Unwanted births are up, which should please the fundies

A recent survey says that the percentage of births that were unwanted rose from 9 percent in 1995 to 14 percent in 2002.

This is being hailed in some quarters as a Good Thing:

"I don't think there's any mystery here," said Susan Wills, of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The new data underscores that more women are turning away from abortions, even when it's a pregnancy they don't initially want, said Wills, associate director for education in the Conference's Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities.

"It shows a real pro-life shift," she said.

More women may be carrying pregnancies to term because of increasing availability of ultrasounds and other information that show "it's a baby from an early time," Wills said.

It's hard to read that and not hear a celebratory undercurrent of "Yay! We forced women to have children they didn't want!" But you're not going to find me celebrating taking choices away from people.

Others are speculating that the result might have something to do with a 25% drop in the number of abortion providers between 1992 and 2000, something the above-linked article seems to think is a mystery. I dunno, maybe it has something to do with the risk of getting killed by anti-abortion terrorists?

I suppose it's also possible that this rise might partly reflect the emphasis on abstinence at the cost of more effective education in other birth control methods.