Executive Summary
12th Annual State of Abortion Report
The Connecticut Catholic Conference continues to monitor the issue of abortion in Connecticut with the publication of its 12th annual The State of Abortion in Connecticut report. Throughout the years, this report has provided a concise overview of abortion trends in the state. The Conference hopes the information presented in this report will be informative and shape the public debate on this issue within Connecticut.
CT Taxpayers Pay for 75% of Abortions in the State!
In 2018, the state HUSKY program paid for 6,995 abortions totaling $4.2 million. This comes to 75% of the 9,294 abortions performed in the state during 2018. This determination is based on information provided through a Freedom of Information request to the Department of Social Services. Federal funds cannot be used for abortions, so Connecticut is one of 15 states that use taxpayer money to pay for abortions.
Facts About the Federal Title X Changes!
STATEMENT: Family planning services would have to be eliminated, or severely curtailed, because Planned Parenthood clinics need Title X funding to provide these services to low-income clients.
CONCLUSION: This statement is false.
Planned Parenthood of Southern New England is in a strong financial position. PPSNE does not need state assistance to make up for the $2.1 million in Title X funding that they have chosen not to accept.
What do Abortion Clinics Really Contribute to the Health Care System in Connecticut?
STATEMENT: Planned Parenthood centers are vital to low-income women and the healthcare services they receive. Government funding to these centers, such as Title X, must be preserved.
CONCLUSION: This statement is false.
Planned Parenthood of Southern New England offers a very limited number of services at their centers. The most distinctive service is the provision of abortions.
Trends:
- Over the last ten years, Connecticut has experienced a 32.3% decline in the number of abortions. This trend is reflective of a national decline in the number of abortions.
- The significant decline in teen abortions continued into 2018. Abortions performed on girls younger than 18 years of age has declined by 67% since 2009.
- Abortion rates across all age groups have seen a significant decline over the last ten years. This figure adjusts for population changes over the years and is an even better indicator of abortion activity. The abortion rates in Connecticut fell from 20 abortions per thousand women of childbearing age in 2009 to 13.5 in 2018.
- Medically drug-induced abortions are on the rise, while surgical abortions decline.
- The vast majority of abortions in Connecticut are provided at abortion clinics, while very few are performed in hospitals or doctors’ offices.
- In 2017, the number of abortions reported to the state lacking critical information increased from 2.5% of all abortions reported to 4.3%. In 2018, that number again increased to 4.6%. This increase is a reversal of an eight year trend of improved reporting following complaints from the Connecticut Catholic Conference in 2008.
To view The State of Abortion in Connecticut - Twelfth Annual Report in its entirety, please Click Here.
To view the November 7th Press Release Click Here
The information contained in this report has been compiled and made available to the members of the Connecticut General Assembly and to the general public. It uses abortion data for the last ten years up to 2018, which is the most current data available.