Declining national abortion rates credited to increased contraceptive access

Abortion rates are declining across the country, and N.C. activists — both pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion — credit the decrease to increased access to contraceptives.

The abortion rate in the United States is at its lowest point since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalized abortion in 1973, according to a study published by the Guttmacher Institute last week.

According to the study, the abortion rate decreased 13 percent between 2008 and 2011. The number of abortion providers only declined 4 percent.

The Guttmacher Institute has conducted the study 16 times since the 1970s by collecting data from facilities that provide abortions, said Jenna Jerman, co-author of the study.

She said the decreased abortion and birth rate suggests that fewer women are getting pregnant.

“It is likely because of the increased use of contraceptives and better birth control methods like IUDs,” she said.

Paige Johnson, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, said improved access to health care allows women to acquire effective, long-term birth control.

“Long-acting contraceptives are often cost-preventive, so subsidizing and having insurance cover them is important so that women can choose the best birth control,” she said.

In 2011, N.C. legislation added more restrictions to obtaining an abortion, including mandatory state-directed counseling and a 24-hour waiting period.

This summer, the legislature mandated that a licensed physician be present when a woman gets an abortion and allowed doctors and nurses the right to refuse to perform an abortion.

The N.C. General Assembly also tasked the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to come up with a list of more stringent restrictions for abortion clinics. That list has not yet been released.

Barbara Holt, president of N.C. Right to Life, said she hopes the N.C. General Assembly passes more anti-abortion rights provisions.

“I’m glad to see abortion rates are declining but sad to know that there are so many unborn children still dying,” she said.

Johnson said she does not think these measures will drastically impact the abortion rate in the state.

“Women give considerable thought to this deeply personal decision,” she said. “What politicians in North Carolina have done is simply create barriers and hoops that women have to jump through.”

Emily Ascik, co-president of Carolina Students for Life, said she has found that college students are increasingly anti-abortion rights.

“Our generation is missing people who would have been here (if abortion had not been legalized), and I think people are feeling that.”

state@dailytarheel.com