Washington D.C., Nov 27, 2012 / 04:01 am
A new government report estimates the number of U.S. abortions dropped five percent in 2009, drawing praise from pro-life advocates and researchers who say the drop could be due in part to an increase in the numbers of pro-life Americans.
"Overall I'm pleased to see the abortion numbers are coming down," Michael J. New, a political science professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, told CNA Nov. 26. "We've seen a pretty consistent downward trend in abortion since 1990. The numbers have declined almost every year. The numbers are down almost 25 percent overall since the early nineties. Overall, that's a good thing."
New said it is "very hard to say" what caused the short-term decline. He suggested a combination of more pro-life laws, the lack of abortion clinics in many parts of the country, and the change of "hearts and minds" on abortion.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Nov. 21 released a report based on figures from 43 states and two cities. Although there are an estimated 1 million abortions in the U.S. each year, the report counted about 785,000 in 2009. The figures do not include statistics from California, which has the most abortion providers in the country.