This week I came across a powerful video on YouTube, titled, 41 Years of Roe v Wade. It was produced by the Texas Alliance for Life, and consisted of 41 different women, born from 1973 to 2014, each giving a statistic or fact about the fight for unborn lives since that time. The video can be found with a simple search using the title, or by typing in the following URL:
Here are a few of the points made in the video:
- 1973 — the Supreme Court overturned a Texas abortion law, and in so doing made abortion laws in 46 different states unconstitutional. 750,000 abortions were performed in America in 1973.
- 1977 — Abortions topped 1 million in a year for the first time.
- 1981 — A law was passed making it lawful for a minor to get an abortion without parental consent.
- 1984 — Abortions topped 1.5 million in a year’s time, doubling the number of abortions performed 11 years earlier.
- 1990 — Abortions reached an all time high, with 1,608,600 abortions being performed in America in a year’s time.
- 1991 — The total number of abortions since Roe v Wade legalized the procedure tops 26 million.
- 1994 — Jane Roe, whose real name is Norma McCorvey, changes her affiliation, and becomes vocally pro-life.
- 1996 — President Bill Clinton vetoes a bill that makes partial birth abortion illegal in America.
- 1997 — The partial birth abortion bill is passed by congress again, and it is again vetoed by President Bill Clinton.
- 2003 — Congress passes the partial birth abortion bill a third time, and it is signed into law by President George Bush.
- 2007—The Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the partial birth abortion law.
There are other very interesting statistics in the video, including recent numbers noting a dramatic decline in abortions by minors in the state of Texas. This trend follows the passage of a law (upheld in the courts) that requires parental notification.
The battle continues, and the video indicates that the tide is turning. As Christians, we should pray to God for the unborn, for the leaders of our country, for those who are actively seeking to end this scourge upon our land, and for the often poor, scared and certainly misguided young ladies who see abortion as a remedy for mistakes they and their partners have made.
In Proverbs 14:34, the wise man wrote, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” I can think of no sin more grievous than the oppression of the most innocent and vulnerable of human beings — the unborn.
There is a beautiful passage in Psalm 127 that our nation needs to remember and respect, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate” (3-5).
Our prayer is that God will stay His hand, giving our nation time to repent of this great sin, and to again give a place of honor and protection to our unborn children.
