Dr. Michael New of the Charlotte Lozier Institute reports that the World Health Organization and the Guttmacher Institute, the former research division of Planned Parenthood, have released a study claiming that federal and state abortion laws have been ineffective in reducing the number of unintended pregnancies. According to the study, 61% of women facing unintended pregnancies had abortions -- an 18% increase compared to abortions in the 1990s.
However, showing a 48% decline in the abortion rate since the 1990s, the study also suggests pro-life laws actually do save babies' lives.
"An important reason for that decline is because a small percentage of unintended pregnancies are aborted," Dr. New explains. "In the early '90s, about 50% of unintended pregnancies were aborted. By 2015, 2017, [and] 2019, only about 34% of those pregnancies were aborted. Basically it shows that more women with unintended pregnancies are choosing life."
He submits pro-life legislative and educational activities have been effective.
"We have seen a real increase in the percentage of people who identify as pro-life," Dr. New adds. "Gallup has been asking the pro-life/pro-choice question for a long time. In the mid-1990s, less than 40% of Americans were pro-life. Now, that number is in the high 40s, even majority sometimes. So more and more people are identifying as pro-life."
Pro-lifers and abortion advocates are both waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether states will have the responsibility of restricting abortion or if the federal government will maintain that hold. The decision is expected this summer.
Meanwhile, abortion remains the leading cause of death worldwide, killing 73 million people every year.
