The International Tragedy of Abortion

There has been a steady focus for years on whether a political party or politician supports abortion here in the U.S. The Democratic party’s platform is pro-abortion and the Republican party’s is pro-life. However, as I cited in a previous post, the country is moving more toward a pro-life position, with over half the population expressing disagreement with the practice.

However, the abortion scenario abroad is mind-boggling. The BBC reports that in China there are 13 million abortions each year, compared to 20 million births. In many cases women are restricted to just one child, although in rural areas some couples can have two children if the first is a girl. This policy, begun in the 1970s, has forced young women to seek abortions. In its front-page story, the China Daily said the high number of abortions was "cause for concern", adding that many women who have abortions are single and aged between 20 and 29. Women are complaining that they are pressured into terminating their pregnancies.

As horrendous as China’s disposal of human life in the womb is, Russia’s abortion rate is worse. There are often more abortions annually in Russia than live births. The latest figures from the UN and the CD for one recent year show that 1.8 million abortions were performed compared to 1.5 million births.

Natural family planning, where necessary, is common sense. The massive international slaughter of innocent children in the womb is self-destructive behavior at its unthinkable worse. I wonder how much of this international tragedy can be laid at the feet of the Supreme Court justices who wrote the majority opinion in Roe v. Wade because, even today, America leads the world in setting social mores.

What pro-abortion advocates in government do here and now in the U.S. contributes in ways unseen, in my opinion, toward an increasing international disregard for human life in its earliest stages.