Michigan Abortion Statistics Released

In July, the Michigan Department of Community Health’s (MDCH) web site posted information on abortions performed in Michigan during 2006. The report notes there were 25,636 abortions performed in Michigan in 2006. This is a 1.7 percent increase from the record low number of Michigan abortions performed in 2005 (25,209), but still represents the second lowest total of reported abortions in Michigan since the state began keeping track of abortions in 1980. Michigan’s latest abortion statistics also represent a 47.8 percent decrease from the annual abortion total in 1987 when 49,098 abortions were reported. The number of abortions performed in Michigan has decreased dramatically over the years, but there is still much work to be done.

One noticeable trend is the continuing increase in the average age among women who have abortions. In 1980, 31.4 percent of women obtaining abortions were under the age of 20, in 1990 it was 25.3 percent and in 2006 the number had fallen to 18.4 percent. On the other side of the coin, 13.3 percent of women obtaining abortions in 1980 were over the age of 30. In 2006 the number had risen to 26.3 percent.

Abortion providers in Michigan also continue to fail in accurately reporting abortion complications. According to the MDCH, there were only 5 reported immediate complications. Michigan Representative Kevin Green has introduced legislation entitled the Citizen Accountability Act, H.B. 4651, to allow citizens to file a notice of an abortion complication with the Michigan Department of Community Health with the goal of higher levels of accuracy in regards to abortion complication reporting.

For more information about abortion statistics, please visit Right to Life of Michigan’s web site at www.rtl.org.

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