Abortions in the US Reach Lowest Point Since 1973

Abortions in the United States have reached their lowest point since 1973, the year the Supreme Court issued its ruling on Roe v. Wade.

This is according to a report issued by the Guttmacher Institute, a supporter of abortion rights.

The report found that the U.S. abortion rate fell from a peak in 1981 of 29.3 per 1,000 women between the ages of 15-44, to 16.9 per 1,000 in 2011 - the lowest since 1973's rate of 16.3 per 1,000.

Between 2008-2011, the abortion rate dropped 13 percent to resume a downward trend that had momentarily been put on hold from 2005-2008, the researchers noted.

"We are extremely happy that the abortion numbers are going down and continue to be declining over the years," Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, a prominent anti-abortion group, told The Washington Post.

Although the study did not investigate the reasons behind the decline, the authors point out that the study period predates the recent rise in state-level abortion restrictions, many of the provisions of which did not go into effect until late 2011.

"With abortion rates falling in almost all states, our study did not find evidence that the national decline in abortions during this period was the result of new state abortion restrictions," Rachel Jones, the lead author of the study, said in as statement. "We also found no evidence that the decline was linked to a drop in the number of abortion providers during this period."

Instead, the researchers note that the decline in abortions followed suit with an overall decline in pregnancy and birth rates in the United States.

"Contraceptive use improved during this period, as more women and couples were using highly effective long-acting reversible contraceptive methods, such as the IUD," Jones said. "Moreover, the recent recession led many women and couples to want to avoid or delay pregnancy and childbearing."

However, Jones and her colleagues argue that, going forward, any research on abortion rates should take into account recent legislation. According to the Institute, states enacted 205 abortion restrictions between 2011-2013, or more than all of those passed in the previous decade combined.

"As we monitor trends in abortion going forward, it is critical that we also monitor whether these state restrictions are preventing women who need abortion services from accessing them," said Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager at the Institute.