February 26, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — “Nothing stamped with the Divine image and likeness was sent into the world to be trodden on, and degraded, and imbruted by its fellows.” – Abraham Lincoln, Speech at Lewistown, Illinois, August 17, 1858
Nothing can diminish the reality of what takes place in our country’s abortion centers: the dismemberment of living persons, the harvesting of their body parts, the dehumanization of both them and their mothers.
Even with that, abortion on demand and without restriction is being hemmed-in by the slow but sure efforts of those brave souls who hold the mirror of truth to a society that cannot deny what it sees therein: The reality of personhood within the womb.
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Here are some facts about the sagging state of America’s domestic industry of death, the abortion trade. They should encourage those who understand that personhood begins at conception to stay engaged and not grow weary in doing the good they have, for so many years, kept doing:
- Since 2011, at least 162 abortion providers have shut or stopped offering the procedure, while just 21 opened. The drop-off in providers—more than one every two weeks—occurred in 35 states, in both small towns and big cities that are home to more than 30 million women of reproductive age. Of all the facilities in the nation that closed or stopped performing terminations, about a third were operated by Planned Parenthood; of the ones that opened, three-quarters were. (Source: Bloomberg News, February 24, 2016)
- There are 514 surgical abortion facilities left in the U.S. and 213 medical abortion facilities. (Source: AbortionDocs.org, accessed February 25, 2016)
- In 1991, which is considered the high water mark for the number of abortion clinics, 2,176 surgical facilities offered abortions. Since then, 81% have closed. In 2015, 21 new facilities began selling abortions. This includes 7 new surgical abortion clinics and 14 medication clinics that opened or converted from referral offices. Several other abortion facilities reopened after struggling with location issues or having been shut down by the state as unsafe. This represents a net loss for the Abortion Cartel of 9 abortion clinics nationwide and 219 since 2013. (Source: LifeSiteNews.com, December 22, 2015)
- The vast majority – 94 percent – of pregnancy terminations are conducted in stand-alone clinics, as opposed to hospitals or doctor's offices. The number of these facilities that perform 400 or more abortions a year has dropped from a peak of 705 in the late 1980s to 553 in 2011, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a think-tank that supports reproductive rights. (Source: Christian Science Monitor, February 25, 2016)
- Including the 57 abortion restrictions enacted in 2015, states have adopted 288 abortion restrictions just since the 2010 midterm elections swept abortion opponents into power in state capitals across the country. To put that number in context, states adopted nearly as many abortion restrictions during the last five years (288 enacted 2011–2015) as during the entire previous 15 years (292 enacted 1995–2010). Moreover, the sheer number of new restrictions enacted in 2015 makes it clear that this sustained assault on abortion access shows no signs of abating.
- The laws include rules concerning medication abortion (42), private insurance coverage (34), minors’ access (31), counseling (24), prohibitions concerning second or third “trimester” abortions (23), various reporting requirements (19), clinic regulations (19), waiting periods (18), Medicaid coverage (16), ultrasounds (15), admitting privileges (15), first “trimester” abortions (eight), and various other restrictions (24). (Source: Guttmacher Institute, accessed February 25, 2016)
The pro-life movement has been battling for the unborn and their mothers for decades. We have just yet begun to fight.