Abortion pills account for 6% of U.S. abortions.

2003 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Doctors used pills such as RU-486 to perform about 6% of abortions in the first several months after the controversial drug was approved in the United States, a new study says.

The study, published January 15, 2003, by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, is one of the first to account for the number of abortions using mifepristone, or RU-486, since it became available in 2000. The study estimates that more than 37,000 abortions were performed using pills in the first 6 months of 2001.

The researchers noted the U.S. abortion rate continued to fall to its lowest rate since the 1970s - 21.3 abortions for every 1000 women aged 15-44. The number of providers who performed surgical abortions also fell.

Among the larger states in the country, Massachusetts showed the most dramatic decline in the number of abortions. The survey found that although the 2000 rate was the same as the national average, it represented a drop of 26% since 1996.

There is no obvious explanation for the Bay State's rapid decline, said Dr. Heather Sankey, medical director of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. However it does appear to reflect a real drop in the number of unintended pregnancies, rather than a simple drop in birth rate or fertility, she said.

"What you're seeing is that women are using preventative methods," she said. "It might just be that finally everything's coming together - access to contraception, emergency contraception and education."