Abortion is the greatest killer known to man. No one of course knows how many babies have died at the hands of their own parents throughout history. And even since the dreadful day 41 years ago in America when Roe v Wade set off a baby-killing tsunami around the world (January 23), the numbers are not fully clear.
But we have some ideas of the rough numbers, both in the US and globally. And the numbers are mind-numbing. We just can’t get a handle on the size, enormity and scope of these figures. What Hitler could not do, what major world wars could not do, we are doing all the time in the name of a woman’s right to choose.
The numbers just from America are utterly appalling. According to Randy O’Bannon of LifeNews there have been “56,662,169 abortions in America since Roe vs. Wade in 1973″. As they state in an email: “Each abortion is more than just a number — it’s a tiny baby whose life was snuffed out and a mother injured in the process. Each abortion is a father who will never experience the joy of holding his baby, watching his son play on the high school football team or watching his daughter graduate from college.
“If you run the math on those terrible figures, the numbers are absolutely chilling:
1.382 million abortions every year
115,167 abortions every month
26,577 abortions every week
3,786 abortions every day
157 abortions every hour
2.6 abortions every minute”
The article does mention the good news however that abortion numbers are declining in the US: “The long term trend is fewer abortions, and the number is down significantly from 1990 when the country saw 1.6 million abortions a year. As one measure of the impact your work has had, if the number of abortions had remained at 1.6 million, more than seven MILLION more babies would have died.
“The publication of data from the CDC last November is good reason to believe there is a new major downward trend. The drop of 3.1% for 2010 was not as large as the 4.6% drop for 2009, but it is still considerable and the arrows are pointing in the same direction.”
O’Bannon concludes his piece with these words: “But these numbers also show us that our efforts have not been in vain. As noted above, if our nation had continued at the rate of 1.6 million abortions a year we saw in 1990, our cumulative total would have been approaching 64 million by now.
“That would translate into approximately 7 million more babies alive today than would have otherwise been the case. That is the equivalent to the number of abortions performed over a span of six to seven years–living human beings alive today because of you!
“Of course the Movement has a long way to go to return full legal protection to unborn children. But never underestimate the importance of what you, grassroots pro-life America, are doing. What you do makes a real difference.”
There are other groups seeking to put some figures on the slaughter of the innocents. For example, there is a US abortion clock which is constantly being updated as to the numbers. Since I have had their page open, some 3,000 abortions have occurred worldwide.
The numbers keep changing, so even as I cite some of their figures, they are already out of date. But here are some of them:
-1,282,138, 409 abortions globally since 1980
-2,163, 390 abortions globally this year so far
-56,213 abortions globally today so far
In the US it gives these chilling figures:
-64,154 abortions this year
-622 of these were due to rape or incest
The site offers an explanation as to how it has obtained these numbers, and offers other helpful information, including this:
“Why is there a ‘After 16 weeks gestation’ abortion counter? There is a lot of argument about ‘When does life begin?’ It would seem to be pretty hard for anyone to argue that a baby at 16 weeks’ gestation ‘is just a blob of tissue’ based on what the scientific community knows today about the development of a baby at 16 weeks:
“-The body is fully formed, the fingers and toes have fingerprints & nails.
-Is about 5 inches long and weighs about 3 ounces.
-The baby is moving about: may grasp for the umbilical cord, suck its thumb, and make facial expressions
-The heart & circulatory system and the urinary tract are fully functioning, and the blood is pumping through these tiny veins
-The baby is inhaling and exhaling the amniotic fluid through the lungs.
The eyes are in the proper position, and the baby can see straight ahead & blink his/her eyelids.
-The genitals have formed. In the case of a girl, the uterus has already developed and the ovaries are in the proper place.”
These figures – as overwhelming as they are – need to be kept at the forefront of our minds. But these are of course not just numbers. They are little babies – boys and girls – whose lives have been unduly snatched away from them. We need to put a human face – billions of them – to these figures.
