ST. PAUL - Minnesota health officials said Wednesday that abortions performed in the state rose 2.2 percent last year, the first increase since 2006.
According to a Department of Health report, 10,123 abortions were performed in 2014, up from 9,903 in the previous year. In 2006, there were about 14,000 procedures.
The department reported a Minnesota abortion rate of 8.7 per 1,000 women of child-bearing age in 2014, compared with a rate of 8.6 in 2013.
In 2006, the state’s abortion rate was 12.1 per 1,000 women, still far below its peak of 17.2 in 1980, when 19,028 procedures were performed.
Last year’s increase appeared to occur primarily among American Indians, whose abortion rate per 100 live births rose from 12.8 to 17.5 (for 226 total abortions).
The rate among Asian-Americans rose from 12.1 to 12.5 (692 total), while abortion rates decreased among whites (8.8 to 8.7) and African-Americans (29.8 to 28.7).
About 90 percent of Minnesota abortions occurred in the first trimester of pregnancy, the Health Department reported. The rest were in the second trimester.
There were 97 abortions out of 10,123 total after the 20th week of pregnancy, when some anti-abortion activists have proposed banning the procedure.
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, an anti-abortion group, said the report had both good news and bad news. Despite the increase, the group cheered the seven-year decline in abortion rates through last year and the fact that only 2013 had seen fewer abortions in Minnesota since 1975 - but said the rate still remains too high.
“Abortions were performed at a rate of more than 27 every single day last year,” the group said. “The report also shows that African-Americans remain a target of the abortion industry. They represent just 5.5 percent of the state’s population, yet 23 percent of abortions were performed on African-Americans.”
NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota, a pro-abortion rights group, said the changes in the abortion rate could be a reflection of fewer unintended pregnancies. Abortions declined nationwide in recent years, moving in tandem with the national birth rate.
“We believe that we should be doing everything we can to prevent unintended pregnancy,” said Andrea Ledger, the group’s executive director. “That’s why we think it’s important for women to have access to contraception.”
The typical woman having an abortion in Minnesota was unmarried (85 percent), from Minnesota (91 percent), from 20 to 35 years old (76 percent), had never had a previous abortion (60 percent), had previously given birth to one or more children (58 percent), and didn’t use contraceptives at the time of conception (66 percent).
The report was produced by the Health Department as required by state law, based on mandatory reports filed by abortion providers.
