The number of abortions in the United States stayed at about the same level in 2008 as three years earlier, leveling off after a long period of decline, a survey said on Tuesday.
![US Sees No Decline in Abortion Rate US Sees No Decline in Abortion Rate](https://www.medindia.net/afp/images/US-abortion-internet-206389.jpg)
The total number of abortions in the United States in 2008 was 1.21 million, about the same as in 2005, when the institute issued its most recent report.
The 2008 rate of 19.6 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15-44 closely matches the 2005 rate of 19.4 abortions.
However researchers noted that the current levels are far below the peak in 1981 of 29.3 abortions per thousand women.
Karen Pazol of the Centers of Disease Control said government surveys of 2006 data released in 2009 showed similar results, "an interruption of the long-term decline."
However since the CDC does not have data for 2007 or 2008 she "can't predict whether it's a short-term change or a interruption of a long-term decline."
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The option is available in 59 percent of the nation's abortion clinics, the Guttmacher Institute said.
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Picketing was the most common form of harassment, reported by 55 percent of providers, followed by picketing combined with blocking patient access to facilities (21 percent), the institute said.
Source-AFP