By: Chris Buerke, Students for Life of America’s 2012 Missionary for Life
Everywhere that you see blue or green on the map above, abortion is legal and on-demand, with little to no restraint. The remainder of the colors—excluding black, which indicates varying laws—correspond to the countries that hold abortion to be illegal except in certain circumstances. At this point, if you have not read up on your pro-life stats recently, you are probably saying to yourself, “Woah now, compadre. I have always been told that abortions are a necessity to society. You expect me to believe that countries can actually survive in this world when abortion isn’t completely legal? No way.”
The truth of the matter is this: 97 countries, about 39 percent of the population, have abortion laws that make it illegal according to the pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Law and Policy in New York. 54 countries allow abortion, which is about 61 percent of the world population, but in those countries where abortion is allowed, countless people are standing up for life. In Berlin; in Paris; in Canada; in Brazil; and of course, in the US. The list goes on. Though the world might be dominated by a vast majority of pro-abortion legislation, people are acting out against the issue for the sake of unborn life.
Unfortunately, the case for abortion goes far beyond the United States, though we do not often take the time to consider the social issues of other countries. Those who are passionately fighting in the pro-life movement are so bogged down by the battle that is taking place at home that even they forget to consider the fact that abortion occurs in places beyond their neighborhood Planned Parenthood—making it not a societal issue, but an international one. This isn’t to say that you should rise from your seat right now, put on a cape, and fly to Africa to fight injustice. However, you must take the time to consider the rest of the world and where they stand on this grave injustice. In order to fully comprehend the issue of abortion, you need to know where and why it exists. You need to know how it began and where it is likely to spread so that you might better know how to end it.
On a different note, I am writing this blog at 2 AM and I can’t get this freaking song out of my head: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuOx7-KzSdM&feature=fvwrel. Best of luck.
