The big news is the massive drops among the youngest groups 20-24 and 15-19 year-olds.
This is coinciding with a substantial drop in the teenage birth rate.
Fewer conceptions can only mean
1/Less heterosexual sex or
2/Better contraception - more use and increased efficacy
Whatever is happening it is fantastic to see these developments. The numbers are dropping across ethnicities (with slight rises on 2014 for Maori and Asian).
3 comments:
A couple of things that I found interesting that haven't been highlighted in the press release
1. There has been a steady increase in the proportion of women who are having multiple abortions. In the 1990s over three-quarters were first time; now it is two-thirds. The most notable change is in the number of women who have had two or more previous abortions - which has risen from about 5% to about 12%.
What is behind this? Are there women incapable of learning how to use contraception?
2. An even more satisfying trend is the drop in the number of abortions for11-14 year olds. This hit a peak in 2006-2007 at about105. Now it is down to 32. Are we seeing the results of a drop in child abuse?
The data is missing an important fact. The morning after pill which is both contraceptive and abortifacient. Prescription rates for this are unreported and they are not included in this stat file. It is highly relevant to know.
DrCP
Stopping an egg implanting (what the morning after pill does) is not the same as destroying a fertilised egg or fetus. Also the morning after pill can be obtained over the counter (without prescription) so you would need to know how many are being DISPENSED. An OIA to Pharmac might work. In any case I suspect the use of LARCS is probably more influential on the falling abortion and birth rates than the morning after pill.
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