The rising abortion rate: 3 theories
When the recession took hold, the U.S. abortion rate ticked higher for the first time in 20 years. Why?
For the first time in two decades, the U.S. abortion rate didn't fall in 2008. It actually rose slightly, according to the Guttmacher Institute's latest survey of abortion providers. And the total number of abortions performed also ticked up slightly, to 1.212 million in 2008 from 1.206 million in 2005, the year of Guttmacher's last survey. Abortions had been steadily declining, so why have the numbers leveled off now? Here, three theories:
Blame the recession
The reason for this "slight uptick" in the abortion rate is "fairly straightforward," says Michael J. New in National Review. It's the weak economy. According to several experts, the worst recession since the 1930s caused many women to make "the painful economic calculus to skip a few routine bills to cover a $400 to $600 abortion rather than face supporting another child," says Rob Stein in The Washington Post. That's especially true for poor women, "who in better economic times might have decided to carry to term, but since they or their partner lost their job, decided they couldn't," says Rachel Jones, the lead author of the Guttmacher study.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
People had less money to spend on contraception
The recession is affecting the abortion rate in another way, too, says Planned Parenthood. It makes it harder for women to buy birth control pills and other contraception. "While many factors contribute to the abortion rate in the United States, this country's very high rate of unintended pregnancy is the most important one of all," the group said. So to resume the decline in abortions, "the first step we can take as a nation is to increase access to affordable contraception."
The "abortion pill" has made abortion more palatable
About 17 percent of the abortions (199,000) in 2008 were via medication, mostly mifepristone (previously known as RU-486), a 24 percent jump from 2005. Guttmacher study author Jones says that trend is good news, since medication abortion is only administered early in pregnancies, when abortion is safest. But anti-abortion groups say the "abortion drug," approved in 2000, is being used to "eliminate the surgical implications that repel many women," says Dave Bohon in The New American. Women didn't like the painful, "gross" nature of abortion, says Randall O'Bannon of National Right to Life. "So the abortion industry comes along and says, 'Now it's just a matter of popping a pill.'"
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Duchess of Gloucester: the hard-working royal you've never heard of
Under The Radar Outer royal 'never expected' to do duties but has stepped up to the plate
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Are 'judge shopping' rules a blow to Republicans?
Today's Big Question How the abortion pill case got to the Supreme Court
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Climate change is driving Indian women to choose sterilization
under the radar Faced with losing their jobs, they are making a life-altering decision
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published