More than 55,000,000 unborn children have lost their lives in America since the scourge of abortion was legalized on January 22, 1973 with the Supreme Court decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton.
Today, January 22, we recognize that for 41 years Pro-Lifers have been in the desert, struggling to return to the promise land. We have toiled in the dark on a quest to build a culture where all innocent human life is welcomed, cherished, and legally protected from the moment of conception until natural death.
In Texas, we have recently enjoyed remarkable success. As seen in the graph below, Texas abortions have fallen from a peak of approximately 90,000 in 1990 to 70,000 in 2011. More importantly, the abortion rate has fallen precipitously. This is the metric that charts a true culture change. Fewer percentages of pregnancies in Texas are ending in the death of an innocent. Abortion is not an option for a growing number of Texas women every year.
This wonderful decline does not reflect the dramatic reductions expected to be reported for 2012 and 2013 when the effect of powerful Sonogram Law passed will manifest.
Additionally, House Bill 2, the most powerful Pro-Life law passed in our state's history, should save 5,000 or more lives every year as already 13 Texas abortion centers have closed since its passage. Empirical data on that will not be available for at least a year.
The most shocking aspect to the dwindling number of abortions in Texas is the fact that our population has skyrocketed since 1990, and every abortion metric continues to plummet. Texas truly is building a Culture of Life.
Where do we go now from here and what is the most difficult barrier to saving additional lives? Over the course of the next few weeks, I plan to write you on these questions.
But for today, join me and our staff at Texas Right to Life in thanking God that the battle for Life is being fought and won in our Lone Star State.
