is a very small part of their revenue, it may not be worth doing it,” said Stanley Henshaw, author of the analysis published in the November/December issue of the institute’s journal Family Planning Perspectives.

The U.S. abortion rate in 1995 and 1996 among women ages 15-44 was 23 per 1,000, the lowest since 1975, when it was 22 per 1,000, according to the study.

In its own survey, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported the rate for 1995 and 1996 was 20 per 1,000, also the lowest it has found in two decades.

Still, the U.S. rate was higher than in many other Western countries, according to the Guttmacher study. It said the rate in Sweden in 1995 was 18 per 1,000; Canada, 16; Wales and England, 15; and The Netherlands, 6.

Henshaw said much of the drop in the U.S. figures reflects more effective contraceptive methods that are being used by an increasing number of teenagers. In 1995, he said, 10% of contraceptive users ages 15-19 were using a birth-control injection system of synthetic hormones that provides protection for months, and 3% used a hormone-release device implanted in the arm. The implant’s effectiveness can last years.

These methods weren’t available when the institute conducted its last such survey in 1992.

The study was based on a survey of abortion providers. The researchers attempted to contact every abortion provider in the United States, and Henshaw said he was able to obtain data for about 95% of the facilities.

During the four years through 1996, the number of U.S. facilities providing abortions dropped from 2,380 to 2,042, a decline of 14%. For last year, with data still incomplete, that trend appears to have continued, according to the study.

The Guttmacher Institute, a not-for-profit organization based in New York and Washington, focuses on reproductive health research, policy analysis and education.