US Abortions Down 25% Since 1990 High

About 1.2 million abortions were performed in the US in 2005, a 25% drop from the practice’s 1990 heyday, new data show. About 1 in 5 pregnancies ended in abortion in '05—the most recent year with data available—compared to 1 in 3 in the 1980s, the Los Angeles Times reports. “That’s a significant drop, and it’s encouraging,” one antiabortion activist said.

The study was conducted by a nonprofit abortion-rights group, but its figures are trusted—and used—by both sides of the debate. The pro-life crowd saw the findings as proof that new laws and discouragement tactics were working, while pro-choicers credited the morning-after pill, and noted that Oregon, recently rated the “least pro-life state,” saw the second-biggest drop. (More abortion rights stories.)