Good News! Abortion Rate Declines

 

Good News!

Isn’t it fun to celebrate when good things happen? For pro-life Americans, June has seen a handful of victories, including two just this week.

First, the Associated Press announced on Monday, June 8 that they recently conducted a survey of available abortion-related data in most states since 2010. The consensus? Abortions are on the decrease (by 12% overall) in the United States! Read the full story HERE.

The best analysis I’ve seen of the survey is an article by Dr. Michael New who is cautiously optimistic about the decline but makes a necessary point that the U.S. Government does not require state health departments to track and report such data. Therefore, some caution is prudent when considering the decline.

“Some context: One important caveat that received little attention in the article is that abortion data from state health departments can be unreliable. Abortion reporting standards vary greatly across states. Sometimes reported decreases are caused by less rigorous reporting rather than actual declines in the incidence of abortion. Secondly, the AP piece’s analysis would have been better if it had focused on abortion rates rather than the overall number of abortions, since some of the fluctuations in abortion numbers might have been affected by changes in population or demographics.”

A second piece of uplifting news this week relates to a 2013 Texas pro-life/women’s health law. On Tuesday, most of the law was upheld in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Included in this law is the policy that abortion clinics are held to “ambulatory facility standards,” which means that such clinics are expected to have the same health standards as other outpatient surgical facilities. Frankly, this part of the law should be a “win” not only for those of us working against the human rights abuse of abortion, but also for anyone advocating for women’s health.

Surprisingly, until recently most states did not regulate abortion clinics; they were held to lesser health standards than veterinarian clinics or beauty salons. In the wake of the horrific stories at the clinic of Kermit Gosnell, states began to introduce such laws in large part to further protect women. Sadly, often those who are advocating for abortion equate women’s health with greater access to abortion even if the clinics will be substandard.

For more on both stories, watch this clip where Brian Patrick interviewed me on EWTN News Nightly.

 

 

April shower bring May flowers…and Mother’s Day! As beautiful tulips, daisies, lilies and many other blooms are filling our lawns and fields with bright colors, we also pause to honor motherhood in the month of May. It’s appropriate that the floral beauty accompanies the celebration of the beautiful gift of motherhood!

This year at the March for Life we have been focusing on children with a poor prenatal diagnosis, who are tragically aborted at a rate of approximately 85%. Thankfully, many moms and families resist pressure from doctors or society to abort, and give birth to precious children that, although they may face medical or development challenges, are a gift to this world.

While we must continue to challenge the cultural perception that only “perfect” lives are worth living and celebrate the moms who choose life despite learning that their preborn child has a fetal abnormality, we also must be mindful of supporting moms and families as they are raising their child with special needs.

This month for our Give Life Challenge, we are encouraging moms who are raising kids with special needs with an inspiring message. Will you join the hundreds of others who have signed this note of encouragement?

We’ve also compiled a list of resources that moms can connect to for help and encouragement.  One example is Jill’s House, a wonderful resource  that provides much-needed relief to their families with children with special needs in the greater Washington DC area. Jill’s House serves families of boys and girls, ages six through seventeen, with intellectual disabilities without regard to race, religion, or ethnicity. Jill’s House provides a safe, fun place full of adventure and tailor-made activities for children with special needs while giving their moms, families, and care-givers desperately-needed time to rest and recharge. Last fall, we hosted a briefing for Down Syndrome Awareness Month with a Jill’s House mom as one of our panelists, which you can read about HERE.

Perhaps you’re being called to support one of these organizations, get involved, or even start a ministry for children with special needs and their moms in your community. It’s a beautiful way to work towards a culture of life where every person is welcomed and treated with dignity.