In tough times, abortions on the rise in the Midlands

"Economic reasons have always been one of the primary reasons why women terminate pregnancies," said Dr. LeRoy Carhart, who runs the Bellevue, Nebraska, clinic. "They just figure they can't afford to have a child." At his clinic, women and couples fill out a questionnaire on their reasons for seeking an abortion. More are indicating that they can't afford a child or a second child. He said that while the recession is a key reason for his increase in abortions, it is not the only one. His clinic was closed from mid-January through early March due to a fire. During the last three weeks of March, he performed 196 abortions -- 37 more than during all of March last year. Part of the increase was likely from a backlog of cases from when his clinic was closed, he said. He has also received patients from a clinic in Council Bluffs. That clinic, run by Planned Parenthood of Nebraska and Council Bluffs, temporarily stopped performing abortions in April 2008 and has not yet resumed providing them. Omaha World Herald