U.S. Abortion Rates Hit All-Time Low

According to a new report released by the Guttmacher Institute, abortion rates in the U.S. have reached an all-time low. Not since Roe v. Wade in 1973 has the U.S. seen such few abortions.

An estimated 13.5 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 occurred in 2017, compared with 14.6 in 2014 and 16.9 in 2011, according to the Washington Post.

The Guttmacher, which started as a research extension of Planned Parenthood, points to several reasons for the decrease, including infertility, fewer pregnancies, wider use of contraceptives, and a decrease in sexual activity. Researchers made clear that they do not believe the recent wave of restrictive abortion laws have made any effect.

“Antiabortion activists are going to try to take credit for this decline, but the facts don’t support their argument,” Rachel Jones, the principal research scientist for Guttmacher and who supports abortion, said.

“Abortion restrictions were not the main driver of the decline in the U.S. abortion rate between 2011 and 2017,” the report said. “Rather, the decline in abortions appears to be related to declines in births and pregnancies overall … several states with new restrictions actually had abortion rate increases.”

The Institute also admitted that the data is a few years behind, so it would not include the most recent wave of state efforts to block pregnancy terminations.

But Catholic University of…