(ZENIT News / Washington, 01.18.2024).- A heart-wrenching report from the National Committee for the Right to Life reveals that over 65.4 million babies have been aborted in the United States since the legalization of abortion by the Supreme Court in 1973, according to updated data.
Although annual abortion figures have decreased from their peak after the Roe v. Wade decision, almost 900,000 babies are aborted each year, and these numbers have slightly increased in the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and global uncertainty, according to the Committee’s projections.
The most accurate figures come from the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion group that was previously part of Planned Parenthood, as they obtain data directly from abortion centers. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also collect annual figures, their information is incomplete due to the lack of reports from California and some other states.
Randall O’Bannon, director of education and research at the pro-life group, emphasizes that overturning Roe will reduce these figures, as more babies will be saved from abortions. He points out that the new benchmark is June 24, 2022, the date when many states could reintroduce legislation to protect the unborn after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
Despite the complexities in measuring abortions under Roe, the figures showed a drastic increase after the decision, reaching a million abortions annually in a few years. However, pro-life restrictions, such as parental involvement, the right to know, fetal pain, and funding limitations, led to a decline in recent decades.
The report notes that after hitting a low in 2016 and 2017, the figures began to rise again, mainly due to the proliferation of abortion pills, accounting for 53% of all abortions in 2020.
The significant shift occurred in June 2022 with the Dobbs decision, returning the abortion issue to the states and the people. Although current figures are challenging to obtain due to the lack of time and the complexity of collecting data after Dobbs, the overturning of Roe is expected to have a positive impact on reducing abortions.
Despite the uncertainty in data collection, the overall trend shows a 43% decrease from the historical peak. While the fight to protect life continues, millions of lives have already been saved, with tens of thousands more since Dobbs, emphasizes O’Bannon.
