Recent abortion statistics in Michigan: Motivating prolife people

The Michigan Department of Community Health recently released Michigan's abortion statistics for 2001. Unfortunately, the number of women deciding to abort their children in the state of Michigan increased from the previous year. There were 28,220 abortions performed in Michigan in 2001 compared to 26,807 abortions in 2000. This is an increase of 5.3 percent.

Approximately half of the women had already obtained an abortion earlier in life. There were 1,889 abortions on minor girls and approximately a third of Michigan's abortions were performed on women aged 20-24. More than 84 percent of women who had abortions weren't married. There were 4 children who showed evidence of life after being aborted in 2001, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health.

If the statistics are broken down by county, one can see that almost all of the increase can be attributed to three counties: Genesee, Kent, and Wayne. All three of these counties saw a 300 plus increase in their number of abortions. Women from the counties of Allegan, Grand Traverse, and Monroe also were more likely to abort in 2001 with each of these counties having 50 or more abortions than the previous year. Twenty-three counties had small single-digit increases of abortions than the previous year while 36 counties showed a decrease. The counties of Ingham, Macomb, Oakland and Washtenaw all had sizable decreases in their abortion numbers. While most of these statistics are sobering, understanding why there was an increase and who is aborting can help us to find better solutions to the problems of crisis pregnancies and abortions.

Some factors that may have led to the increase include the opening of new abortion facilities and a large increase in pro-abortion propaganda in various counties. It is also probable that another factor contributing to the increase in abortion could be the economic recession. Many pregnant women might have feared for their financial future in a time when many people aren't sure from where their next paycheck will come.

Michigan's abortion statistics show that 57.4 percent of unmarried women who had abortions in 2001 were already mothers. Single moms accounted for 13,133 abortions, nearly half of the abortions performed on Michigan women. This data shows that the prolife movement must be challenged and committed to reaching out to this group of women.

The overall rate of abortions in Michigan has fallen 42.5 percent since 1987 and abortions among minors have dropped 55.3 percent since 1990. The drop in abortions among minors has not resulted in an increase with teen pregnancies, showing that fewer teens are becoming pregnant and more of the teens that do become pregnant are choosing life for their children. The large decrease in teen abortions along with other evidence over the past decade have sprouted the hope in the prolife movement that the young women in our state and nation are becoming increasingly prolife. The sharp drop in teen abortions shows that there is hope for the future when these young women enter the most abortion-prone age group, 20-24.

Even though Michigan's abortion rate is still far below the national average and Michigan is consistently ranked among the "worst" states by pro-abortion groups, these numbers are extremely disappointing for anyone who has come to understand the evil of abortion. We must, however, not lose heart. There are far too many women and children in need of life-affirming alternatives to become discouraged. The rise of abortions in our state only means that we must work that much harder to provide positive options for women in need. We also cannot stop educating the public on the beauty and innocence of unborn life and the uncomparable evil of abortion.

The tragic reality is that even if the number of abortions in the state of Michigan decreased to 500 a year, that would still be 500 too many. That would still be 500 women who could never hold their children. That would still be hundreds of grandparents denied the chance to spoil their grandchildren. We cannot stop giving of ourselves until abortion is wiped from the face of the earth.

If you would like a complete analysis of Michigan's abortion statistics, please visit the Right to Life of Michigan web site at www.rtl.org.