Arkansas abortion numbers have continued to plummet, according to the 2019 Induced Abortion Report released by the state Department of Health. Last year, 2,963 abortions were committed in Arkansas, which is the lowest number in 43 years.
Family Council President Jerry Cox spoke to KAWX about the figures, celebrating the drop in abortions. “Arkansas’ abortion numbers haven’t been this low since 1977. The fact that Arkansas’ abortion numbers continue to fall year after year is really good news,” he said. “In 1991 there were nearly 7,000 abortions in Arkansas. Teen abortion fell to record lows last year. Across the board, abortion is on the decline in Arkansas.”
According to Cox, the drop in abortions can be credited to Arkansas’ pro-life laws. “Arkansas has excellent laws that require abortionists to give women all the facts about abortion up front, including abortion’s risks, consequences, and alternatives. They also have to give women time to consider all options before making a final decision,” he said. “We estimate from these reports that more than 500 women chose not to have abortions last year after receiving this information.”
READ: Arkansas Planned Parenthood claims pro-life presence played a role in its closure
It’s impossible to know for sure what is causing the decrease in abortions. Yet considering statistics in surrounding states, it seems that Cox’s theory makes sense. According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, abortions have likewise been decreasing in surrounding states, like Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Tennessee — all of which also have pro-life laws. Keeping that information in mind, as well as the fact that there hasn’t been any change in the number of abortion facilities in Arkansas in recent years, it seems entirely plausible that pro-life laws have been working, lowering the number of abortions in Arkansas and surrounding states.
While this is promising, Cox promised pro-lifers would not stop working until there are no abortions at all in the state. “Arkansans are overwhelmingly pro-life,” he said. “Public opinion polling shows most Arkansans believe abortion ought to be either completely illegal or legal only under certain circumstances. In the past five years the Arkansas Legislature has enacted more than two dozen good, pro-life laws. These reports from the Department of Health simply go to show that all of that pro-life work is paying off.”
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