The U.S. abortion rate has fallen to its lowest level in two decades, according to federal health officials in Atlanta. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the number of legal abortions among women aged 15-44 fell to 21 per 1,000 in 1994, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
This is the lowest rate recorded since 1976.
A total of 1,267,415 legal abortions were reported in 1994, a drop of 4.7 percent from 1993. There were 321 abortions for every 1,000 live births in 1994. About 54 percent of legal abortions performed in 1994 took place during the first eight weeks of pregnancy; 88 percent took place during the first trimester.
The CDC speculated that the decline could be due to changes in attitudes toward abortion, reduced access to abortion, or fewer unintended pregnancies.
— E.P. News