To conclude, let me share “The Wholly Innocent” by Australian poet Bruce Dawe:
I never walked abroad in air
I never saw the sky
Nor knew the sovereign touch of care
Nor looked into an eye
I never chose, nor gave consent
Nor voted on my fate
Unseen, I came, unseen I went
Too early and too late
This was my life-line trust
As absolute as blood
Now down in the bucket thrust
Anonymous as mud
Oh you within whose God-like power
Lies to so decide
Remember me when, some late hour
Talks turn to genocide
For I was part of that doomed race
Whose death-cell was the womb
But who can clear a bloody space
And call it living room
I never had a name or cried
That central cry “I am”
But in a world-wide shambles died
Defenceless as a lamb
Remember me next time you
Rejoice at sun or star
I would have loved to see them too
I never got that far
Preaching on Exodus 1 in the Faith Factory 19-1-14, I wondered if Shiphrah and Puah, the midwives, were the first pro-lifers? Certainly, they pleased God and ‘God was kind to the midwives … and because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own’ … and He was evidently so pleased with them that He even inspired Moses to record their names in the Scripture record. We pro-lifers of today follow in noble company.
What an earth shatteringly devastating poem. Should be essential reading for all those considering terminating their child.
Thanks Bill
Just chilling figures. Makes you sick actually just thinking about it.
Especially how most women’s rights groups go on about rape and incest and “Its a woman’s right to choose etc,” when this makes up a tiny, tiny proportion of the total figure….
A great article filled with terrible realities.
I wonder how many people will write in to complain that you haven’t got the exact figure or that they think your sources are questionable Bill. It seemed to work against Cory Bernardi, because if you don’t get the exact figure (to the second) from the politically correct sources, then infanticide does not matter and can be entirely ignored in favour of Ad Hominem.
Indications are that the number of out-of-wedlock births are also declining, so something is going right. But how much is due to demographics ie the fact that the population is ageing and the number of women of breeding age is getting smaller?
In the UK there are virtually no checks on abortion on demand, at any age. A teenage girl, in practice, can by- pass having to be cleared by a registered doctor to have an abortion and simply buy do- it -yourself abortion pills over the shop counter. It is legal to have an abortion for any reason, including, not wanting a girl. Of course the abortionists deny all this but they are liars.
A report in the Daily Mail has said that thousands of teenagers are already having repeat abortions, with some undergoing at least eight terminations. Latest figures suggest many girls are using the procedure as a form of contraception.
For one in seven teenagers who had an abortion in 2010, it was not their first.
Out of 38,269 teenagers having terminations in England and Wales, 5,300 had already had at least one, say NHS figures released under the Freedom of Information Act. Three had their eighth abortion, while another two had their seventh.
Four teenagers had a termination for the sixth time, 14 had their fifth, 57 had a termination for the fourth time and 485 went through the procedure for a third time.
The Health Service is spending around £1million a week providing repeat abortions, with each procedure costing up to £1,000, according to data released earlier this month.
Among the cases was Lucy Lanelly from Doncaster, who had her first abortion at age 12 then more at 13, 15 and 16.
Wow. That’s utterly devastating. But I would say that the drop in the numbers, no matter how small, are the result of some measure of prayer. There is some prayer, just not enough to blow this horrendous evil right out of the water.
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth (Eccles. 11:3) We can’t expect a deluge until those rainclouds are filled.
And we can’t expect massive changes until we fill the heavens with earnest, heartfelt prayer, many, many more of us, not just a handful that know what on earth is going on!
I wept as I read that poem. All those unique souls who never even drew breath. May God forgive their parents because I don’t.
My stance makes be a bad Christian but I really find it hard to forgive people who abort new souls.
May this small church pray for the hardness of my soul.
Terrible statistics…imagine it as the Holocaust of today. Compare this to the number of Jews killed in WW2 while many looked away.
These are the second class citizens of our day. The ones that men have invented a million reasons to justify killing. As in all atrocities the oppressor always sees him or her self as innocent. Guilty of nothing.
How do we stop the killing when the authority of the day (science) deems it not only not a crime but a good thing to fight for.
