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The number of legal induced abortions in the U.S. continues to creep downward, according to the latest analysis from the CDC. The 47 voluntarily reporting states, the District of Columbia, and New York City tallied 820,151 procedures in 2005, which was a 2.3% decline from 2004. In the 46 areas that have reported consistently since 1995, the abortion ratio (abortions per 1000 live births) dropped from 238 in 2004 to 233 in 2005. Since 2000, the abortion rate has remained stable at 16 abortions per 1000 women (age range, 15–44).
As in previous years, approximately 88% of abortions for which gestational age was known were performed before 13 weeks. Most abortions (81%) were performed by curettage, with most of these (85%) at ≤12 weeks’ gestatio…