A Seattle abortion clinic that has operated for 34 years and claims responsibility for an estimated 54,000 abortions is closing permanently in a month because its clients are "too poor," according to a statement from one of its executives.

The shutdown continues a downward trend in the number of clinics in the country, according to a separate report that monitors annually the number of businesses run by Planned Parenthood, the industry's largest abortion provider.

The Seattle shutdown also brings to 17 the number of clinics that have closed just in recent months, a trend that gives evidence "the abortion cartel is crumbling," said Troy Newman, the president of Operation Rescue.

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In a letter posted on the website for the Aradia Women's Health Center, business president Scott Leopold said the shutdown will be permanent, and it was based on the finances of the business.

Rising costs such as insurance and rent were cited, but then Leopold said, "growing numbers of clients require subsidized health care – the number of lower-income women seeking abortions at Aradia has increased by almost 20 percent over the last five years, as well as the number of women needing publicly funded contraception and family planning."

He wrote that the "burden" of making up those costs was too much.

"The trend of closed abortion mills continues," said Newman. Reports show 17 independent clinics have closed in a little more than a year.

"Interestingly, the letter announcing the closure repeatedly refers to the 'success' of the abortion mill. When one's business fails for financial reasons, one should hardly call that 'success,'" said Newman.

He said that's just an example of the new language of the abortion industry. "Business failure becomes 'success.' Killing babies and traumatizing women becomes 'sensitive abortion care.'"

In a separate simultaneous report, Jim Sedlak of the American Life League noted that Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion providing in the country, also has seen significant declines in the number of its clinics.

"In our study, we found the organization has 817 'health' clinics. The number of 'health' clinics is the lowest it has been since 1987," he said. "Americans are rejecting Planned Parenthood and its agenda…"

He said corporation's number of outlets in 1987 was 816, and it rose to 938 in 1995, when the company announced a campaign to have 2,000 clinics in 2000. Since then, however, it's been downhill, with only 875 clinics in 2000 and 825 in 2005.

"Americans, whom we have supplied with the truth about this organization, simply do not want Planned Parenthood in their communities," he said. The assessment showed 98 of the business locations are in California, 79 in New York and 77 in Texas. Another 18 states had fully half of the total clinics and the remaining 29 states and the District of Columbia had 124 together.

The Summit Medical Center in Birmingham was closed after a nurse was accused of illegally giving out a fatal abortion drug

Operation Rescue also has argued for the closure of another clinic, the Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives, which was found to have been forward after-hours medical emergencies to non-medical personnel and violating other requirements.

The actual closures include:

• Springfield Health-Care Center in Springfield, Mo., was closed down by regulators.

   

• Summit Women's Health Organization in Milwaukee, Wis., shut down with no announcement, and no explanation.

   

• Summit Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala., was closed down this year when a nurse was accused of illegally prescribing abortion drugs to a mother who was eight months pregnant. The nurse later was charged with three counts. The corporation declared bankruptcy.

   

• Central Women's Services, an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kan., closed when Operation Rescue itself bought the building and evicted the tenant abortion clinic.

   

• Falls Church Health-Care Center in Falls Church, Va., lost its lease and locked its doors.

   

• Women's Services PC, a clinic in Omaha, Neb., also was closed because the land was purchased from underneath the business and the owners couldn't find another facility to rent.

   

• A Gynecologists Diagnostic Center, a business in Hialeah, Fla., was closed by an investigation into allegations a baby was born alive, then killed and placed on the roof of the building to avoid detection by police.

   

• Orlando Women's Center, in Orlando, Fla., was owned by James Pendergraft and was shut down when the abortionist was found to be providing illegal late-term abortions and dispensing drugs without a license.

   

• EPOC Clinic, another operation in Orlando owned by Pendergraft, was closed for "flagrant" violations of state law.

   

• In Daytona Beach, Fla., the Family Planning Center abortion business was closed down by abortionist Randall Whitney, who said the state had no right to regulate his business and he wouldn't comply with state rules.

   

• The Center for Women's Health in Cleveland, Ohio, was shut down by regulators after they discovered more than a dozen violations of the law.

   

• In Aurora, Illinois, sheriff's deputies hauled away "medical equipment" and office supplies as a clinic run by abortionist Louis S. Myers was closed down on orders from the landlord, who evicted the business. The property owner, who ran the abortion business for years himself before retiring, said the new business operator simply disappeared.

   

• Reproductive Health Services, a business in Montgomery, Ala., was closed when authorities found the abortionist didn't have hospital privileges, in violation of state laws. It later reopened on a provisional license.

   

• Three other clinics owned by Pendergraft were closed, but reopened later.

Several other abortionists not affiliated with a particular clinic also have lost their licenses over regulatory violations.

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Previous stories:

'Nurse' accused of handing out fatal abortion drug

Operation Rescue seeks abortion business closure.

Clinic shuts down after abortionist disappears

Pro-life group gets abortionist's license revoked

Rules convince another abortionist to quit

Yet another abortionist can't stand heat, quits

Half-dozen abortion clinics shut down

'Aborted' baby born alive, authorities say

Abortionists investigated for possible baby murder

10 million females illegally aborted in India

Operation Rescue buys abortion clinic

Indian tribe challenges abortion law with clinic