Looking beyond the decline in abortions

Editorial by Burlington Times-News, June 8, 2015.

People will certainly try, but it would be difficult to read much politically into news that abortions are in decline nationwide and sharply in North Carolina. After all, fewer abortions are being reported in states where new laws have made it more difficult to have them and in states where abortion rights are protected. The number of abortions is going down in red states, blue states and all the in-between states.

So let’s all agree that a decline in the number of abortions is good news, very good news. As pro-choice President Bill Clinton famously said in 1996, abortion should not only be safe and legal, but rare. While we concur on all three, we’re in particular agreement on the last one.

The source for the information is The Associated Press, which gathered the numbers from health departments in the 45 states that compile such data. Some large states were missing. California and New Jersey, for example. And some small ones, New Hampshire and Wyoming. The AP examined reports dating to 2010.

Nationwide, the AP found a decrease in abortions of about 12 percent since 2010. Different groups on either side of the spectrum cited a variety of reasons for the shift. Some are tangible with a direct correlation to statistics. One is a drop in the teen pregnancy rate and teen birth rate. That makes sense. Unintended pregnancies are down, and pro-choice advocates say education and access to contraceptives are making an impact.

Right-to-life groups believe the decline is linked to a societal change in attitudes by women who are carrying pregnancies to term in greater numbers.

Either way, what does seem clear is that public policy battles waged in state houses and governor’s mansions play a relatively minor role. According to the AP, states passing anti-abortion laws have seen abortion numbers drop by 15 percent or more. But liberal states with unrestricted access to abortions report the same thing. Five of the six states with the biggest declines — Hawaii at 30 percent, New Mexico at 24 percent, Nevada and Rhode Island at 22 percent, Connecticut at 21 percent — have passed no recent laws to restrict abortion clinics or providers.

North Carolina, which ranked second behind Hawaii with a decline of 26 percent, had more restrictive abortion standards — including a 72-hour waiting period — approved by the General Assembly just last week; the measure awaits the signature of Gov. Pat McCrory, who said he intends to sign the bill. The measure also requires doctors to provide information to state regulators about certain second-trimester abortions, and clarifies inspections for clinics where abortions are performed.

Apparently North Carolina’s abortion rate was well in decline before this action by the General Assembly.

While the exact reasons for the welcome downturn in abortions remain largely unknown, there does seem to be a lack of direct impact by politics or politicians. More restrictive laws may not be the route to fewer abortions when better education and affordable and effective contraception are available.

That seems like a better alternative.

http://www.thetimesnews.com/opinion/our-opinion/looking-beyond-the-decline-in-abortions-1.488657