US women are having abortions at the lowest rate on record since Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion, according to a new report. In fact, contrary to popular opinion, the abortion rate has been steadily declining for decades. [...]
The abortion ratio — the proportion of abortions to live births — is also down to historic lows. In 1995, the abortion ratio was about 26 abortions for every 100 live births; in 2014, it was 18.8.
The abortion rate and the abortion ratio tell us different things. The abortion rate is a bigger-picture snapshot of how common abortion is among women every year, while the abortion ratio gives us a sense of how many women who get pregnant decide to stay pregnant. [...]
Abortion rates have been falling for three decades in the developed world, as Vox’s Sarah Kliff has explained. But in developing African, Asian, and Latin American countries, rates have either held steady or increased since the 1990s. That’s because women in developed countries, such as in Europe and North America, have much better access to higher-quality methods of birth control, and live in a culture that treats contraception as less of a taboo. [...]
To abortion rights supporters and most medical providers, lower abortion rates are good because they mean that women are having fewer unintended pregnancies. In this view, abortion isn’t inherently wrong, nor is it possible to get rid of entirely — even the best birth control methods fail sometimes, and health complications or fetal abnormalities mean that not every pregnancy can be carried to term. But it’s best for women if they can control their fertility from the outset with access to reliable, affordable birth control.
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