Introduction: Why have abortion numbers been falling?
In the past decade or so, those who promote abortion have taken increasingly extreme positions. In some states, legislators have so weakened abortion laws that abortionists can kill unborn children right up until birth, and, in some states, let newborns die by neglect. From this, you might think that abortion numbers were at their highest ever. Surprisingly, perhaps, the reverse is the case: the ratios of abortions to births in the last few years are lower than they were in 1973, the year of the infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.
Pregnancy rates have been falling for years, so abortion rates per 1,000 women would fall in any case. We use the ratios of abortions to births to see what proportion of pregnant women have chosen life.
This is the best way we have to measure demand for abortion: if those ratios fell, it means fewer pregnant women chose abortion. The good news is that, despite political and legal polarization, these ratios began to fall in the mid-1980s. More and more pregnant women simply turned down the offer of abortion.
Politics has distorted our perception of reality, however. We assume that, if we could change the laws, we could abolish abortion. With this focus on “abortion rights,” on the one hand, or the right to life, on the other, we are looking only at the supply side of the supply-and-demand relationship. When we ask the question, What role do the laws play in the dropping ratios? or, How does the “availability” of abortion affect the numbers? we are asking supply-side questions. Our pre-occupation with the laws and their effects blinds us to questions about the demand for abortion.
On the demand side, abortion advocates will say that it is contraception that has reduced demand for abortion. Planned Parenthood and its supporters make this claim regularly. We are told that increased use of contraception, and especially of long-acting, reversible contraception, has reduced abortion numbers, or will reduce them.
On the pro-life side, some will say that constant pro-life education and advocacy has affected demand for abortion, and that this is reflected in the falling abortion ratios.
In what follows, we will look at all of the plausible reasons for the drop in abortion ratios, and conclude with the one that we think is the most important: the increase in pregnancy help across America.
This is the best way we have to measure demand for abortion: if those ratios fell, it means fewer pregnant women chose abortion. The good news is that, despite political and legal polarization, these ratios began to fall in the mid-1980s. More and more pregnant women simply turned down the offer of abortion.
Politics has distorted our perception of reality, however. We assume that, if we could change the laws, we could abolish abortion. With this focus on “abortion rights,” on the one hand, or the right to life, on the other, we are looking only at the supply side of the supply-and-demand relationship. When we ask the question, What role do the laws play in the dropping ratios? or, How does the “availability” of abortion affect the numbers? we are asking supply-side questions. Our pre-occupation with the laws and their effects blinds us to questions about the demand for abortion.
On the demand side, abortion advocates will say that it is contraception that has reduced demand for abortion. Planned Parenthood and its supporters make this claim regularly. We are told that increased use of contraception, and especially of long-acting, reversible contraception, has reduced abortion numbers, or will reduce them.
On the pro-life side, some will say that constant pro-life education and advocacy has affected demand for abortion, and that this is reflected in the falling abortion ratios.
In what follows, we will look at all of the plausible reasons for the drop in abortion ratios, and conclude with the one that we think is the most important: the increase in pregnancy help across America.