Abortion is big business.
In the last couple of years, the United Kingdom has seen an increase in abortions. In 2017, around 200,000 abortions took place in the U.K. Half of those abortions were funded by taxpayers. Taking the last 20 years into account, abortions have increased a staggering 270% within the United Kingdom.
Abortion is a lucrative enterprise in the U.K. It is also a multi-million dollar business in the United States. When you factor in all of the other countries who approve of abortion and the financial gain they make from desperate women, we see an industry that thrives on selling abortion to women. The more abortions performed, the more money in the pockets of those who perpetuate the idea that this is “vital healthcare.”
A report by the Care Quality Commission on Marie Stopes International, the U.K. equivalent of Planned Parenthood in America, found that abortion clinics have a policy to follow up with women who inquire about services to offer them an abortion appointment in an attempt to persuade them to change their mind. This report also found that workers in the abortion industry highly discourage family members from being present at appointments if they are likely to persuade them against obtaining an abortion.
The abortion industry has no vested interest in reducing abortions. This is clear in how staff have abortion quotas to meet. The more abortions they “sell,” the more money they pocket.
Abortion advocates argue abortion is something women need to succeed. To control our bodies and our lives, we must have the freedom to take our defenseless and innocent offspring to a clinic where they ultimately end up in the garbage. Pitting two people against each other and telling the stronger one they have the right to kill the weaker one is not empowering.
Abortion clinics tout themselves as caring for women’s health and their well-being, but that is a façade to hide the truth.
Those who support abortion like to say how they don’t “like abortion” but argue it is necessary for women’s health. “Safe, legal, and rare” used to be the slogan for abortion. Now, we hear the slogan of “abortion on-demand and without apology.”
If this whole abortion controversy were really about healthcare and women’s rights, why do abortion clinics resist laws that require them to be held to the same basic health standards as hospitals? If they care so much about “healthcare,” wouldn’t it make sense for them to be held to the same standard as other medical clinics? If they genuinely cared about women, what about all the defenseless preborn women who have been victimized in the name of “choice”?
Time and again we have seen investigations into abortion clinics revealing they are not clean, safe, or up to health standards. We have also seen them covering for sex traffickers and hiding sexual abuse of women. In a recent investigation into Marie Stopes International, the government suspended the clinic’s ability to perform abortions due to medical staff competence concerns.
How many times do reports documenting abuse have to come out before people admit abortion clinics are not these altruistic facilities that just want to help women?
Abortion has never been about healthcare, and it has never been about empowering women. It is neither empowering nor liberating to kill preborn children. The abortion worldview is highly demeaning to women, as it tells us we need the “right to kill our children” in order to be successful — that controlling our bodies entails a right to kill our unborn children.
To the contrary, a woman’s ability to thrive and succeed is not dependent on abortion. Our ability to thrive and succeed depends on whether or not we are alive to enjoy those things in the first place. Our culture should be a place that respects and protects human life regardless of age and affords everyone the chance to experience the gift of life.
The need for more pro-life advocates in the U.K., America, and the world is pressing. Worldwide, around 56 million abortions occur every year. Globally, a quarter of all pregnancies end in abortion. Most Americans favor keeping abortion legal. Do not let the significance of those statistics get past you. Fifty-six million abortions: a quarter of all pregnancies worldwide. Those numbers are referring to individual human beings who are not here because their right to life is not recognized.
We have an obligation to be a voice for those who are marginalized and abused, for those who do not have a voice of their own, for those who are treated as if they had no right to live. Standing up for the dignity and value of all human beings is not easy, but doing what is right has never been easy and popular. Regardless of the persecution and resistance from the culture of death, let us fight with perseverance and be persistent in our defense for a culture that respects human beings — born and preborn.
Rebekah is a Training Specialist with Justice For All. You can follow her work at jfaweb.org/rebekah-dyer
