September 12 is National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Babies, a day set aside to grieve the terrible toll of abortion in the United States as pro-lifers gather at gravesites and memorials for babies who have lost their lives to abortion. The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute reported that in 2017, 862,320 abortions were committed in the united States, meaning that 18% of pregnancies in the U.S. that year ended in abortion. In Minnesota alone, nearly 10,000 babies lose their lives to abortion every year. Last year over 80% of those babies were killed after a fetal heartbeat was detectable, and three survived the abortion procedure only to die shortly after.
By taking a day to grieve the tragedy of abortion, we recognize and remember the humanity of the babies who have been lost. In honoring their brief lives, we call attention to the horror of abortion and commit to fighting for life by reminding ourselves and our culture that each abortion is not merely a statistic but the destruction of a child’s life. Because of abortion, nearly 10,000 babies in Minnesota last year lost their lives before they had the opportunity to see the light of day.
And yet, as we grieve, we do not grieve without hope. The pro-life movement is having an impact, both in the U.S. and internationally. Last year, Life News reported that abortions in the U.S. had hit an all-time low since legalization and that the total number of abortions in the U.S. had decreased by 24% over the past ten years. This is very good news! At the same time, there is still much work to be done, and the abortion industry is currently pushing for one of the largest expansions of abortion since Roe v. Wade as they work to remove FDA restrictions on the abortion pill.
The evil of abortion should weigh heavily on our nation’s conscience, and it is an evil that we must continue to fight until abortion becomes unthinkable. We must continue to pray that by God’s grace abortion will end. We must commit to speaking up and fighting for the lives of the unborn, working to change hearts and minds, and being the hands and feet of Christ by reaching out in compassion to women who are considering abortion. We must help women who have had an abortion to grieve, repent, and move forward. And we must, as a nation, make abortion not only illegal but unthinkable.
