While Illinois taxpayers will be forced to pay for abortions as early as January 1st, in 2016, the number of abortions declined by 3.7% - 1,474 less statewide.
In 2016 there were 38,382 abortions, down from 39,856 in 2015. The greatest decline came from abortions on high school age girls moving into college, decreasing by 408 abortions (11.9%) on girls ages 15 through 19. That's the lowest number in Illinois since 1973 - the year the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortions.
Abortions also declined in the two counties that historically have the highest rate of abortions: Cook County and Dupage County. In these counties, abortions declined 5% and 5.9 % respectively.
However, the health department shows that even though abortions decreased overall, abortions increased on minor girls aged 0-14 by 26.8%. Abortions on women traveling from out of state also increased by 41.5%.
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