The Dispatch: More from CWR...

U.S. abortions increase by nearly 70,000 in three years, reversing long-term decline

Katie Yoder   By Katie Yoder for CNA

June 15, 2022 Catholic News Agency The Dispatch 4 Print

(Image: léa b | Unsplash.com)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 15, 2022 / 16:27 pm (CNA).

The number of U.S. abortions increased by nearly 70,000 in three years, according to data compiled by a pro-abortion research organization. The increase, it says, reverses a 30-year decline.

A total of 930,160 unborn babies were aborted in 2020 — an 8% increase from the 862,320 abortions in 2017, according to a new report published by the Guttmacher Institute on Wednesday.

“The loss of each of these children is incalculable,” Lila Rose, head of the pro-life group Live Action, tweeted in response to the report.

In women between the ages of 15 and 44, the abortion rate increased 7%, from 13.5 abortions per 1,000 women in 2017 to 14.4 per 1,000 women in 2020. The abortion ratio — the number of abortions per 100 pregnancies — increased 12%, from 18.4% in 2017 to 20.6% in 2020.

This means that, in 2020, roughly one in five unborn babies was aborted (this figure does not include miscarriages).

The institute, once associated with Planned Parenthood, collects data on abortions by contacting every known U.S. abortion provider every three years. It completed this most recent report in May, with data representing 1,687 facilities that provided abortions in 2019 or 2020.

Of those contacted, 52% of facilities responded to the Guttmacher Institute, which also used state health department data to determine the number of abortions provided at 17% of facilities. The total number was estimated for the remaining 31%. The number does not account for “self-managed abortion,” which refers to abortions that occur outside a formal medical setting.

The new report found that the number of abortions increased in all four regions of the country between 2017 and 2020: the West, Midwest, South, and Northeast.

The Guttmacher Institute listed factors that might have impacted the number: Medicaid expansion; Trump-Pence administration policy; abortion funds; the pandemic, and state laws.

While the CDC also conducts an abortion surveillance report, its voluntarily-provided data does not include three states (California, Maryland, and New Hampshire).

The report comes as the Supreme Court prepares to issue a decision in the highly-anticipated abortion case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. A leak in that case suggested that justices may overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide, when deciding Dobbs. If that happens, abortion legislation could be left up to each individual state.

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Diocese of Phoenix seminar stresses conscience formation ahead of election

October 1, 2020 CNA Daily News 0

CNA Staff, Oct 1, 2020 / 04:59 pm (CNA).- Ahead of the U.S. presidential election, the Diocese of Phoenix is hosting its biennial legislative seminar encouraging Catholics to form their consciences in order to help fulfill their responsibility as citizens.

The Catholics in the Public Square seminar will be held virtually on the morning of Oct. 3, hosted by the Diocese of Phoenix and Bishop Thomas Olmsted, in conjunction with the Catholic Women of Phoenix and the Knights of Columbus.

“There is a growing division in our state and in our country, especially in recent months,” said Olmsted in an August promotional video. “As we approach the fall elections, what we must never forget, however, is that God remains with us and has a plan and responsibility for each of us to be faithful Catholics and loyal responsible citizens.”

The seminar will be live-streamed on the diocese’s Youtube and Facebook pages. The event has taken place every two years since Olmsted became bishop in 2004, and it typically attracts around 400 attendees.

The seminar will begin at 9:30 a.m. with Mass celebrated by Olmsted. It will continue with speeches from religious freedom experts including Helen Alvaré, law professor at Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, and Alan Sears, who served as the president of Alliance Defending Freedom for over 20 years.

Ron Johnson, executive director for the Arizona Catholic Conference, helped organize the event. He said the formation of laity is one of  its main goals. The seminar will encourage Catholics to be faithful beyond the normal obligations of Mass and to practice the faith in every aspect of their lives, including civic responsibilities.

“Part of the seminar … is that we need to be Catholic in everything we do, not just at Mass on Sunday for an hour, but wherever we are,” he told CNA. “Praying, volunteering at soup kitchens, you name it. But, voting is also a very important one as well. We have an obligation as Catholics to form our conscience.”

Religious freedom will be among the major issues discussed at the seminar.

“Religious liberty is going to be a big one,” Johnson said. “[Helen Alvaré is] going to have a lot of important things to discuss with regard to our faith and our institutions in particular, how we’re at risk of losing our Catholic identity. If we don’t stand up for the culture we’re in right now, we’ve got a real risk.”

Speakers will address the impact of threats to religious liberty throughout the United States and across the world, not only for the Catholic Church, but also in various professions, such as health care, he said.

In a Sept. 29 video from the Arizona Catholic Conference, the state’s bishops stressed voting as an important part of the obligation to promote the common good.

“The Catholic Church is not partisan and does not endorse candidates,” Bishop Edward Weisenburger of Tucson said. “We are, however, firmly committed to promoting Catholic teaching and encouraging the laity to fully engage in promoting the common good in all aspects of their lives.”

Neither major political party embraces the fullness of Catholic teaching, said Bishop Wall of Gallup. “We are called to pray and reflect upon the critical moral issues of our day.”

“Catholic teaching reminds us that the protection of innocent human life from abortion is the pre-eminent issue of our time,” Bishop Olmsted said. “Accordingly, respect for the human dignity of all people, including immigrants, refugees, and the poor are also critical parts of Catholic social teaching. We oppose all forms of unjust discriminations and advocate for the healing of divisions that have resulted from racism in all of its various forms throughout the years.”

 


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4 Comments

    • Republicans aren’t doing much about it either. Nobody is. I guess the solution is in the hearts and minds of individuals.This is where evangelization comes in.

      Reply

      • Roe v Wade being overturned is a direct result of the court being righted, via a Republican president. This is the one of the main reasons I voted for him.

        The blase? attitude towards fighting abortion needs to strengthen in the church from the Vatican on down. John Paul the II’s teachings on this should be pasted on the walls; esp the one about a “society that does not protect it’s most vulnerable will not survive.”

        Reply

      • Oh, *please* Ann. (Emoji looking down and covering face with hand.) You HAVE to be kidding me!

        Republicans aren’t doing much to fight abortion?

        Check out laws recently passed in Texas. Oklahoma. Ohio. And guess which party passed those laws.

        It wasn’t Democrats.

        And check out longstanding laws in the Dakotas, Idaho, Utah, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri — and so many more states, all NOT run by Democrats.

        And then compare and contrast those laws to the abortion laws in Democratic states, like California, Illinois and New York, where babies can be aborted at any time, for any reason, and under any medical insurance plan.

        Look, Ann. If you want to vote for the Democrats’ vaunted “seamless garment” — holding your nose about abortion but voting for Democrats anyway so you can have millions of unvetted, uneducated, untrained aliens pouring across our southern border; double-digit inflation; Russia attacking its neighbors; skyrocketing gas prices, record crime levels in our Democratic-run cities; China’s rise to world dominance, and SO MUCH MORE…!

        By all means, Ann. Vote Democratic.

        Just don’t deceive yourself about the alternative you have.

        Have ALWAYS had.

        Reply

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