Abortions in state hit 30-year low

Maura Lerner, Star Tribune
July 13, 2005


The number of abortions performed in Minnesota dropped to a 30-year low last year, to 13,788, state health officials reported Tuesday.

The annual total dropped below 14,000 for the first time since 1975, down from a high of 19,028 in 1980.

The report, from the Minnesota Department of Health, did not speculate on the reasons for the decline. But it showed that the abortion rate also dropped, to 11.6 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age, the lowest rate since 1975, the first year the state began tracking abortions.

"We are pleased to see the number of abortions in Minnesota continue to drop," Dianne Mandernach, the state health commissioner, said in a statement released Tuesday. "We hope the numbers will continue to drop in the years to come."

The report, which is published annually, found that the majority of abortions - 58 percent - occurred among women 20-29 years old.

Only one late-term abortion, during a woman's third trimester, was reported.

Maura Lerner is at mlerner@startribune.com.