Good News for Future generations: US abortions decline

U.S. abortions at 30-year low

Chris Rizo ReligionAndSpirituality.com

The abortion rate in the United States fell to its lowest level in more than 30 years as the number of doctors who provide the operations continued to decline, according to a new study.

There were 1.2 million abortions, or 19.4 for every 1,000 women of reproductive age, in 2005, according to research by the New York-based Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit group focused on reproductive health. "Our policymakers at the state and federal levels need to understand that behind virtually every abortion is an unintended pregnancy, so we must redouble our efforts towards prevention, through better access to contraception," Sharon Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, said in a statement.

The abortion rate was highest in the District of Columbia, where 54.2 of every 1,000 women terminated a pregnancy, the study found. The lowest rate, less than one per 1,000, was in Wyoming. The decline in abortions is attributed to increased access to birth control and medical care.

Additionally, 87 percent of U.S. counties didn't have an abortion provider in 2005, up from 77 percent in 1978, according to the study published in the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. There was a peak of 1.6 million abortions, or 27.4 per 1,000 women, in 1990, the study said.

About 1,026 facilities provided medical abortions in 2005, or 70 percent more than offered the option in 2000, the study found. "For a long time, nearly 90 percent of abortions in the U.S. have taken place in the first trimester, but in recent years, women having an abortion have been able to do so earlier and earlier in the first trimester," said Rachel Jones, the lead researcher in the new survey.

Currently, more than six in 10 abortions occur within the first eight weeks of pregnancy, and almost three in 10 are performed at six weeks or earlier, she said. "Medication abortion, which provides women with an additional option early in pregnancy, clearly reinforces this very positive trend," Jones said.

Another Cuban Crisis

Scottish audio version here

Luke 6:22 Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. (NIV)

There’s a report out this morning that the Stated Clerk of the PC(USA), Clifton Kirkpatrick, has signed a petition urging the present Whitehouse Administration to lift restrictions on travel to Cuba for missionaries and other church workers. Because of the current political climate, American churches that want to work with congregations in Cuba have to get through a lot of bureaucratic red-tape and accept time restrictions. This is hindering vital missions on the island, especially when the church appears to be under-going a revival.

In this morning’s report from Presbynews, several faith leaders expressed their concerns as follows:

Citing a long, shared history of relationship, interaction with and support of Cuban church partners, the American faith leaders say the recent re-interpretations of U.S. travel regulations and the resulting limitations "are unfair and inappropriate, restrain religious freedom and reflect undue governmental interference in the exercise of religion.”

Their concerns are genuine, but the issues involved are not just one-sided. The Cuban people have been restricted by their own government, too; and throughout the decades of Castro’s dictatorship, the church has been persecuted, oppressed and harassed. In 1998, when Pope John Paul II visited the country, he asked that a Christian leader, Jorge Antuñez, be released from prison. He had been held in captivity since 1993 for demanding reforms in the country. Antuñez was only just released in April, 2007.

If releasing the restrictions on travel to Cuba will help the Cuban churches, then we should pray that our own government will be sympathetic to this inter-denominational petition. But we should also remember those whose travel is restricted in Cuba, especially those pastors who are under house arrest or being badly mistreated by prison guards, according to some Christian ministry reports.

As we celebrate Flag Day this week, perhaps we should remind ourselves of the blessings that our freedom has given to our faith, as well as remembering the plight of those around the world whose loyalty to Christ as their Lord and Savior costs them their homes, their livelihood, their liberty, and sadly, sometimes their lives.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, it is so easy for us to become complacent about what our faith is all about. We don’t realize how hard it is for some people to take up Your Cross and walk in Your path. Help us to recognize that unjust things happen to Christians all over the globe. Give us the heart and determination to support them, their families, churches and Christian communities through being aware of these situations, instead of ignoring this information. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.