Record Numbers of Births, Births to Unwed Mothers

The headline reads, "More Babies Born in 2007 Than Any Other Year in U.S. History." The reported number was 4,317,119 births.

This is going to get some mileage in the press because it exceeds the previous record, set 50 years earlier, at the height of the "baby boom." It is not particularly impressive when one considers that fifty years ago, the number of women of childbearing age was approximately half of what it is now.

Consequently, the "rate" of birth is not even close to what it was back then.

The more important and troubling aspect of the story is this: About 1.7 million of those births were to unwed mothers. This means that, on average in 2007, there was a baby born to an unwed mother every 18 seconds...a child who will, statistically, likely grow up without the blessings of married, loving parents who demonstrate biblical marriage and morality.

And if you consider how many babies are aborted annually, you will see that only about half of the children conceived in the wombs of American women will make it out of the womb to be greeted by married parents.

Proverbs 14:34: "Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." We should be praying to God for His mercy upon our nation. Our reproach is deserved.