A Case Against Abortion
Abortion in the United States remains both a deeply personal and profoundly public issue—and the hard data shows just how pervasive its impact has been. In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 613,383 legal induced abortions across 48 reporting areas. That translates to an abortion rate of 11.2 per 1,000 women aged 15–44, and an abortion ratio of 199 abortions for every 1,000 live births. Despite a slight dip—2% fewer abortions in 2022 compared with 2021—these numbers still represent hundreds of thousands of lost lives each year.
Since the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, an estimated 65,464,760 abortions have been performed in the United States—more than the combined populations of Germany and France today. Even as annual figures dipped below one million in the 2010s, the overall toll has remained staggeringly high, with over 930,000 abortions recorded in 2020 alone. That scale of interruption to potential lives cannot be brushed aside as a mere statistic; it represents generations of children—and families—that never had the chance to grow, learn, and contribute.
The burden of abortion has not been shared equally. Non-Hispanic Black women accounted for 39% of all abortions in 2022, with an abortion rate of 24.4 per 1,000 women—more than four times the rate for White women (5.7 per 1,000). Yet Black Americans make up only 11.7% of the U.S. population, meaning they undergo nearly 40% of abortions. This stark disparity underscores not only systemic inequities but also the ways in which abortion policy intersects with race, economic status, and access to care.
At the same time, the nation’s birth rate is plunging to historic lows. In 2023, only 3,596,017 births were registered—a 2% decline from 2022—and the general fertility rate fell 3% to just 54.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44, the lowest level on record. When such a significant share of potential births is ending in abortion, the combined effect accelerates America’s demographic challenges: an aging population, shrinking workforce, and increased pressure on social support systems.
Yet abortion is not the only option—and it’s far from the only outcome for children who enter this world unplanned. The U.S. foster care system currently provides care for roughly 369,000 children, and in fiscal year 2023, 50,193 of those youngsters found permanent homes through adoption. Tens of thousands of families stand ready to welcome children in need, offering them love, stability, and the chance to thrive. For every abortion that ends a life before it truly begins, there is an untapped opportunity to connect a child with a family eager to nurture them.
Given these realities—hundreds of thousands of abortions each year, glaring racial disparities, a plummeting birth rate, and viable alternatives like adoption—it’s time to rethink our approach. Rather than treating abortion as an inevitable fixture of modern life, we can prioritize policies and resources that support women in crisis pregnancies, expand access to prenatal care and adoption services, and address the underlying economic and social factors that drive women to consider abortion. In doing so, we honor both the dignity of every unborn child and the well-being of the mothers who carry them.
Ultimately, the question isn’t just whether abortion will remain legal or not, but whether we can build a society where the data tell a different story—one of thriving families, empowered women, and the countless possibilities born from each new life.
Since the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, an estimated 65,464,760 abortions have been performed in the United States—more than the combined populations of Germany and France today. Even as annual figures dipped below one million in the 2010s, the overall toll has remained staggeringly high, with over 930,000 abortions recorded in 2020 alone. That scale of interruption to potential lives cannot be brushed aside as a mere statistic; it represents generations of children—and families—that never had the chance to grow, learn, and contribute.
The burden of abortion has not been shared equally. Non-Hispanic Black women accounted for 39% of all abortions in 2022, with an abortion rate of 24.4 per 1,000 women—more than four times the rate for White women (5.7 per 1,000). Yet Black Americans make up only 11.7% of the U.S. population, meaning they undergo nearly 40% of abortions. This stark disparity underscores not only systemic inequities but also the ways in which abortion policy intersects with race, economic status, and access to care.
At the same time, the nation’s birth rate is plunging to historic lows. In 2023, only 3,596,017 births were registered—a 2% decline from 2022—and the general fertility rate fell 3% to just 54.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44, the lowest level on record. When such a significant share of potential births is ending in abortion, the combined effect accelerates America’s demographic challenges: an aging population, shrinking workforce, and increased pressure on social support systems.
Yet abortion is not the only option—and it’s far from the only outcome for children who enter this world unplanned. The U.S. foster care system currently provides care for roughly 369,000 children, and in fiscal year 2023, 50,193 of those youngsters found permanent homes through adoption. Tens of thousands of families stand ready to welcome children in need, offering them love, stability, and the chance to thrive. For every abortion that ends a life before it truly begins, there is an untapped opportunity to connect a child with a family eager to nurture them.
Given these realities—hundreds of thousands of abortions each year, glaring racial disparities, a plummeting birth rate, and viable alternatives like adoption—it’s time to rethink our approach. Rather than treating abortion as an inevitable fixture of modern life, we can prioritize policies and resources that support women in crisis pregnancies, expand access to prenatal care and adoption services, and address the underlying economic and social factors that drive women to consider abortion. In doing so, we honor both the dignity of every unborn child and the well-being of the mothers who carry them.
Ultimately, the question isn’t just whether abortion will remain legal or not, but whether we can build a society where the data tell a different story—one of thriving families, empowered women, and the countless possibilities born from each new life.