Wars have killed over 100 million people in the last century. It took a hundred years to reach that number. The United Nations estimates 45-50 million abortions each year, so it would take only two or three years of abortion procedures to surpass that number, which means 125,000 pre-born children are destroyed EACH DAY, year in and year out, in our world. In fact, 2.5 billion pre-children have been killed through abortions over these last fifty years in our world. It makes perfect sense then for the US Bishops to teach that abortion is a “pre-eminent priority” for Catholics (and even all people of good will).
Before the recent Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Health, the brutal reality is that the at least the lives of 900,000 pre-born children ended every year in the United States from abortions. What would we think if 900,000 school children or 900,000 immigrants were killed every single year (or 900,000 lives lost to Covid19)? Abortion is the number one cause of violent death in the world, and even with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, it will still be the leading cause of deaths in the United States. The immensity of that violence dwarfs every other issue by a mile.
In addition, there are millions of women (and men) wounded and damaged for many years after their abortion also affecting siblings, grandparents, other family members, friends and abortion industry workers, as well as other members of our community. One can see why the need to address the issue of abortion is of paramount importance.
Fr. Jim Hewes