Rise in Late-Term Abortions Points to Value of Unborn Life at Any Point: Expert
Pro-lifers are sounding the alarm that abortions, specifically late-term abortions, are on the rise in blue states. The immediate question that has already emerged by skeptics is whether or not this claim is legitimate. Those in the pro-abortion wagon have claimed this as a “right-wing talking point.” To respond to this accusation, pro-lifers are turning to the numbers.
According to Oregon Health Authority, the number of abortions that have occurred after 23 weeks gestation have “soared” in only a one-year period. Late-term abortions in Oregon went from 85 in 2022 to 225 in 2023. The Washington Times noted that “overall abortions during that period rose in 2023 to 10,075, an increase of 16.2% and the highest state total since 2009.” In Colorado, the outlet added that the total number of abortions in the state “went from 14,154 in 2022 to 14,691 in 2023, a year-to-year increase of 3.8% and the highest total recorded since 1985.” Notably, the leftist Guttmacher Institute recorded the total number of abortions in Colorado that year to be over 25,000. Regarding babies aborted around 28 weeks gestation, the Centennial State saw a 16% increase.
The list, however, does not end there. Michigan also saw a surge in late-term abortions, with a 3.7% increase of total abortions and an 18% increase of abortions for babies at 21 weeks gestation. Apparently, despite what these statistics show, the abortion giant Planned Parenthood doesn’t see a problem. In their opinion, the very words, “late-term abortion,” are a “completely made-up phrase” that they believe is “pure anti-abortion propaganda.” According to the abortion hub, “There’s no such thing as a ‘late-term abortion’ … except in the imaginations of anti-abortion rights activists.”
These statistics come shortly after President-elect Donald Trump’s landslide victory on November 5, in which pro-life activists were quick to amplify the message that now is not the time to give up the fight for life, but rather, to lean in even further. With the news that late-term abortions are on the rise in certain areas, activists say the message is even more relevant. Experts at Family Research Council like Center for Human Dignity Director Mary Szoch and other pro-life organizations have called on those in the movement to view the upcoming Republican-led administration as the opportunity to make even more progress than years prior.
While the topic of late-term abortions often turns more heads, Szoch shared with The Washington Stand that “the only difference between a late-term abortion and an early abortion is the size of the baby. Both abortions kill an unborn child. And so, the increase in the number of abortions, regardless of when it happens, is always tragic.” Szoch further commented, “In blue states where we are seeing the increase in late-term abortions, hopefully the visible humanity of the unborn child [will become clear and] will stir the hearts of people there to recognize that every baby in the world has dignity and is deserving of respect.”
“There’s no magic point in pregnancy when an unborn child becomes a human being,” Szoch emphasized. “It’s a person from the moment of conception.” While Szoch acknowledged that late-term abortions often get more attention, she insisted that “all these babies are valuable” at every stage of pregnancy.
Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.