I have heard or read pro-choicers saying that legal restrictions on abortion do not reduce its incidence. Some of the evidence I have seen presented supports that contention.
Here's a data point on the other side of the fence. Spain decriminalized abortion for rape, malformation of the fetus, and pregnancies that represent a threat to the physical or mental health of the woman in 1985. Since 1995, the abortion rate has spiked by 72%. (The article doesn't say what happened between 1985 and 1995.)
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The article doesn't say what happened between 1985 and 1995
So we have a "spike" ten years after decriminalization, nothing at all in the ten years immediately following, and we're supposed to determine causation?
The article (which is pretty thin) also tells us the rate is of abortions "carried out in Spain". That's not the same as the number of abortions obtained by Spanish women (especially given that prior to 1985, the procedure was apparently illegal).
I don't think anyone seriously argues that legal restrictions on abortion have NO effect on the number of abortions--that's plainly false. The argument is that restricting abortion does not eliminate it and that restrictions can simply cause women to seek abortions in less-restrictive jurisdictions.
Nerdchik, that's certainly a reasonable question. It is difficult to know what the causal factors are, particularly from such a thin piece. Which is why I titled the post "a data point" rather than "definitive proof". ;)
Mythago, Ampersand regularly argues that restrictions on abortion don't reduce the number of abortions. Perhaps I've misread him, but that's my recollection. ("That's my vague impression, and I'm stickin' to it!")
Ampersand's a single "pro-choicer", not plural, and my vague recollection doesn't match yours, I'm afraid.
In New Zealand the number of abortions performed on New Zealand women went up (as best as anyone can calculate) when the abortions laws were changed to restrict abortion in 1977. But the number of abortions performed in New Zealand went down.
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