In 2013, there were at least 1,842 induced abortions in Montana, the lowest rate since 1975 when there were at least 1,535, according to a new report from the Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Montana’s complete resident abortion statistics are unknown because some abortions are not reported and Montanans may have the procedure performed out of state.

The decline in abortions coincides with a drop in overall pregnancy and birth rates in the state. Montana’s birth rate was at 13.1 per 1,000 residents in 2006 and dropped to a rate of 12.2 per 1,000 residents last year.

The downward trend in abortions also mirrors what is happening nationally.

Abortion rates in the United States are apparently at their lowest in 40 years, according to a report released earlier this year from the Guttmacher Institute, a private research group that supports abortion rights.

Improvements in contraceptive technology have played a key role in this trend, said Martha Stahl, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana. Women have more access to long-acting, reversible contraceptives such as copper and hormonal intrauterine devices and implants. They are highly effective because they do not require daily action by the user and because they work for long periods, Stahl said. Some IUDs can prevent pregnancy for up to 10 years, and injectable hormonal drugs can do so for months.

These have also been found to be great methods for younger women, Stahl said, adding that use of these particular methods has grown “astronomically” at Planned Parenthood’s health centers.

“Access to a range of birth control methods is playing an important role in reducing unintended pregnancy and decreasing the need for abortion,” Stahl said. “At Planned Parenthood, we know firsthand that when a woman has access to birth control, she has the power to plan her family and pursue her goals.”

The recent recession led many women and couples to want to avoid or delay pregnancy and childbearing.

Planned Parenthood of Montana is the state’s largest provider of reproductive health care and reproductive health advocacy. Its mission is to provide, promote and protect access to quality reproductive and sexual health care.

At its five health centers across the state, Planned Parenthood of Montana provides a range of education programs and health care services, including life-saving cancer screenings, birth control, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, emergency contraception, gynecological check-ups and Pap tests, breast exams, pregnancy testing and options information and health counseling. More than 90 percent of Planned Parenthood services are preventive.

Planned Parenthood of Montana serves nearly 16,000 patients across Montana’s 56 counties.

“Access to birth control is a health care issue, an economic concern and a matter of basic justice,” Stahl said. “Planned Parenthood is proud to provide abortion services for women who make the deeply personal decision to end a pregnancy. We are proud to fight for a woman’s right to make that decision without interference from politicians.”

Since the reporting of induced abortions began July 1, 1974, the ratio of such abortions performed in Montana to the number of live-born babies delivered in the state increased rapidly for the first several years and has fallen fairly steadily for the past 25 years.

The abortion ratio was 129.9 per 1,000 live births in 1975 and rose to 295.6 in 1983. The trend fell and rose again to a near-peak, 295.2, in 1990. From 1990 to the present, it has generally trended downward. The ratio was 149.4 in 2013, the lowest recorded since 1976.

Chuck Council, communications specialist for DPHHS, said department officials do not like to speculate on trends and declined to comment.