Abortion Clinic Closures – Not Contraceptive Programs – Responsible for Delaware’s Abortion Decline

Last month, The New York Times published an article about Delaware’s efforts to make contraception more available to its residents. Starting in 2014, Delaware partnered with the company Upstream to offer a range of free contraceptive services to women who visit health care providers.

According to the article, long-acting reversible contraceptives, like IUDs and implants, have been popular among both patients and doctors. Indeed, data presented in the article indicates that the percentage of Delaware family planning patients who are using a long-acting reversible contraceptive has increased since 2014. The Times article is supportive of the program and even states that conservative critics should appreciate the fact that Delaware’s abortion rate dropped a year after Upstream arrived, and that the health department expects it to fall again.

However, a closer look at Delaware abortion trends raises questions about the role of this program in reducing the incidence of abortion in Delaware. Delaware’s resident abortion rate has been falling since 2009. Furthermore, recent declines in Delaware’s abortion rate have been caused by the closing of abortion facilities.

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