NEW YORK (November 21, 2012)--U.S. abortions fell 5 percent over a year from 2008 to 2009, the largest decrease in at least a decade, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

Those are the most recent government numbers available, the CDC said.

Some experts say the decline in abortions may be the result of better use of birth control during tough economic times and they speculate that women may have felt they couldn't afford to get pregnant.

The birth rate also has declined during the recession.

Some states have enacted more restrictive abortion laws, but most of those were adopted too recently to have any effect on the 2009 statistics.