[1]ATLANTA (BP)–After five years of decline, the Centers for Disease Control announced Dec. 4 the U.S. abortion rate appeared to edge up in 1996.
While national statistics were not yet available for 1996, preliminary reports from state and local health departments suggest a five-year downward trend in the abortion rate has reversed, according to an article in the Dec. 5 New York Times.
The number of abortions in New York City jumped to 97,800 last year, up from 95,205 in 1995, The Times reported. In Florida, an 8.1 percent increase from 1995 was reported; in Texas, the increase was 4.7 percent; in Illinois, the numbers grew from 52,300 in 1995 to 53,613.
The latest figures come on the heels of 1995 CDCC statistics that revealed continuing declines in the number of reported abortions since 1990.
The CDCC reported just over 1.2 million abortions being performed in 1995, a drop of 4.5 percent from 1994 and a decline of 15 percent from a peak in 1990, and the lowest rate since 1975, The Times said. An estimated 35 million abortions have been performed since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion.
The CDCC and others have speculated that increased contraceptive use, “decreased access” to abortion services and an aging population contributed to the decline.