God have mercy on us ,for we are all complicit to the extent that we remain silent and inactive. We will bring untold misery on ourselves because of so great a sin, such slaughter of the innocents.
God created us as men and women. Jesus Christ created us as children of God but the feminists and homosexuals have created us in their image, a fragmented and divided image of nine competing groups, identified by age, race, disability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, being partnered (civil or married), being pregnant (transgender men can have children) and transsexual orientation.
Notice how five of the protected nine ‘strands’ are sexual and slanted in favour of women. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, that unelected organisation, that says who has rights and who does not, and whose rights trump those others, is dominated by feminists like Karon Monaghan, a lady ( if she permits anyone to identify her by that nomenclature) who calls Christianity an infection.
Indications are that the number of out-of-wedlock births are also declining, so something is going right. But how much is due to demographics ie the fact that the population is ageing and the number of women of breeding age is getting smaller?
Some of the demographics “problem” could be from the consequences of being on the Pill for so long, that ceasing to take the Pill leaves a woman barren anyway.
God is not mocked – even via “natural processes” – we reap what we sow.
Abortion is the greatest killer known to man.
Actually, sin is. But I know what you mean.
Vicci above mentioned what science tells us about this. But science also provides the hard evidence that the baby is not part of the mother’s body, refuting the claim that abortion is a woman’s right to choose as she has the right to do what she wants with her own body. The baby is “foreign tissue” that the mother’s immune system tries to get rid of, and it’s only the baby’s counter-measure against this attack that allows it to survive. See Abortion argument unravels for details.
40 Days for Life campaigns start in some Australian cities on 5 March. More Christians could join 40DFL campaign in peaceful prayer showing solidarity and love for the unborn and mothers in crisis. “Pray at Calvary”
Hi Bill
what do you think of the following? I didn’t find any of the statments particularly persuasive (they can, for the most part, be summed up with the statement “pregnancy interferes with individual liberty”) but I’d be interested in your perspective. (See the section on “Abortion”).
These figures are so so sad.
Thanks for writing the article Bill.
Preaching on Exodus 1 in the Faith Factory 19-1-14, I wondered if Shiphrah and Puah, the midwives, were the first pro-lifers? Certainly, they pleased God and ‘God was kind to the midwives … and because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own’ … and He was evidently so pleased with them that He even inspired Moses to record their names in the Scripture record. We pro-lifers of today follow in noble company.
What an earth shatteringly devastating poem. Should be essential reading for all those considering terminating their child.
Thanks Bill
Just chilling figures. Makes you sick actually just thinking about it.
Especially how most women’s rights groups go on about rape and incest and “Its a woman’s right to choose etc,” when this makes up a tiny, tiny proportion of the total figure….
A great article filled with terrible realities.
I wonder how many people will write in to complain that you haven’t got the exact figure or that they think your sources are questionable Bill. It seemed to work against Cory Bernardi, because if you don’t get the exact figure (to the second) from the politically correct sources, then infanticide does not matter and can be entirely ignored in favour of Ad Hominem.
Indications are that the number of out-of-wedlock births are also declining, so something is going right. But how much is due to demographics ie the fact that the population is ageing and the number of women of breeding age is getting smaller?
In the UK there are virtually no checks on abortion on demand, at any age. A teenage girl, in practice, can by- pass having to be cleared by a registered doctor to have an abortion and simply buy do- it -yourself abortion pills over the shop counter. It is legal to have an abortion for any reason, including, not wanting a girl. Of course the abortionists deny all this but they are liars.
A report in the Daily Mail has said that thousands of teenagers are already having repeat abortions, with some undergoing at least eight terminations. Latest figures suggest many girls are using the procedure as a form of contraception.
For one in seven teenagers who had an abortion in 2010, it was not their first.
Out of 38,269 teenagers having terminations in England and Wales, 5,300 had already had at least one, say NHS figures released under the Freedom of Information Act. Three had their eighth abortion, while another two had their seventh.
Four teenagers had a termination for the sixth time, 14 had their fifth, 57 had a termination for the fourth time and 485 went through the procedure for a third time.
