Women in Utah are less inclined to have an abortion, the latest statistics revealed by state authorities suggest. Utah’s abortion rate has dropped to the lowermost level ever registered since 1977. Last year, the figures showed only 4.6 abortions in every 1,000 women.
The aggregate number of women who chose to have an abortion procedure in 2013 has likewise dropped to the smallest figure since 1977. As a result, even if the number of women able to develop pregnancies has doubled over time, only 2,893 ladies decided to end their pregnancy medically.Various causes are said to be behind the low abortion rate and overall abortion figures in Utah.
The Guttmacher Institute which archives the figures across the country had also observed that the general rate in the U.S. reached a historic low of 16.9 in 2011, the lowest after 1977.
The president of National Right to Life, Carol Tobias says that one of the explanations behind this decrease is the prohibitive abortionlegislation. In Utah, one of the laws demands that women wait 72 hours before having the fetus surgically removed .
In a statement for the Salt Lake Tribune she stated that the legislative endeavors of the right to-life campaigns, and fundamentally, the ensuing national level debate as well as instructive campaigns around pro- life enactments played an important part in decreasing abortion rates.
Karrie Galloway, chief of Planned Parenthood of Utah, however begs to differ and considers that the most important factors that contributed to the fall were expanded use of contraceptives and increased family planning.
She said the conclusion of pro-life activists if difficult to prove while the data she has clearly shows that the tools to avoid an unwanted pregnancy like family planning access and contraception strategies are the main elements leading to lower abortion rates.
State’s Maternal and Infant Health Program department representatives said that there is actually no method of really proving that any current or new laws had any impact on the new trend or the size of that impact. They also allege that some of the ladies might have decided to forestall pregnancies due to the economic pressure brought by the recession.
The U.S. abortion rates have always been higher than those in Utah. However the state shows huge contrasts in abortion figures. They run from 100 for each 1,000 infants born in Salt Lake County to 22.9 in Utah County. The last stands out as one of the counties with the largest Mormon population while the first has the lowest number of Mormons in the state, as indicated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The congregation only allows abortion in extreme cases like rape, incest or severe health risks for mothers.
Image Source: The Telegraph
