The number of teenage girls in Denmark getting abortions continues to fall, Metroxpress reports. The number performed on girls aged 15 to 19 fell from 2,895 in 2008 to 2,051 last year, according to figures from the national statistics office Danmarks Statistik.
READ MORE: Fewer teenage abortions and pregnancies
However, the fall is even bigger when you consider that the overall number of girls in that age range has recently grown by 11,000, meaning that the number of abortions per 1,000 girls has fallen by a third: from 18 to 12.
Niels Sandø, a head consultant at the health authority Sundhedsstyrelsen, said the drop was an indication of young people making better choices.
“It’s great news,” he said. “Everything considered, it seems that young people have become a lot more sensible – they’re not just getting fewer abortions. They’re drinking and smoking less than they did before.”
The number of cases of chlamydia among young people also fell. Combined with the fall in abortions, Sundhedsstyrelsen suggests that youths are becoming better at using condoms.
The overall number of abortions last year was the second-lowest on record since abortion was fully legalised in 1973. In total, 15,097 procedures were carried out.
