Roe v. Wade is gone, but abortion still the number 1 killer worldwide

Abortion was the leading cause of human deaths in 2024, resulting in the loss of over 73 million lives around the globe according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Approximately one million of those were here in the United States where we average over 2,800 deaths of preborn children each day.

Cancer was second with 8.2 million deaths worldwide, followed by smoking (5 million), HIV/AIDS (1.7 million), traffic fatalities (1.35 million) and suicide (1.1 million).

As in past years, the data shows that the most dangerous place in the world is in the womb of an unmarried woman. Tragically, three out of every ten babies conceived last year died from an abortion.

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Of course, you’re unlikely to see abortion deaths in the data because doing so would force officials to acknowledge that it’s human life in the womb.

The Supreme Court’s controversial reversal of Roe in 2022 has both saved lives in certain states – and galvanized abortion zealots in others. Efforts to codify abortion rights in state constitutions have been largely successful. Not until voters this past November in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota have pro-abortion efforts been defeated at the polls.

For many years, America appeared to be evenly divided when it came to the subject of abortion. In fact, depending on how the question was asked by pollsters, there were many instances where the data seemed to indicate there were more pro-lifers than pro-abortion supporters.

Tragically, recent votes on state initiatives and constitutional amendments show the exact opposite. Even in the state of Florida, where pro-life Governor Ron DeSantis was overwhelmingly reelected a few years ago, a majority of voters still voted to enshrine a right to abortion. The only reason it was defeated this past November was because there’s a 60% threshold for state constitutional amendments. As it was, 57% of Floridians voted for so-called abortion rights.

Yet, freed from the shackles of Roe, Christians and pro-life Americans nevertheless have the opportunity to make the case to protect preborn life in ways that we are unable to do so until the High Court voted to return the issue of abortion to the states. 

So, how can we change hearts and minds?

Focus on the Family has a very special ministry to save babies and their mothers from the tragedy of abortion. It’s called Option Ultrasound. 

Option Ultrasound equips pregnancy resource centers across the nation with ultrasound machines to give mothers considering abortion the opportunity to see their child in the womb. 

Since the program’s inception 21 years ago, over 500,000 babies and over 500,000 mothers have been saved from the tragedy of abortion. These are children who would otherwise have been killed in the womb but are now living full and thriving lives.

As Christians, we must continue to remind culture that the value of human life is not determined by age, location, ability, or dependency. Human life has value because of its unique distinction as moral, spiritual, and intellectual beings, and that distinction begins in the womb.

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On my daily radio program, I recently interviewed Nancy Pearcy, a fellow of Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture and a professor and scholar in residence at Houston Christian University. She made the fascinating observation that culture today separates body and mind in a way that devalues the body. This dysfunctional divide is what’s fueling the "hook-up" culture and morally justifies abortion.

This heartless ideology allows a woman to kill a child inside of her, and often even more than once. Research has indicated that upwards of 45% of women who have abortions have more than one.

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While secular morality disintegrates the body, the Bible provides a wholistic view. The human being is an embodied soul. There is a telos or purpose in the design of every created thing. We are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27) and the heavens/creation declares the work of His hands (Psalm 19:1). 

As pro-lifers return to Washington, D.C. later this month to march and express support for the preborn, we must redouble our commitment to champion the value and dignity of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.