OCR Text |
Show Fertility The general fertility rate is defined as the number of births per 1,000 women ages 15-44. Utah's general fertility rate has declined from a peak of 126.0 in 1977 to 85.9 in 1993. Despite this decline, Utah's fertility rate remains the highest in the nation. Figure 3____________________________________________________ o o o to CO LO CD D) CO c CD I General Fertility Rate 160-r 140- 120-- 100- 80-- 60-- 40-- 20-- 0-- 1 '1 'I' I ' 1 ¦ I ¦ I ' 1 ' I'l ' I 'I ' 1 ' I1 I 'I ' I ' Ml ' 1 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 Utah ........U.S. Induced Abortions The induced abortion rate is defined as the number of abortions per 1,000 live births. Utah's abortion rate remains significantly below the national average. The induced abortion rate in Utah appears to have peaked in 1989. Rates for 1992 and 1993 were lower than they had been for 10 years. This may be partially explained by a change in abortion laws. The induced abortion rate is only one influence of many on the fertility rate; others include spontaneous abortions (miscarriages) as well as economic and social factors. In fact, the induced abortion rate in Utah has remained relatively stable while fertility rates have declined sharply. Figure 4 Table 2. Induced Abortions* UtakU.S. Year Utah U.S. (Ratio) 1980 91.4 358.3 0.26:1 1981 86.7 361.8 0.24:1 1982 91.6 359.2 0.26:1 1983 90.9 358.4 0.25:1 1984 101.3 348.7 0.29:1 1985 104.9 348.7 0.30:1 1986 114.3 353.8 0.32:1 1987 118.8 356.1 0.33:1 1988 115.1 352.0 0.33:1 1989 121.1 345.6 0.35:1 1990 114.7 345.6 0.33:1 1991 104.4 343.8 0.30:1 1992 94.8 379.0 _ 1993 97.5 - - ?Ratio per 1,000 live births. Induced Abortions % 400- s > 300 4 200 + & o 100- Utah U.S. -I----h 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 44 Demographics |