Utah's abortion rate fell to a record low since the state began keeping birth termination records in 1973 after the landmark Roe v. Wade case - a statistic that is mimicking the trend of abortion rates worldwide.
The number of women who are in their childbearing years in Utah has doubled since the 1973 case where the state began keeping track of terminated pregnancies, reported The Salt Lake Tribune. Although more women are able to give birth now than the 1970s, the number of women who terminated pregnancies last year was 2,893.
Utah's significant drop in abortions is notable, as the state already falls below the national average. (In America four in 10 of unwanted pregnancies are aborted.)
Out of every 1,000 people in Utah, only 4.6 had an abortion last year - as compared to 7.2 once the state began recording abortions, reported The Salt Lake Tribune.
The reason behind the significant drop in abortions is unclear, although some attribute it to everything from the Great Recession, to better contraceptives and even more restrictive abortion laws.
"From our perspective, fewer abortions are a great thing," said Laurie Baksh, with the Utah Department of Health's Maternal and Infant Health Program. "It would be interesting to know a little bit more about why that trend is happening."
The low abortion rates in Utah also mirror international rates of terminated pregnancies.
The abortion rate for women of a childbearing age worldwide per 1,000 people fell to 28 in 2008, as compared to 35 in 1995, reported Guttmacher Institute. Most abortions worldwide come from undeveloped countries where the abortion procedures are unsafe.
