In the United States, the abortion rate dropped by 5% in 2009. That marked the biggest drop for one year since 2000, as the number of teenage pregnancies fell, said health officials.
In 2009, over 784,500 abortions took place in the U.S. with the ratio for abortions at 227 for every 1,000 births, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control based in Atlanta. The latest report included New York City and the District of Columbia, but excluded seven states, which did not provide sufficient data.
The fall in the number of abortions occurred at the same time that the birth rate in the U.S. was dropping for three consecutive years. In 2010, the rates dropped to its lowest since 1987. Pregnancies amongst adolescents plunged and reflected the lowest teen birth rate ever during 2010. That resulted in a steeper decline in abortions for teens, said the CDC report.
The authors of the report wrote that as unintended pregnancies precede close to all abortions, efforts made to reduce the rates of abortion need to be focused on helping all women avoid unintended pregnancies.
The data also indicated that more women are having abortions early in the period of gestation, with most of the terminations taking place prior to the eighth week of gestation. That is due to the risk of complications being the lowest said the authors.
