A new, massive study of abortions in the United States has found that there are "ever-fewer pregnant women choosing abortion and those who do increasingly opting to avoid surgical clinics."The number of abortions has plunged to 1.2 million a year, down 25 percent since hitting a peak in 1990, according to a report being released today — days before the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion. The abortion rate has fallen to its lowest level since 1974, the first full year after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized the procedure nationwide. The annual rate has been falling steadily since 1981, paralleling a sharp decline in the number of abortion providers. In the early 1980s, nearly one in three pregnant women chose abortion. The most recent data show that proportion is closer to one in five. "That's a significant drop, and it's encouraging," said Randall O'Bannon, director of education and research for the...(Read Full Post)