US abortion rate fell by 25 percent over the last 6 years, new study reveals

A new study published in the American Journal of Public Health has indicated that the abortion rate in the U.S. has fallen 25 percent between 2008 and 2012.

The report published on Thursday indicated that the abortion rate has decreased from 19.4 abortions per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 in 2008, down to 14.6 per 1,000 in 2012.

In 2008, the researchers noted that an estimated 30 percent of women between the ages of 15 to 44 would have an abortion by age 45, but their findings showed that the abortion rate has declined substantially since that time., falling 14 percent between 2011 and 2014 alone.

The abortion rate declined 56 percent among women 15 to 17 years, while it dropped 41 percent among those aged 17 to 19 years.

The information in the report was compiled by using data from the Abortion Patient Survey, the American Community Survey, and the National Survey of Family Growth to estimate the abortion rates.

The study further noted that the abortion rate dropped among the poorest women in America, which is the demographic with the highest abortion rate.

"For the first time in 2 decades, the abortion rate declined among women with incomes less than 100% the federal poverty level," the report stated, according to The Stream.

The researchers attributed the decline to changes in contraceptive use, including increased reliance on long-acting reversible contraception.

Earlier this year, researchers with the Guttmacher Institute acknowledged that state pro-life laws are also having an effect on the abortion rate in the country.

The group stated in its report on abortion statistics in January that "the wave of abortion restrictions passed at the state level over the last five years could also have contributed to the decline by making it more difficult for women to access needed services in highly restrictive states."

The Guttmacher researchers noted in the report that abortion numbers have dropped below one million in the U.S. For the first time in four decades. The report found that an estimated 926,200 abortions were conducted in 2014, and 958,700 in 2013. It further noted that the abortion rate dropped to 14.6 per 1,000 in 2014, down 14 percent from 2011.

The National Center for Health Statistics has also published a report in 2016, indicating similar abortion trends. The data showed that both teen birth and teen abortion rates are declining to historic lows across the nation.