U.S. women less likely to have abortions:rate for women ages 20-24 drops 32 percent

According to Fox News, the National Center for Health Statistics has released a new report about pregnancy and U.S. women. The report reveals an abortion rate that dropped significantly from 1990-2008, the most recent years measured. Called “Estimated Pregnancy Rates and Rates of Pregnancy Outcomes for the United States, 1990-2008,” the report measures the rates of pregnancy, abortion, and miscarriage in various age groups of women. From Fox News:

The report said that overall for all age groups in 2008, 65 percent of pregnancies ended in a live birth in 2008, 18 percent in an abortion and 17 percent in fetal loss. In 1990, 61 percent of pregnancies ended in a live birth and 24 percent were aborted, with 15 percent resulting in fetal loss.

While the report demonstrates that the abortion rate has dropped six percent among U.S. women overall (from 24 percent to 18 percent), the more telling statistic is that younger women are choosing life more often and rejecting abortion. Among women ages 20-24, the abortion rate dropped a hefty 32 percent.

Fox News reported that even a Guttmacher study demonstrated evidence of teen women rejecting abortion in droves:

A report by the Guttmacher Institute released in February, based on government statistics, showed the teen abortion rate was down 59 percent in 2008 compared with 1988. [Emphasis mine.]

It should be heartening to all who value life to realize that the tide is indeed turning. When our youth who grew up under abortion reject abortion themselves, there is hope. Though some of our generation’s mothers celebrated the choice of abortion, we, in large numbers, will learn from their mistakes and celebrate the choice of life. It is not that we value “choice” any less. Instead, we have seen that, when it comes to an innocent human being, there is only one choice to be made: the choice for life. Not all choices are created equal.

As a young woman who falls within this age range – I’m 24 and had my daughter at 23 – I rejoice at my fellow women’s rejection of abortion. Abortion is not healthy for us. It is death to our children and pain, loss, and cruelty to us. Abortion is not freedom, but enslavement. Life and truth bring the freedom we seek, and I will continue to proclaim this to my generation and to those who come after me.

Perhaps one reason the tide is turning is because of women and men who have stepped out of their comfort zones and have chosen to be there for our youth. They have given sacrificially and used their hearts and their hands to demonstrate that every life is worth saving. Please read their stories and the stories of the lives they have helped to save. Then, consider what you can do…

Amy Ford, Salina Duffy, and Embrace Grace (Look for more of their stories on Live Action News.)

Leading a Generation by Example: Matt and Sarah Hammit

Christa March and Standing With Teen Moms

Annette Dotterer and Colorado Family Life Center: Teaching Youth How to Parent

John Jansen and the Voice of a New Generation

Eric Whittington and Rock for Life

Kristan Hawkins and Students for Life of America

Watch this story, from a girl who had her baby while she was a teenager. She demonstrates the strength of our young women to choose life. She writes:

I want to start by saying that I strongly believed in pro-choice before the birth of my son. Not until I held him for the first time, was it even possible for me to understand what pro-choice really meant.

My son deserved to live, from the very moment of conception, and the reason why I’m so passionate about the subject is, not only did several people close to me encourage abortion, but it was also a very real consideration for myself.