The Patriot Post® · Abortion's Dwindling Numbers
Sanctity of Life Sunday was recognized in churches all across America this past weekend. It’s a time set aside to reflect on the incomprehensible damage abortion causes and to pray for healing and a change of hearts. This coming Sunday, Jan. 22, marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the contentious Supreme Court ruling that legalized the procedure. It’s a solemn occasion, to be sure, but this week the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute published new figures on pregnancy terminations that provide strong reason for optimism.
The report states, “For the first time since 1975, the number of abortions in the United States dropped under one million (958,700 in 2013 and 926,200 in 2014).” Furthermore, the ratios are headed in the right direction: “The abortion rate also continued to decline, falling to 14.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44, the lowest rate ever recorded, and a 14% decline from 2011.” The study, as expected, obstinately blames the decline on “[i]mproved contraceptive use in recent years” and “the wave of abortion restrictions passed at the state level over the last five years.”
That’s probably at least partly true. But the reason it’s true, particularly as it pertains to regulatory restrictions, is because Americans are pretty evenly split on the issue, and even among Millennials the majority are not as supportive of abortion as leftists portray them to be. In short, abortion restrictions are sanctioned by voters who elect pro-life lawmakers. And the growing roadblocks portend an awakening. Keep in mind, abortions reached a high of 1.6 million in 1990. Which means that today well over 600,000 more lives are being saved every year. The new statistics only affirm a downward trend that began in the early 1990s.
On the flip side, this gets to the heart of what really creates angst for people like Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, who decried Republicans in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. In it, Richards asserted, “I believe there is enormous solidarity across the country, not only among our supporters, but among other progressive organizations who are similarly facing unprecedented assaults.” Actually, the evidence — including the Nov. 8 election — suggests Americans are tired of the unprecedented assault on the sanctity of life and the nation’s overall integrity. Many are realizing that for Richards and her cohorts, abortion is just business. And more abortions means fatter paychecks. That’s why they view things like the new Guttmacher report as a threat to their very survival.