Learn from recent successes to keep demand for abortion low

Recently released figures showing a steady decline in the number of abortions performed in Iowa is both good news and a call to action to build upon recent success.

From 2013 to 2014 - the most recent figures available from the Iowa Department of Public Health - the number of abortions dropped about 9 percent. Even more impressive was the 40 percent drop in the abortion rate between 2007, when 6,649 procedures took place, and 2014, which shows a total figure of 4,020.

Since related statistics show the state's birthrate has remained steady, it is safe to assume the decline is largely due to prevention of unintended pregnancies. It's also worth noting that the decline in the number of abortions has continued even as access to abortion services across the state have expanded, most recently through use of telemedicine.

This trend deserves further study, but two initiatives seem likely to have had some influence:

First is the Iowa Initiative, a five-year, privately funded demonstration project that launched in 2007 and sought to reduce unintended pregnancy among Iowa women aged 18 to 30 by increasing access to family planning services, use of long-term, reversible contraceptives, and public awareness through a marketing campaign best known for its 'Avoid the Stork” media spots.

The following year, state leaders rejected federal funding that required abstinence-only sex education in schools and required instead that any taxpayer-funded sexual education be based in science, offer comprehensive instruction including information about contraceptive options, and emphasize sexual health and safety.

When the Iowa Initiative began, about half of all Iowa pregnancies were not planned, mirroring national statistics that make the United States' rate of unintended pregnancies one of the highest in the developed world.

At its conclusion, researchers reported substantial increases in the use of IUDs and contraceptive implants among young Iowa women, and concurrent declines in rates of unintended pregnancy and number of abortions performed in the state. Similarly, national evidence shows fact-based, comprehensive sex education programs are effective.

Especially in a time when reasoned public discussion of the issue can seem a near impossibility, such a significant reduction in the demand for and incidence of abortion is something to celebrate.

Celebrate and build on, by continuing to focus efforts on preventing unintended pregnancies in the first place.

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