The Good and Bad News About Abortion in the U.S.

by Gretchen Borchelt, Senior Counsel
National Women’s Law Center

Today, the Guttmacher Institute released a report on abortion in the U.S. The report contains both good news and not-so-good news about abortion.

Good news: Looking at data from 2005, the report says that the U.S. abortion rate is at its lowest since 1974. This could be due in part to better contraceptive use and lower levels of unintended pregnancy. 

Bad news: The lower abortion rate also could be due to women not being able to access abortion, because of restrictions in the states where they live, distance to a provider, limits on when a provider will perform abortions, and cost.

Good news: Access to early medical abortion has made a difference in women’s lives. It likely has increased access to abortion, but hasn’t increased the number of abortions.

Bad news: Despite an increase in the number of physicians providing medical abortion, the number of abortion providers overall continues to decline. There are 2 percent fewer abortion providers than in the year 2000. If not for medical abortion, we would have lost even more providers. 

So what can we learn from this study?

• We must do more to give women the tools they need to prevent unintended pregnancies. Although the abortion rate is decreasing, slightly more than one in five pregnancies ends in abortion. This means unintended pregnancy is still far too common in the U.S. (just ask Jamie Lynn Spears). We must ensure that women have what they need to make responsible decisions for themselves and their families.
• Your right to abortion should not depend on where you live. According to the report, 87 percent of counties do not have an abortion provider, and 34 percent of women of childbearing age live in these counties. Add in state restrictions, and it’s easy to see that the right to abortion depends on geography.
• We need to remove barriers to abortion. From onerous regulations on abortion providers, to restricting abortion funding for low-income women, to other kinds of burdensome requirements, we need to make sure the right to decide whether to have an abortion is truly meaningful for all women.