Earlier this month the Guttmacher Institute released the latest abortion figures (for 2011), which revealed that the number of abortions in this country have once again began to decline despite the continued growth in population. In 2011, there were 1.06 million abortions – a 13% decline from 2008. The 2011 abortion rate also declined 13% from 2008, with 16.9 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44. Compare this to the 1981 peak of 29.3 abortions per 1,000 women.
There has also been a big shift in the way women procure abortions. In 2008, 17% of all abortions were performed via chemicals (such as RU-486). As of 2011, that number increased to 23%.
There are also fewer abortion providers (4% fewer than 2008) and abortion clinics (1% fewer than 2008).
See Abortion Incidence and Service Availability in the United States, 2011 for details.
Thinking to Believe 
February 19, 2014 at 5:03 am
That’s just over 2 abortions every minute!! (Which was 2 abortions a minute too many!) but at least its coming down. Hopefully the trend is continuing and 2014 will have even less.
Do you think this has to do with the pro-life movement?
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February 19, 2014 at 3:08 pm
The report is already three years old…But while it sounds like good news, 1.1 million is more than the populations of many countries:
Timor-Leste-1,066,409; Djibouti-873,000; Cyprus-865,878; Fiji-858,038; Réunion (France)-840,974; Guyana-784,894; Comoros-743,798; Bhutan-744,260; Montenegro-620,029; Macau (China) 598,200; Solomon Islands
581,344, Western Sahara-567,000; Luxembourg-537,000; Suriname-
534,189; Cape Verde-491,800; Malta-416,055; Guadeloupe (France)-405,739 January 1, 2013; Martinique (France)-392,291; Brunei-393,160; Bahamas-351,461; Belize-349,728; Iceland-325,620; Maldives-317,280; Northern Cyprus-294,906; Barbados-285,000; French Polynesia (France)-
268,270; Vanuatu-264,652; New Caledonia (France)
258,958; French Guiana (France)-237,549; Mayotte (France)-212,645; Samoa-187,820; São Tomé and Príncipe-187,356; Saint Lucia-180,000; Guam (USA)-159,358; Curaçao (Netherlands)-150,563; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines-109,000; Kiribati-106,461; United States Virgin Islands (USA)-106,405 ; Grenada-103,328; Tonga-103,036 November 30, 2011; Aruba (Netherlands)-101,484; Bermuda (UK)-64,237; Greenland- (Denmark)-56,483; Marshall Islands-56,086; American Samoa (USA)
55,519; Cayman Islands (UK)
55,456
Saint Kitts and Nevis
54,000
Northern Mariana Islands (USA)
53,883
Faroe Islands (Denmark)
48,244
Sint Maarten (Netherlands)
37,429
Saint Martin (France)
36,979
Liechtenstein
36,942
Monaco
36,136
San Marino
33,540
Turks and Caicos Islands (UK)
31,458
Gibraltar (UK)
30,001 December 31, 2012 0.00042% Annual official estimate
British Virgin Islands (UK)
29,537
Åland Islands (Finland)
28,502
Caribbean Netherlands (Netherlands)
23,296
Palau
20,901
Cook Islands (NZ)
14,974
Anguilla (UK)
13,452
Wallis and Futuna (France)
13,135 July 1, 2013 0.00018% Annual official estimate
Tuvalu
11,323 July 1, 2013 0.00016% Annual official estimate
Nauru
9,945
Saint Barthélemy (France)
8,938
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France)
6,081
Montserrat (UK)
4,922
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (UK)
4,000 J
Svalbard and Jan Mayen (Norway)
2,655
Falkland Islands (UK)
2,563
Norfolk Island (Australia)
2,302
Christmas Island (Australia)
2,072
Niue (NZ)
1,613
Tokelau (NZ)
1,411
Vatican City
839
Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia)
596
Pitcairn Islands (UK)
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February 19, 2014 at 3:16 pm
Scott,
In their report, they speculate that it’s tied to fewer pregnancies overall (the number of births also decreased), increased usage of “error-proof” contraception devices such as IUDs, etc. They never consider the effect of the pro-life movement. I do know that more and more people have been identifying as pro-life over the last 5 years or so, particularly among younger age groups. I would think that this must have some effect on the abortion rate.
Jason
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February 19, 2014 at 3:17 pm
SonofMan,
That data is for 2011, but the report is brand new. It just takes a long time to collect, analyze, and report on the data.
It’s a sad testament that we kill more babies than there are people in entire countries. And to think that the U.S’s abortion rate is much lower than in other countries!
Jason
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