If ever there was merit in the belief that the abortion debate will always rage on, perhaps it can be found in this year’s news that abortions are down 25 percent since 1990 to their lowest levels since 1976. Both sides would agree that’s good news . . . but they also inherently disagree on the reasons why.
While the research group behind the report, a Planned Parenthood-affiliated organization known as the Alan Guttmacher Institute, concludes that the decline can be attributed to increased availability and use of proper contraception, pro-life advocates like Chris Slattery, president and founder of EMC Front Line Pregnancy Centers, says the latest abortion numbers in the nation’s largest city disprove that claim.
“I don’t have any doubt that abortions are down because women are being better informed about the risks and the true immoral implications,” says Slattery. “I see positive reinforcement in that belief, firsthand, in our pregnancy centers and, sadly, I see the negative reinforcement in that belief in the city around me.”
His point being that in New York City, a leader in providing free and low-cost birth control to its citizens, the abortion rate is triple that of the more promising national average. For every 100 children born in NYC, there are 72 pregnancies that are terminated, and more than 250 abortions are conducted every day.
Here’s another angle. Could it be possible that abortions are down because the saints are praying? I would like to think that faithful prayer warriors are rallying against this in the name of Jesus. What would happen if we got more aggressive about this? I challenge you to make the fight against abortion part of your prayer life and watch God move.
