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(LifeSiteNews) – Next month will mark one year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The Dobbs decision, as many predicted, brought an escalation in the abortion wars as state-level battles took on enormous significance. The outcomes, for pro-lifers, have been a very mixed bag – but the abortion industry has sustained some real blows over the past year, as well. 

For starters, pro-life laws are working. According to a Bloomberg report, Arkansas, Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, there were only 265 abortions per month from July to December of 2022 – a 96% drop from the abortion rate during April and May. A key reason for this is the fact that the Dobbs decision resulted in the closure of many abortion clinics, and the “average American now lives 275 miles further” away from a clinic.

With pro-life laws passed in more than a dozen states, the abortion giant has diversified by selling transgender cross-sex hormones and facilitating sex “changes,” but abortion has always been its number one money-maker.

Data have long shown that the further a woman must travel to procure an abortion, the more likely she is to seek other options, instead. One reason that shutting down abortion facilities has been a key tactic of the pro-life movement is because the evidence from both pro-life and pro-abortion sources indicates that abortion-minded women do not simply find other clinics – many will seek life-affirming options, instead. The closure of more abortion centers post-Dobbs has exacerbated that trend. 

Reports that have been affirmed by pro-life statisticians indicate that a minimum of 32,250 fewer abortions were committed in the United States in the six months after Roe fell. 

A new report from NPR highlights another significant victory for the pro-life movement. According to top Planned Parenthood officials, the country’s largest abortion provider is now preparing to restructure their national office and “lay off dozens of staff members, with a new focus on helping local affiliates.” Unions have been told to expect layoffs of up to 10 to 20% of the national workforce, or a minimum of 80 people. Union officials stated that Planned Parenthood’s leaders are “pushing out some of our movement’s brightest minds. This comes at a time where reproductive freedom is in jeopardy and when our members are struggling under difficult economic conditions.” 

That is very good news for the pro-life movement as it indicates the scale of the economic damage done to Planned Parenthood by Dobbs. With pro-life laws passed in more than a dozen states, the abortion giant has diversified by selling transgender cross-sex hormones and facilitating sex “changes,” but abortion has always been its number one money-maker. Planned Parenthood noted that it will redouble its political efforts, pouring campaign cash into the coffers of those who will work to create more friendly regimes in which their corporation can function. They are also planning to invest $70 million in its affiliates. 

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood is also snarled in several expensive legal battles. They are currently being sued by an unnamed pro-life activist for allegedly defrauding Medicaid system – if they lose, they could have to pay out more than $1.8 billion, more than enough to bankrupt the organization at a national level. Planned Parenthood, for their part, is still desperately suing to block pro-life laws from taking effect, most recently trying to stop South Carolina’s “Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion” Law. Much is riding on the outcome of these cases. 

The roadmap for both the abortion movement and the pro-life movement going forward is chaotic and far from clear – but it is important for pro-lifers to recognize the wins as well as the losses.  

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Jonathon Van Maren is a public speaker, writer, and pro-life activist. His commentary has been translated into more than eight languages and published widely online as well as print newspapers such as the Jewish Independent, the National Post, the Hamilton Spectator and others. He has received an award for combating anti-Semitism in print from the Jewish organization B’nai Brith. His commentary has been featured on CTV Primetime, Global News, EWTN, and the CBC as well as dozens of radio stations and news outlets in Canada and the United States.

He speaks on a wide variety of cultural topics across North America at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions. Some of these topics include abortion, pornography, the Sexual Revolution, and euthanasia. Jonathon holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in history from Simon Fraser University, and is the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.

Jonathon’s first book, The Culture War, was released in 2016.

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