Utah has the nation's highest child adoption rate and the lowest abortion rate - largely because of the influence of the LDS Church, the National Committee for Adoption says.
Chairman William Pierce said Utahns' emphasis on traditional family values probably plays a strong role in influencing abortion and adoption decisions. Two-thirds of Utahns are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."Not only do the Mormons place a strong emphasis on family values, but the state of Utah has a substantial number of very good professional social service agencies which are operated by the church and whose services include adoptions," he said.
The adoption rate - the number of adoptions for every 1,000 abortions and out-of-wedlock births - was 52 in Utah for 1986, the latest year for which comparative figures are available. "That's five times the national average," he said.
The state's abortion rate is 121.9 per 1,000 live births, as opposed to 422.9 nationally.