Illinois Department of Public Health has released their compiled Illinois abortion statistics for 2003. Last year 42,228 abortions were committed in Illinois. The good news is that 4,717 fewer abortions were committed last year compared to 2002. This decline in abortions is a 10% reduction in just one year.

This 10% drop in abortion is unprecedented in Illinois. The last significant drop in abortions came in 1999 when abortions declined by 7%. Because legal issues prevented mandated reporting of abortions from 1984 through 1994, it is not possible to verify actual declines that may have occurred during that period. It appears very likely that the 10% decline in abortions last year was the largest one year decline ever going all the way back to the legalization of abortion with the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Last year’s abortion total of 42,228 is the lowest number of abortions committed in Illinois since 1973. In 1973, 32,760 abortions were committed in Illinois and the numbers increased to as high as 71,326 in 1977 before gradually declining to 45,924 in 1999. Abortions have remained near that level until 2003’s decline.

Even abortions committed on out-of-state women went down by 710 last year, from 4207 to 3497. This decline is unexpected given the incentive that exists to bring underage girls to Illinois for abortions to avoid the parental notification laws that exist in all the states surrounding Illinois. This incentive exists because Illinois has failed to enact a parental notification law.

Possible reasons for the decline in abortions during 2003 are not immediately obvious. Increased abstinence education may be a factor. The increase in the number of people who recognize the moral, psychological, and health impacts of abortion may be a factor. An increase in the visibility of women willing to share how they regret their abortions may be contributing to the wider recognition of the serious impact of abortion on women and families. Apparently, more people are recognizing that abortion is a bad choice.