Abortion in Utah
Abortion in UTHA
As soon as abortion was legally available, Utah women took advantage.
The state's abortion law became effective in April 1974, and in the remaining months of that year nearly 1,200 pregnancies were legally terminated, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The number continued to rise, with some fluctuations, until 1989, when terminations peaked at 4,300 among Utah women. That same year, another 645 women from out of state came to Utah to seek terminations. Since then, the numbers have steadily dropped.
That mirrors the national trend. After abortions were legalized in the United States, the number of procedures increased rapidly, topping out in the 1980s before decreasing slowly, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2012 report.
Then came the biggest drop in a decade both in Utah and nationally. The CDC reported a 5 percent dip in abortions from 2008 to 2009 among 45 reporting states (excluding the state with the largest number of abortion providers, California). Abortions among Utah women also plunged, by nearly 7 percent.
News reports credited the reduction to the recession — women being careful to use birth control or the morning-after pill during tough economic times.
The 2009 drop was followed by a jump of 5 percent, which was then followed by the biggest decline yet: From 2010 to 2011, abortions among Utah women plummeted by nearly 11 percent, to a three-decade low of 3,081, according to the health department's annual tally.
But whatever had reduced the demand for abortions among Utah residents didn't affect women from nearby states who end their pregnancies here. Their numbers remained steady in 2011, keeping the total number of abortions in Utah at almost 3,780.
"I can't explain at all what affects those numbers," said Karrie Galloway, CEO of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, which advocates for reproductive rights. Planned Parenthood also provides abortions in Utah, along with three other
As soon as abortion was legally available, Utah women took advantage.
The state's abortion law became effective in April 1974, and in the remaining months of that year nearly 1,200 pregnancies were legally terminated, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The number continued to rise, with some fluctuations, until 1989, when terminations peaked at 4,300 among Utah women. That same year, another 645 women from out of state came to Utah to seek terminations. Since then, the numbers have steadily dropped.
That mirrors the national trend. After abortions were legalized in the United States, the number of procedures increased rapidly, topping out in the 1980s before decreasing slowly, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2012 report.
Then came the biggest drop in a decade both in Utah and nationally. The CDC reported a 5 percent dip in abortions from 2008 to 2009 among 45 reporting states (excluding the state with the largest number of abortion providers, California). Abortions among Utah women also plunged, by nearly 7 percent.
News reports credited the reduction to the recession — women being careful to use birth control or the morning-after pill during tough economic times.
The 2009 drop was followed by a jump of 5 percent, which was then followed by the biggest decline yet: From 2010 to 2011, abortions among Utah women plummeted by nearly 11 percent, to a three-decade low of 3,081, according to the health department's annual tally.
But whatever had reduced the demand for abortions among Utah residents didn't affect women from nearby states who end their pregnancies here. Their numbers remained steady in 2011, keeping the total number of abortions in Utah at almost 3,780.
"I can't explain at all what affects those numbers," said Karrie Galloway, CEO of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, which advocates for reproductive rights. Planned Parenthood also provides abortions in Utah, along with three other