Abortion Rate Reaches 20-Year Low

The nation’s abortion rate has dropped to its lowest level in nearly two decades, the government reported Friday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 21 of every 1,000 women 15 to 44 had an abortion in 1994 - the smallest number since 1976.

About 1.2 million abortions were performed in 1994, down from 1.3 million the year before and the fourth straight decline. In 1976, 988,267 abortions were performed.

While the CDC gave no detailed explanation for the drop, other organizations cited harassment by demonstrators; efforts by anti-abortion activists to inform women of alternatives to abortion; a lack of abortion services, particularly in rural areas; and better access to birth control, resulting in fewer pregnancies.

The CDC began tracking abortions in 1972. Abortion was legalized nationwide in 1973.

The peak year for abortion was 1990, when there were 1.4 million. The profile of women who had an abortion in 1994 hasn’t differed from previous years: most were white, single and under 25.

The actual number of women of reproductive age has increased 12 percent since 1980, but more women are 35 to 44 years old and consequently are less fertile.

There were 321 abortions for every 1,000 live births in 1994, the lowest level since 1976, when there were 312 abortions per 1,000 live births, the CDC said.

Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said 84 percent of the nation’s counties have no doctor who performs abortion.

“Hate and harassment clearly inhibit women from access to abortion. It is more difficult to get an abortion now than it was five years ago,” she said.

Better access to birth control also may be a factor, she said.

“Reproductive health care providers have clearly made contraception readily available to women of all ages,” Feldt said.

Laura Echevarria, a spokeswoman for the National Right to Life Committee, said the abortion rate probably is dropping because of education efforts by her group and others.

“We point them in the direction of a church or a pregnancy crisis center, and tell them that there are other alternatives besides abortion.”