ABORTION NEWS | Number of Abortions in Michigan Decreased in 2007, State Health Officials Say
[May 27, 2008]

Michigan health officials on Thursday announced that the number of abortions in the state had declined in 2007 to the lowest number on record, the Detroit News reports. According to the new data, there were 24,683 abortions in 2007 -- 200 abortions for every 1,000 live births in the state in 2007, compared with 350 abortions for every 1,000 live births in 1987.

James McCurtis, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Community Health, said many factors contributed to the decline, including the "continuous push to expand access to family planning in low-income areas" in the state. "We're pushing the message of avoiding unintended pregnancies as a means of reducing abortions," McCurtis said, adding that the state has launched a successful campaign to reduce teenage pregnancies. Health department records show that during the past 10 years, there has been a 23% reduction in the number of girls ages 19 and younger who are giving birth.

According to the News, Right to Life of Michigan applauded the latest figures. "We are extremely grateful for the large decrease in abortions in Michigan," Barbara Listing, president of RTLM, said, adding, "The fact that fewer women are having abortions in Michigan demonstrates more and more women are coming to the realizatio[n] that abortion is not the answer to an unplanned pregnancy." Listing also credited the state Legislature for passing laws designed to reduce abortion, including parental consent requirements for minors seeking abortion.

Margy Long, vice president for public advocacy and communications at Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Michigan, said that the state is making great strides toward reducing abortion and that the effort should intensify. Long credited the state for providing family planning help to low-income women who lack health care. Long said she hopes that the number and need for abortion can be reduced even further when PPAM opens a new health center in Detroit this summer and one in Warren in the fall. "We at Planned Parenthood have 25 centers in Michigan that all provide access to birth control at low or no cost," Long said, adding, "We've increased the number of women we have seen in [the] last few years and that is the major way to prevent unintended pregnancy and therefore the need for abortion" (Cain, Detroit News, 5/23).





The information contained in this publication reflects media coverage of women’s health issues and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

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