US News

Abortion rate falls to 40-year low in US

The US abortion rate declined to its lowest level since 1973, and the number of abortions fell by 13 percent between 2008 and 2011, according to the latest national survey of abortion providers conducted by a prominent research institute.

The Guttmacher Institute, which supports legal access to abortion, says in a report being issued Monday that there were about 1.06 million abortions in 2011, down from about 1.2 million in 2008.

Guttmacher’s figures are of interest on both sides of the abortion debate because they are more up-to-date and in some ways more comprehensive than abortion statistics compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the report, the abortion rate dropped to 16.9 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 in 2011, well below the peak of 29.3 in 1981 and the lowest since a rate of 16.3 in 1973.

The lead author, Rachel Jones, said there appeared to be no link to a decline in the number of abortion providers.

The drop in abortions was likely linked to a steep national decline in overall pregnancy and birth rates, she said.