The Health Service is spending around £1million a week providing repeat abortions, with each procedure costing up to £1,000, according to data released earlier this month.
Among the cases was Lucy Lanelly from Doncaster, who had her first abortion at age 12 then more at 13, 15 and 16.
http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/abortion/government-promotes-further-abortion-liberalisation-through-the-back-door
http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A7x9QV7OwNxS03wAfz1KBQx.?p=ann+furedi+youtube&fr=spigot-yhp-ie&fr2=sfp&type=937811&iscqry=
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9289343/NHS-performed-24-abortions-on-three-teenage-girls.html
David Skinner UK
This article is a stirring testament to the immorality of abortion:
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/losing-walter-alexis-fretz-on-having-a-miscarriage-at-19-weeks/story-fnet08ck-1226803996482
Wow. That’s utterly devastating. But I would say that the drop in the numbers, no matter how small, are the result of some measure of prayer. There is some prayer, just not enough to blow this horrendous evil right out of the water.
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth (Eccles. 11:3) We can’t expect a deluge until those rainclouds are filled.
And we can’t expect massive changes until we fill the heavens with earnest, heartfelt prayer, many, many more of us, not just a handful that know what on earth is going on!
I wept as I read that poem. All those unique souls who never even drew breath. May God forgive their parents because I don’t.
My stance makes be a bad Christian but I really find it hard to forgive people who abort new souls.
May this small church pray for the hardness of my soul.
Terrible statistics…imagine it as the Holocaust of today. Compare this to the number of Jews killed in WW2 while many looked away.
These are the second class citizens of our day. The ones that men have invented a million reasons to justify killing. As in all atrocities the oppressor always sees him or her self as innocent. Guilty of nothing.
How do we stop the killing when the authority of the day (science) deems it not only not a crime but a good thing to fight for.
God have mercy on us ,for we are all complicit to the extent that we remain silent and inactive. We will bring untold misery on ourselves because of so great a sin, such slaughter of the innocents.
God created us as men and women. Jesus Christ created us as children of God but the feminists and homosexuals have created us in their image, a fragmented and divided image of nine competing groups, identified by age, race, disability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, being partnered (civil or married), being pregnant (transgender men can have children) and transsexual orientation.
Notice how five of the protected nine ‘strands’ are sexual and slanted in favour of women. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, that unelected organisation, that says who has rights and who does not, and whose rights trump those others, is dominated by feminists like Karon Monaghan, a lady ( if she permits anyone to identify her by that nomenclature) who calls Christianity an infection.
http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A7x9QV9PEMhST3cAgJpKBQx.?p=Karon+Monaghan&fr=spigot-yhp-ie&fr2=sfp&type=937811&iscqry=
David Skinner UK
http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search?fr=chr-greentree_gc&ei=utf-8&ilc=12&type=937811&p=karon+monaghan
David Skinner UK
Malcolm Smith 20.1.14 / 4pm
Some of the demographics “problem” could be from the consequences of being on the Pill for so long, that ceasing to take the Pill leaves a woman barren anyway.
God is not mocked – even via “natural processes” – we reap what we sow.
Actually, sin is. But I know what you mean.
Vicci above mentioned what science tells us about this. But science also provides the hard evidence that the baby is not part of the mother’s body, refuting the claim that abortion is a woman’s right to choose as she has the right to do what she wants with her own body. The baby is “foreign tissue” that the mother’s immune system tries to get rid of, and it’s only the baby’s counter-measure against this attack that allows it to survive. See Abortion argument unravels for details.
40 Days for Life campaigns start in some Australian cities on 5 March. More Christians could join 40DFL campaign in peaceful prayer showing solidarity and love for the unborn and mothers in crisis. “Pray at Calvary”
Hi Bill
what do you think of the following? I didn’t find any of the statments particularly persuasive (they can, for the most part, be summed up with the statement “pregnancy interferes with individual liberty”) but I’d be interested in your perspective. (See the section on “Abortion”).
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/tribalism-and-medical-ethics/
Mick Koster.