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Roe v Wade 1973 - 1998

John Stott in his thought-provoking book, Decisive Issues, writes, "To terminate life is the height of arrogance." America has become an arrogant nation indeed.

In 1970 there were 193,491 abortions performed in our land. In the 1990s, an estimated 1.5 million children each year have their lives terminated by the willful arrogance of those who usurp the power of life and death. As painful and unpleasant as it may be, let your mind absorb these shocking statistics:

• Every 20 seconds a baby is aborted
• 180 abortions are performed every hour
• 4,320 abortions occur each day
• 30,240 babies die weekly via abortion
• 129,600 babies are killed each month

In the 25 years since the Roe v Wade decision, deaths through abortion have exceeded 20 times over the total number of victims claimed by war. Today nearly 30% of all pregnancies are terminated by abortion. In our nation's capital, abortions outnumber live births by an incredible three to one.

Why do Americans take the lives of these children? Planned Parenthood's Guttmacher Institute took a survey and reported the following (Figures exceed 100% because multiple factors are involved in a decision to abort):

• 75% abort because a baby would interfere with work, school, or other responsibilities
• 67% abort because they can't handle the financial burden
• 50% abort because they can't face single parenting, or the problems that would cause a relationship with a boyfriend or husband

At Assist, we have programs to educate young women about how these obstacles can be handled through help and effort. Another survey conducted by the Guttmacher Institute reported the following stastistics regarding some of the common assumptions about women who abort.

• Teenagers are having abortions at a slightly lower rate than they were in 1987. Women ages 18 - 24, who make up 21% of the childbearing population, have 44% of all abortions.
• Women with annual family incomes of less than $15,000 are four times as likely to have abortions as women with family incomes of $60,000 or above.
• African-Americans, who make up 14% of all childbearing women, have 31% of all abortions. Whiltes, who account for 81% of women of childbearing age, have 61% of all abortions.
• Women who claim no religious affiliation are four times as likely to have abortions as are religious women; 18% of women who abort describe themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians.
• More than 57% of abortion women say they used birth control during month of conception. For 55% of these women this is their first abortion. 66% plan to have children in the future.

We live in difficult times, times like those described by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Times in which men and women will be "lovers of self ... arrogant ... unloving... brutal." As God's people, our responsibility is "to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age" (Titus 2:12). In other words, we need to shine as lights in a world of darkness.