Abortion Rate At A Historic Low

Excellent news. Click here for an article at Daily Kos, by lizbirge, entitled "Obamacare and prochoice policies help reduce abortion rate to pre-Roe levels; lowest in 45 years."

I believe in a woman's right to choose, and I believe abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.

Under President George H.W. Bush, the abortion rate dropped from 24/1000 women to 23/1000, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control.

Under President Bill Clinton the rate dropped from 23/1000 to 16/1000. There was no change in the rate under President George W. Bush. But under President Barack Obama, the figure dropped from 16/1000 to 12.5/10000, the lowest figure in 45 years.

The article goes on to say:

A big part of what has driven the numbers down is the implementation of the Affordable Care Act with its mandate that insurance companies must cover contraception without co-pays. That section of the act took affect in January 2013, the last year for which figures are available.

The article cites the CDC report as suggesting other reasons why abortion rates have fallen sharply: expanded insurance coverage of contraception, increasing use of long-acting methods like IUDs and implants, and a decrease in unintended pregnancies.