Dr. Jim Denison
January 22 is the saddest anniversary of the year. More than sixty-five million babies have lost their lives in the US since the Supreme Court discovered a “right” to abortion in the US Constitution on this day in 1973.
More than a million babies in the US were aborted in 2024. This makes abortion the leading cause of death in America, far outstripping heart disease, the second-leading cause of death, with 680,981 fatalities. Abortion is also the leading cause of death worldwide: globally, more than seventy-three million babies were aborted just last year.
According to World Health Organization estimates, abortion accounted for nearly 52 percent of total deaths worldwide. Think about that for a moment: More than one in two deaths around the world were by abortion. If a disease was causing such horrific fatalities, it would lead the news every day. As it is, I would presume that you’re only now learning this.
At the same time, the world is facing an escalating demographic crisis. The global fertility rate for 2025 was 2.2 children per woman, the lowest level in recorded history. For the fourth year in a row, China reported more deaths than births last year as its birthrate plunged to a record low.
This matters because people are living longer than ever, meaning that fewer young people will be working and contributing to the support of more retirees. Over time, there will also be fewer people to buy goods and services, so economies will shrink, further exacerbating financial pressures.
Imagine the difference millions of aborted lives would make to this burgeoning crisis. You don’t have to wonder: according to the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress, $6.9 trillion is lost each year from work that aborted individuals would have contributed to the American economy.
And there is a worldview factor here as well. A dear friend and I were discussing this issue the other day, and he noted that when people have no children or grandchildren, they are less invested in the future and more focused on what seems best for them in the present. As a result, they mortgage the future for themselves and everyone else as well.
Gandhi on “the true measure of any society”
In a recent survey, 96 percent of the 5,577 biologists who responded affirmed the view that human life begins at conception. This was not a survey of evangelicals: 89 percent of the respondents also identified as liberal and 63 percent as non-religious.
Nonetheless, their scientific position aligns with the clear declaration of Scripture. David said to God, for example: “You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).
This means that an unborn baby is scientifically and biologically just as human prior to its birth as after its birth. Consequently, it has the same scientific and biological right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as anyone else. But he or she obviously has no way to defend themselves in their mother’s womb.
This is what separates abortion logically from all other “rights.”
Abortion advocates claim that pro-life proponents are “forcing” their beliefs on them. But is a woman who chooses abortion not “forcing” her beliefs on her unborn child?
Which of the two is more vulnerable?
At their core, criminal laws “impose” societal values on would-be perpetrators to protect those who would otherwise become their victims. We do this to defend those who might not be able to defend themselves.
Can a baby in a womb defend himself or herself from abortion?
Mahatma Gandhi reportedly observed,
“The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”
“He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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