Good News for Preborn Children and Their Mothers; Abortion Totals Decrease in Pennsylvania!
 
Harrisburg, PA – Statistics released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health show that abortions decreased in Pennsylvania by 3.9 percent in 2009—an encouraging sign of the progress Pennsylvania has made in helping women seek alternatives to abortion.
 
The figures show 1,523 fewer abortions in 2009 compared to 2008, resulting in a total of 37,284 abortions being performed in Pennsylvania in 2009.  The 2009 total represents a 43.3 percent decrease from the all-time high of 65,777 recorded in 1980.
 
“While every abortion is a tragedy, the fact that abortions are on the decline in Pennsylvania is good news for preborn children and their mothers,” said Maria Vitale, Education Director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, an affiliate of National Right to Life.  “Lives are being saved and women are being empowered to make positive, life-affirming decisions for themselves and their families.”
 
Pennsylvania has been a trailblazer in providing support to pregnant women and their families through the state’s Alternatives to Abortion program, which is administered by Real Alternatives (www.realalternatives.org ).  Tens of thousands of women have received everything from diapers to day care referrals as a result of this innovative program.  Real Alternatives served a record number of clients in 2009. 

 “Pennsylvania’s Alternatives to Abortion program is a model program that is delivering concrete results,” said Vitale.  “Women are receiving comprehensive, compassionate support which enables them to give birth to their children.  We know that Pennsylvania’s abortion rate would be much higher, were it not for Real Alternatives and the many other pregnancy resource centers throughout the Commonwealth.” 
 
Still troubling, however, is the repeat abortion rate, which stands at about 45 percent.  This means that nearly half of the women who are having abortions have had one or more previous abortions, indicating that abortion is being used as a means of birth control.  
 
About 95 percent of the abortions in Pennsylvania performed in 2009 occurred in seven counties—Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Lehigh, and Philadelphia.  Philadelphia continues to be the abortion capital of the state, with 17,567 abortions occurring there in 2009. 

The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation is a grassroots right-to-life organization with members statewide.  As the state affiliate of National Right to Life, PPLF is committed to promoting the dignity and value of human life from conception to natural death and to restoring legal protection for preborn children.