Via ifeminists, this Reason magazine article discusses the reasons the abortion rate has dropped to its lowest level in 30 years. The big one? Better information.
When the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973, most people had little understanding of fetal development. But the proliferation of ultrasound images from the womb, combined with the dissemination of facts by pro-life groups, has lifted the veil.
Pro-choicers hate informed consent. They hate 4-D sonogram machines and fetal development charts. They hate protesters reminding them that killing a 6-week fetus in the womb is, nonetheless, taking a life. That's why they make ridiculous arguments comparing abortion with menstruation and sneer at "the cute little zygote." They trumpet women's "choice," dismissing the "choices" made before pregnancy.
There are, of course, several reasons that abortion rates have dropped. There is better contraception available. And single motherhood has become more acceptable. There are more options for women dealing with crisis pregnancies. And there are fewer abortion clinics.
But the big reason abortion rates have dropped is that the pro-life movement has done a better job of reminding women of something they really know deep down but try to ignore when contemplating abortion: their pregnancy isn't a "blob of tissue" or a "tumor" or "just like removing an appendix." Babies are human beings before birth as well as after. Few women, when confronted with the truth think abortion is just a 20 minute procedure.
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