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47 million children have been aborted since Roe v. Wade.

January 22, 2006 12:50 am

OSEPH STALIN IS credited with the cynical observation that "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." And it is true that a million of anything is a hard number to fathom, even if it entails the loss of human life.

Try 3,600--this is an easier number to comprehend. Or, if it helps, think of 150 instead.

Each of these dry numbers represents lost children, but not the kind whose faces you see on milk cartons. They are children lost to abortion.

About 150 abortions are performed each and every hour, almost 3,600 abortions a day, 1.3 million a year. Since the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, more than 47 million defenseless, unborn children have perished from abortion.

Let me tell you about a child who, with a different set of parents, could have been one of these numbers.

Sarah is an adorable 9-year-old. She's friendly, has a head full of strawberry blond hair, and she was Student of the Week recently at school. Her teacher wrote, "Sarah demonstrates the six pillars of character every day. She is honest, kind, and compassionate. She plays by the rules and always perseveres, trying to do her best. Sarah is very enjoyable to have in our class."

Sarah also has Down syndrome, a chromosomal abnormality. And at the age of 20 months, she suffered a stroke from a rare genetic condition called Moyamoya syndrome that left her a quadriplegic. Sarah is also in her second year of remission after being diagnosed with leukemia.

Some believe that the compassionate solution to the "problem" of an unborn child with a disability is abortion. Abortion proponents frequently use "hard cases" like Sarah's to garner sympathy and support for abortion on demand.

Sarah is the expectant parent's worst nightmare--no one would want a child like her, right?

But Sarah's parents do want her, and do love her. She will probably not be with them for very long, so they try to make the most of what few years they will likely have with their precious daughter.

None of us are promised free passes in life--we are not guaranteed a carefree existence. Sarah didn't deserve Down syndrome or the rare Moyamoya condition. Neither did Sarah deserve leukemia, nor the chemotherapy that followed. She didn't deserve any of this. But most of all, Sarah and thousands of children like her do not deserve to die from abortion. No child does. Not 47 million. Not one.

Why, then, do women have abortions? Is it because of cases like this, involving fear of fetal disability--fears which have been used by abortion proponents? No--according to a study done by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, which is the special research affiliate of Planned Parenthood, of the 1.3 million abortions performed every year, only 3 percent of women having abortions cite "possible problems affecting the health of the fetus."

Nor are rape/incest/health of the mother--again, often cited as a main defense--the primary causes for abortion, either. Less than 2 percent of abortions are done to save a mother's life or for cases of rape or incest.

The explanation for why women have abortions can be found in a study reported last September, done by the AGI. It found that women cited a number of responses as the "most important reason" for having an abortion: "not ready for a(nother) child/the timing is wrong," "can't afford a baby now," feelings that the woman had "completed childbearing/have other people depending on me/children are grown," and "having relationship problems/don't want to be a single mother."

Yet even in cases where all the "important reasons" for abortion could be invoked, life can find a way.

A friend of mine--I'll call her Jennifer--became pregnant at 15. Her boyfriend wanted her to have an abortion and told her he would have nothing to do with the child. Her parents pressured her to have an abortion, and took her to see a counselor who agreed that an abortion would be best.

But Jennifer didn't want an abortion. The counselor told Jennifer that abortion would give her a second chance at life--without one, she would never finish school and would spend the rest of her life on welfare.

In 1992, Jennifer gave birth to a baby boy she named Gabriel. Her parents fell in love with their grandson. Jennifer went on to finish school, and today has a successful career working for a nonprofit organization.

Jennifer wanted support. Instead, she was offered reasons for getting an abortion.

Roe requires obeisance from liberals and feminists everywhere and allows abortion on demand for any reason throughout a woman's pregnancy. How do the reasons for abortion stack up against public opinion?

When asked in a Zogby Poll in April 2004, "Which of the statements most closely resembles your own?" a total of 56 percent respondents agreed with one of the three pro-life options: abortions should never be legal; legal only to save the mother's life; or legal only to save the mother's life or in cases of rape or incest.

By contrast, a total of only 42 percent agreed with one of the three pro-choice options: abortion should be legal in the first three months; legal the first 6 months; or legal at any time during the woman's pregnancy.

Groups such as Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the National Organization for Women would have you believe that each of the 47 million unborn babies represented nothing more than a "product of conception" or a "blob of tissue." But an unborn child's heart begins to beat just 18 to 22 days after conception--about the time a woman finds out she's pregnant.

Abortion truly does stop a beating heart.

A third of a century later, we mark the anniversary of Roe. The court's decision has left our country divided and an entire generation stripped of friends and classmates.

Happy anniversary.