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LifeLink: 35 Years After Legalized Abortion
January 22, 2008, marks the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. In 1973, the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton court decisions legalized abortion on demand in America. Since then, women have been able to legally terminate their pregnancies through all nine months of their pregnancies for any reason. However, on April 18, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court finally upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Act. This was a monumental step for the Pro-Life movement. Chuck Colson of BreakPoint commented, “It took thirty-four years to get from Roe v. Wade to the first significant restriction of so-called ‘abortion rights.’ It’s a reminder that when it comes to eradicating social ills, we must never give up.” He went on to compare this victory with British Parliamentarian William Wilberforce’s victory in slowing the British slave trade. His victory came when he was able to pass legislation in 1788 that restricted the number of slaves that a ship was allowed to carry based on the ship’s tonnage. This victory, although small, proved that the slave trade was vulnerable, just as our victory against partial-birth abortion proves that the abortion industry is vulnerable. Mr. Wilberforce, after almost 20 years of fighting, was eventually successful in abolishing the slave trade. Twenty-five years after that, slavery was abolished all together. We too—with patience, hard work, and diligence— eventually will be successful in abolishing the practice of abortion. According to the most recent abortion records at The Guttmacher Institute (the research branch of Planned Parenthood), 1.287 million abortions were reported in 2003. This was a decrease from 1.293 million in 2002. Unfortunately, the government does not require that abortions be reported; therefore, we do not have an accurate view of how many abortions are truly being committed. The national abortion numbers are dropping slightly, but so many lives still need protection. The abortion numbers in Texas have increased by about 6% from 74,399 in 2005 to 79,041 in 2006. Any increase in the abortion rate is tragic and motivates us to redouble efforts in educating Texans about abortion and the many local assistance programs available to pregnant women. However, Texas is now the 3rd most Pro-Life state in the country, according to the 2007 Americans United for Life National Pro-Life State Analysis. These rankings are based on our Pro-Life legislature, public assistance to pregnant women, as well as the Pro-Life legislation that we have worked hard to pass. |
