Abortions declining in nearly every state

Associated Press

Abortions have declined in states where new laws make it harder to have them – but they’ve also waned in states where abortion rights are protected, an Associated Press survey finds. Nearly everywhere, in red states and blue, abortions are down since 2010.

Explanations vary. Abortion-rights advocates attribute it to expanded access to effective contraceptives and a drop in unintended pregnancies. Some foes of abortion say there has been a shift in societal attitudes, with more women choosing to carry their pregnancies to term.

Several of the states that have been most aggressive in passing anti-abortion laws – including Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma – have seen their abortion numbers drop by more than 15 percent since 2010. But more liberal states such as New York, Washington and Oregon also had declines of that magnitude, even as they maintained unrestricted access to abortion.

Nationwide, the AP survey showed a decrease in abortions of about 12 percent since 2010.

One major factor has been a decline in the teen-pregnancy rate, which in 2010 reached its lowest level in decades. There’s been no official update since then, but the teen-birth rate has continued to drop, which experts say signals a similar trend for teen pregnancies.

The AP obtained the most-recent abortion numbers from the health departments of all 45 states that compile such data on a comprehensive basis. With one exception, the data was from either 2013 or 2014 – providing a unique nationwide gauge of abortion trends during a wave of anti-abortion laws that gathered strength starting in 2011.

Though some of the new laws have been blocked by lawsuits, most have taken effect, contributing to closure of about 70 abortion clinics in a dozen states since 2010. States with the most closures, according to state officials and advocacy groups, include Texas with 27, Michigan and Arizona with about 12, and Ohio with at least four. Two clinics closed in Virginia.

The only states with significant increases in abortions since 2010 are Republican-led Louisiana and Michigan, which have passed laws intended to restrict abortion. In Louisiana, abortions increased 12 percent between 2010 and 2014.

In both Louisiana and in Michigan, where abortions rose by 18.5 percent, the increases were due in part to women coming from other states where new restrictions and clinic closures have sharply limited abortion access. Anti-abortion groups said many Ohio women were going to Michigan and many Texas women to Louisiana.