US abortions may be inching up after decades of decline

By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — A new government report suggests U.S. abortions may be inching up after a long decline. However, the report is incomplete and officials so far are cautious about calling it an upward trend. In 2017, national abortion statistics reached their lowest level since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortions. But the government report released Wednesday shows small increases in the abortion rate and numbers in the next two years. The report is based on voluntary reporting from states and has several limitations. It doesn’t include figures from three states, including California, the nation’s most populous state.