The State of Nebraska requires by law that those who perform abortions report certain data to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) within 15 days from the end of the month in which the abortions are performed. Every spring, DHHS compiles this data and issues a statewide report of abortions.

The 2011 Nebraska Statistical Report on Abortions reveals that 2,372 abortions were reportedly performed in Nebraska last year. When we contemplate that each abortion represents the killing of a human being and the wounding of his/her mother, father, family and society, this death toll is staggering.

If there is a bright spot in this number of abortions, it is that it is the lowest annual number of abortions on record in Nebraska. In 1974, the first full year after Roe v Wade legalized abortion, there were 3,094 abortions reported in Nebraska. That number steadily increased to its high point of 6,346 in 1990. Since 1990, the number has steadily declined.

Here are the most relevant statistics from the report:

Age Distribution. By far, the most abortions occurred in the 20-29 age group. Fifty-eight percent of all abortions were done on women in this age group. Women aged 19 and younger comprised 15.5 percent of the abortions; women 30 years and older comprised 26.5 percent of the abortions.

A particularly sad statistic is that 10 girls under the age of 15 had abortions. One of the girls was 13 years old and nine of the girls were 14 years old. Another 358 teens (aged 15 to 19) had abortions.

Reasons for the abortions. As is typically the case, only a tiny fraction of the abortions (0.4%) were done for the so-called "hard cases" of rape, incest and to prevent the death of the mother. Even if you add in those abortions done for the broader reason of a woman’s "health" (0.9%), the "hard cases" still only comprise about 1.5 percent of all abortions done in 2011.

Another revealing statistic is that about half (51.9 %) indicated that "no contraception was used." This means, presumably, that the other half was using contraception when they got pregnant. These percentages comport with national figures.

This statistic raises serious doubts about the claim that contraception will reduce abortions. In fact, even the Alan Guttmacher Institute (the research affiliate of Planned Parenthood) acknowledges that women who use contraception are more likely to have abortions. Guttmacher explains this phenomenon this way: "because women who are using contraception are motivated to prevent an unplanned birth, they are more likely than women who were not using contraceptives to seek an abortion should they accidentally become pregnant."

Method of abortion. The most notable statistic in this category is that the number of chemical abortions (using RU-486) continues its dramatic climb. The 2011 number of 893 chemical abortions is nearly four times the number in 2009, which was 231.

Repeat abortions. Another very sad statistic is that nearly one third (31.5%) of the women obtaining abortions last year in Nebraska had one or more previous abortions. The breakdown of this statistic is incomprehensible: one previous abortion: 503; two previous abortions: 185; three previous abortions: 41; four previous abortions: 9; more than four previous abortions: 10.

The complete report of abortions can be seen online at www.dhhs.ne.gov (click on "Statistics and Reports"). A chart compiling the key data from these annual reports since 1974 can be seen on my website at www.nebcathcon.org (under "Pro Life," "Printed Resources").