Abortion in the News

The papers are all abuzz with the recently-released study showing that abortion is down in the United States - at the lowest rate since abortion was Constitutionally protected.  Since 1990, surgical abortions are down 25%.  The decline in abortion could be positive (more access to contraception, fewer unplanned pregnancies) or negative (less access to abortion, less access to contraceptives) and part of it could be a substitute to RU-486 - we really don't know what's causing the decline.  Read the full report (.pdf).

However, we do know that the US has higher fertility rates than other Western countries, due to "a decline in contraceptive use, a drop in access to abortion, poor education and poverty." 

In other countries, the stigma of abortions, even legal ones, has led to a rise in illegal abortions, which, as you all know, are not safe.  Both medical staff and patients feel this societal sting, and don't want to take part in it.  "It is poor women who cannot countenance another mouth to feed."  The women who have the lowest access to medical care and education are the ones hardest hit by the criminalization of abortion.