While no one was watching, the Illinois Department of Public Health posted the latest abortion statistics for the year of 2008. Sadly, the numbers establish an upward trend for Illinois abortions since the low point of 2003, thus discounting the slight drop in 2007.
A total of 47,717 abortions were committed in Illinois in 2008, up 5.3% from 45,298 in 2007. Abortions for Chicago area residents jumped at a much higher rate, accounting for more than the statewide increase. Cook County abortions jumped by 3233 (14.5%) to a total of 25,529. Abortions in some of the counties surrounding Cook, though much lower totals, jumped by even higher percentages as follows:
Kane County -- up 38% -- from 832 to 1145
Will County -- up 22% -- from 953 to 1161
Kendall County -- up 73% -- from 112 to 194
In contrast, abortions held steady in three other Chicago area counties: DuPage (-22), Lake (+8), and McHenry (-2). For the four counties with substantial increases in abortions, the total increase reaches 3836 more abortions. For the entire state, abortions increased by 2419. Thus, abortions throughout all of Illinois outside of those four counties actually fell by 2.9%.
What might account for this rather localized increase in abortions. Could this primarily be the impact of Planned Parenthood's huge abortion fortress in Aurora? What actions spared DuPage, Lake, and McHenry counties from participating in these large abortion increases?
About the only good news from the 2008 statistics was the drop from 4042 to 3903 for abortions committed on out-of-state residents. Interestingly, the number of abortions on women of unknown residency dropped from 1965 to 1111. Since some of these cases could also have been out-of-state residents, the drop might be even larger. Even so, these numbers still represent many underage girls who enter Illinois to avoid parental involvement laws in other states.
The unknown residency statistic jumped from only 114 in 2004 to 1683 in 2005, and peaked at 2115 in 2006, possibly reflecting concern about potential enforcement of parental notification. Is the 2008 drop an indication abortion providers have become convinced it will never be enforced?
Contact: Bill Beckman
Source: Illinois Review
Publish Date: December 8, 2009
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