Abortion rates decline across the U.S.

Abortions have declined by 12 percent since 2010 across the country, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from state health departments. Several states with the most aggressive new anti-abortion laws, including Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma, had drops of around 15 percent — but so did many more liberal states with open access to abortions. A major contributing factor was a drop in teen pregnancy, which fell in 2010 to the lowest level in decades.

In two states, though, abortions actually increased by significant amounts: Michigan, which saw an 18.5 percent rise, and Louisiana, where abortions rose 12 percent since 2010. In both states, an influx of women from more restrictive neighboring states was seen as a big factor in the increases. The sharpest decrease in abortions, percentage-wise, was Hawaii, which saw a 30 percent drop in 2010.

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