Simple question: Is the abortion ban (in some of the US states) equating to higher birth rates?
Simple answer, no.
New findings from the Monthly Abortion Provision Study show that an estimated 1,026,690 abortions occurred in the formal health care system in 2023, the first full calendar year after the US Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade. This represents a rate of 15.7 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age,* and is a 10% increase since 2020, the last year for which comprehensive estimates are available. It is also the highest number and rate measured in the United States in over a decade.
While I do appreciate that info, I did not see where that answered my simple question. It did answer a simple question I did not ask, namely has the number of abortions decreased in the US since the ban.
Sorry, try this cite.
- The current birth rate for U.S. in 2024 is 12.009 births per 1000 people, a 0.12% decline from 2023.
- The birth rate for U.S. in 2023 was 12.023 births per 1000 people, a 0.09% increase from 2022.
- The birth rate for U.S. in 2022 was 12.012 births per 1000 people, a 0.09% increase from 2021.
- The birth rate for U.S. in 2021 was 12.001 births per 1000 people, a 0.09% increase from 2020.
The answer therefore depends on your start and end dates.
Not yet, but if the pro-life people take on the Catholic view that contraception is murder, it may result
That’s not the Catholic view.
sorry for my ignorance, but didn’t/does still the Catholic Church “ban/forbid” the use of contraceptives? What did they call or classify it as?
Yes, but the church prohibits artificial birth control on the grounds that they feel that all sexual acts should be open to the possibility of procreation (and contraceptives reduce or entirely eliminate that possibility). While church policy holds that artificial birth control is intrinsically evil, for this reason, they do not actually say:
You may consider that to be no difference, but it’s an important distinction in terms.
The Roman Catholic view is that any interference with sexual intercourse leading to pregnancy is a sin. Birth control methods which prevent a fertilized embryo from developing are “murder.” Condoms and diaphragms which prevent the sperm and egg from uniting are not murder, but are nonetheless prohibited.
ETA, and the other stuff kenobi_65 said.
Asked and answered!
As well as sexual activities other than penis-in-vagina intercourse (anal sex, oral sex, mutual masturbation, etc.)
Thank you
Isn’t the Roman Catholic Church okay with such activities as foreplay (between married couples), just not as a pregnancy-avoiding substitute for intercourse?
Yes, and this was actually covered in the pre-wedding class we were required to take (classes?—and I forget the name; it’s been a while). You’re free to let your freak flag fly in foreplay, as long as you finish in her hoo-hah. They may have used different words, though.
Just to clarify, what the Catholic Church decrees and what Catholics believe are not necessarily the same. The overwhelming majority of Catholic women use contraception at some point.
thanks for the corrections to my understanding of Church doctrine. But my post should have been directed to the Alabama decision re: embryos; with that mind-set, non-Catholic, it’s possible pro-lifers may take that position on birth control (we know they hate women). Remember how long it took for birth control to take hold thanks to Margeret Sanger, and America is primarily Protestant.
It’s possible, I guess, that some pro-lifers take that position because the Magic 8-ball told them to, but that’s not what the Catholic Church teaches.
And as someone who voted pro-life for most of my adult life (no more!), I can tell you I don’t know anyone who thinks contraception amounts to murder, even those who think using them is a grave sin that will reserve a spot in hell for you.
My wife (she was raised Catholic, I wasn’t) were required to attend an ‘engagement encounter’ weekend at a church facility. We learned a whole buncha stuff that’s been covered in this thread.
Back on topic, I find it interesting that the number of abortions increased, while the birth rate appears to be stable: slightly increasing over the past 3 years, while slightly dropping thus far this year.
Honest question: does the Vatican think sex is okay between a married man and his wife of post-menopausal age? What about sex between man and wife where one party is known with certainty to be infertile?
My understanding is that it’s allowed, even encouraged. For one thing, the Catholic Church states that sex is meant for both procreation and “unity” – that is, to support the emotional connection between a married couple.
As the Wikipedia article to which I’d earlier linked notes, in quoting Church policy:
And, the Bible features several women who were considered barren, but then conceived, demonstrating (at least to believers) that God can make it happen.