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Numbers show fewer getting abortions in Tennessee

The number of abortions is down 35% in Knox County since 2008. Statewide, it's down about 40%. But like everything about this issue, the two sides don't agree on the reason for the decline.

The numbers tell the story: fewer women are getting abortions in Tennessee. 

According to data from the state, 636 women from the Knoxville metropolitan area terminated their pregnancy in 2017.

That's down from 991 in 2008.

Most of the induced termination of pregnancies occur seven to ten weeks into the pregnancy and 60% of the women have never had an abortion before. 

Women from the Knoxville metropolitan area had 1,000 fewer abortions than those in the Nashville area. Differences in population size likely informs that data. The Chattanooga area only had 90 in 2017. 

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"There’s a very stark difference in abortion starting to go down and I think that that proves that the laws that we’re enacting in this state are working," Will Brewer, legal counsel for Tennessee Right to Life, said.  

After one new law passed in 2014, the statewide abortion rate dropped more than 10%. 

"So now women have 48 hours to think about their options," he said. "They're given more information on alternatives."

Max Carwile, a community organizer at Knoxville's Planned Parenthood says the new regulations make it harder for women to access care. 

"I had an abortion in 2011," she said. "And I talk to people all the time who have an abortion this year, in the year 2019, and definitely the hoops they have to jump through are ridiculous." 

She says improved birth control access has brought the rate down for the number of women seeking abortions.

"Since 2012, access to birth control has significantly increased thanks to the Affordable Care Act."

But Carwile acknowledges laws like the 48-hour waiting period make it difficult for abortion clinics to operate. 

"There are a lot of restrictions placed on health clinics," she said. "That made it hard for some providers to keep staying open providing services."

Carwile says in 2011 there were 14 abortion providers in the state. Now there are eight. 

There are two clinics in Knoxville. Planned Parenthood provides the abortion pill. Another clinic also offers surgical abortions. 

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