Illinois Department of Public Health
has published its abortion
statistics for calendar year 2014. These numbers give Illinois pro-lifers
information about which to be very thankful as we celebrate the birth of
Christ. The overall number of abortions performed in Illinois has dropped
2,278 from 2013 to 2014, a drop of almost 5.6%, and the number of abortions
performed on teenagers 17 years of age and under dropped 507, almost 28.8%.
There were also noteworthy declines from 2012 to 2013. 2014 was the
first full year the Illinois parental notification law, passed back in 1995,
had been in force. 2012 was the last year without a parental notification
law in effect.
These statistics show the critical
impact of pro-life work in the General Assembly and the courts. They also
show us why our political efforts are critical. The victories are hard
fought. The Illinois Federation for Right to Life was in the forefront of
the effort to shepherd the parental notification bill through the General
Assembly and instrumental in securing the signature of the pro-abortion former-governor
Jim Edgar.
The IFRL needs your support so that
maximum pressure can be placed on our state government to pass and enforce
pro-life laws. Pro-life laws save large numbers of lives when they are
passed and enforced.
The 2014 abortion data is now
available on line (a copy is attached to this e-mail). The figures for
the first full year the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act was in effect
(2014) are impressive. The numbers of abortions performed in Illinois on
Illinois minors (under 18 years of age) dropped by almost 29% from 2013, when
the Act was in effect for only the last five months of the year. Abortions
of minors under the age of 0-14 dropped 28%.
Abortions of minors ages 15-17 dropped 29%. Abortions for all Illinois minors dropped
from 1,762 to 1,255. Abortions for all
Illinois minors dropped from 1,762 to 1,255. year. For the two
subcategories, the numbers dropped from 149 to 109 (0-14), and from 1,613 to
1,146 (15-17).
In 2014 the Act was in effect
throughout the year. The result was that the numbers of abortions performed in
Illinois on Illinois minors dropped from 2,213 to 1,255, a reduction of 958
abortions, or 43% in two years. For ages 0-14 the numbers went from 218
to 109, a reduction of exactly 50% in two years and for ages 15-17 from 1,995
to 1,255, a reduction of 740, or 37% in two years.
The overall number of abortions in
Illinois was reduced from 43,203 in 2012 and 40,750 in 2013 to 38,472 in 2014. This is a decline of more than 4,700 in two
years (almost 11%).
Of the 43,203 abortions in 2012,
3,138 were performed on out of state residents.
In 2013 of the 40,750, 3,189 were from out of state residents and of the
38, 472 in 2014 2,970 were from out of state.
(Attorney Paul Linton contributed
statistical analysis).
