"How many abortions are actually performed in the U.S.? Rates have declined for decades"
USA Today interviewed Dr. Linda Rosenstock about why the number of abortions in the United States have dropped by more than 60% since 1981.
Abortion rates in the United States have been falling steadily for decades, long before restrictive statutes began to make the procedure difficult to obtain in some areas. Experts say access to better birth control is one of the main reasons.
Abortions in the U.S. peaked in 1981, at a rate of 29.3 per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since then, the number has fallen by three-fifths. In 2019, the last year for which numbers are available, the rate was 11.4.
The decline has been seen in almost all states, regardless of whether abortion access was restricted, according to research by the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.
Faculty Referenced by this Article
Professor of Community Health Sciences & Health Policy and Management, and Associate Dean for Research
Nationally recognized health services researcher and sociomedical scientist with 25+ years' experience in effectiveness and implementation research.
Dr. Hankinson is a Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and of EHS, and Chair of the Molecular Toxicology IDP
Dr. Ron Andersen is the Wasserman Professor Emeritus in the UCLA Departments of Health Policy and Management.
Associate Professor for Industrial Hygiene and Environmental Health Sciences
EMPH Academic Program Director with expertise in healthcare marketing, finance, and reproductive health policy, teaching in the EMPH, MPH, MHA program
Dr. Michelle S. Keller is a health services researcher whose research focuses on the use and prescribing of high-risk medications.
Industrial Hygiene & Analytical Chemistry
