Abortion rates lowest in U.S. since landmark court case

Abortion rates among women in the United States have reached their lowest levels since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision and Massachusetts has led the way, according a recent study released by the Alan Guttmacher Institute.

Massachusetts showed the most dramatic decrease in the country, dropping 26 percent from 1996 to 2000, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts spokeswoman Sherry Moskowitz said, citing the study.

Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of the 1973 decision. Though America’s abortion rate has dropped steadily since the mid-1970s, according to the survey, this large Massachusetts drop compares to the 5 percent nationwide decline in a span of four years.

Approximately one-third of women who received abortions in Massachusetts in 2000 were college age, or between 20 and 24 years old, Moskowitz said. She said the Planned Parenthood League credits the decline to the fact that women are taking more preventative measures to avoid pregnancy.

Moskowitz stressed the important role that education about contraceptive options, especially among college students, has played in the abortion decline. When Planned Parenthood backed an emergency contraceptive marketing campaign, the focus was on college students, she said.

“We geared that [campaign] toward college age students,” she said. “Overall, among the decline in abortions in Massachusetts, we can attribute some of that to increased awareness and education.”

The same emergency contraceptives that Planned Parenthood advocated were responsible for 11 percent of the decline in abortion rates in 2000, according to a late 2002 news release by the Alan Guttmacher Institute.

“In 2000 alone, AGI estimates EC averted as many as 51,000 abortions,” the release says.

Moskowitz recognized other factors that also could have contributed to the abortion decline. For example, the facts that the number of abortion providers has decreased and the prices of surgical abortions has increased could have played a role in the decrease, she said.

Many cases of harassment, including seven murders in the last 30 years have scared providers as well, Moskowitz said.

“Planned Parenthood is taking the stance that part of the decline is due to an increase in contraception,” she said.

Planned Parenthood offers contraceptives, as well as HIV tests, pap smears, pregnancy tests, emergency contraception and surgical and medical abortion, according to Moskowitz. She said the most popular of these options is the birth control pill, especially among college women. Prices for these services can vary depending on the economic resources of the patient, she said.

“The prices depend, especially for college students,” Moskowitz said. “We would never turn someone away.”

Contraception is becoming more financially realistic for low-income patients or those on a college budget, Moskowitz said. She said birth control’s affordability is due to the Contraception Coverage Equity Bill, which has only been functional since Jan. 1, 2003. The bill makes it so that any private insurance company that covers prescription drugs must also cover birth control, Moskowitz said.

Boston University Student Health Services officials refused to say whether or not they had observed an increase in campus demand for contraceptives or a decrease in abortion inquiries. But college-age women consistently make up a significant portion of the declines in abortion numbers, according to the study.