Abortion May Be a Greater Tragedy Than You Think!

According to these two stories from Foxnews.com (click here and here to read them), worldwide abortions in 2003 were down to "only" 41.6 million.

Here are some quotations from these articles (my commentary is in a different color):

"One in five pregnancies worldwide and one in three pregnancies in Europe ends in abortion, according to a new study published in a special female-focused issue of the Lancet.

"The study also found that, on average, 90 percent of women worldwide will have an abortion before the age of 45, based on 2003 data. However, many women will have had multiple abortions and many none at all to come to this average. [To put this in more statistically-understandable terminology, the average woman will have 0.90 abortions by the age of 45.]

"Although the statistics may seem startling, worldwide rates of induced abortion actually fell 17 percent from 46 million to 42 million between 1995 and 2003." [Later in the article, it uses the 41.6 million number instead, but even that only represents a decrease of 9.565%. When reading or hearing statistical data in the media, make it your habit to be highly skeptical. Reporters are not statisticians, and they can be easily misled]

"...Of the 41.6 million abortions worldwide, 35 million were in the developing countries, and 6.6 million in developed countries.

"The worldwide induced abortion rate fell from 35 per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 in 1995 to 29 per 1,000 in 2003.

"That same year, 48 percent of all abortions worldwide were unsafe (up from 44 percent in 1995), and 97 percent of unsafe abortions were in developing countries. In developed countries, 92 percent of abortions were safe. [Read the article for a morbid definition of what this means. No abortion is safe. At least one person dies every single time.]

"Globally, there were 31 abortions for every 100 live births in 2003, while in Eastern Europe there were more abortions than live births, 105 abortions for every 100 live births, more than double the level of the next highest world region, Eastern Asia (51 abortions for every 100 livebirths).

"Eastern Europe also saw the biggest decrease in abortion rates between 1995 and 2003, down 50 percent. The authors attribute this decline to an increased use of modern contraception methods."

From the second article:

"Women are just as likely to get an abortion in countries where it is outlawed as they are in countries where it is legal, according to research published Friday.

"In a study examining abortion trends from 1995 to 2003, experts also found that abortion rates are virtually equal in rich and poor countries, and that half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe."

"...Abortion accounts for 13 percent of maternal mortality worldwide. About 70,000 women die every year from unsafe abortions. An additional 5 million women suffer permanent or temporary injury." [I can't help but think about the sowing-and-reaping principle here, or the fact that God does punish sin.]

Just for comparison purposes, the number of 2003 abortions worldwide is approximately equal to the total 2000 combined population of California, Arizona, and Nevada.