A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that the United States abortion rate increased in 2019 for the second consecutive year. According to the report, abortion deaths have increased by 0.9% in women ages 15-44. However, no one truly knows if that’s the full extent of the damage—here’s why:  

The CDC admitted to the Washington Times, “The data CDC compiles are limited and do not include information on the reasons for abortion or availability of abortion services, and the completeness of abortion data in reporting areas can vary from year to year.” The organization also stated that the abortion data is “difficult to interpret.”  

The problem of abortion data resurfaces yet again. As the CDC said, abortion data is limited, incomplete, and difficult to interpret because there are no national abortion reporting laws. We can never know how many abortions are truly committed unless there is accountability through mandatory reporting laws for the abortion industry. Without such data, there is also not definitive information on the safety of abortion procedures to women—a huge problem for women’s health and wellbeing, which Students for Life Action has touched on repeatedly (take a hint, federal government!).  

Until then, we must move forward with what we know: abortion numbers are climbing, and the abortion lobby will do anything to keep that number growing. As the downfall of Roe v. Wade looks imminent to many nationwide, pro-abortion supporters are scrambling for a plan of action. Their strategy is Chemical Abortion pills and the codification of Roe v. Wade—the Women’s Health Protection Act, although far more radical than Roe, is the chosen tool in codification.  

However, a recent Slate article asserted that, whether or not the abortion lobby succeeds in codifying Roe, Congress can still support abortion through financial assistance—and by financial assistance, they mean lots and lots of it.  

Authors Alan B. Morrison and Sonia M. Suter write, “We urge Congress to create a multi-million-dollar abortion expense fund, to be awarded to non-profit organizations that will provide the funds directly to women who require such support.”  

Additionally, they state, “Congress should make the provision of abortion services…available to all Medicaid eligible patients.  Thus, even if a state banned all abortions, federal funding would be made available to all Medicaid patients to pay for an abortion that would be performed in a state where it is legal.”  

Thankfully, the Hyde Amendment currently stands in the way of such egregious funding, but the authors advise, “It is urgent to repeal the amendment permanently.” Despite the fact that the Hyde Amendment historically has bipartisan support, has exceptions (which SFLA is not in favor of but recognizes it increases bipartisan support), and saves a ton of minority lives, pro-abortion supporters want this amendment gone.  

As the death rate for aborted preborn children rises and demands for even more abortion money get louder, it may seem like the pro-life movement is down for the count. Make no mistake about it; we’re right on top still. Roe v. Wade is on the road to reversal, and we’ve got a plan—one that is far better than anything the abortion lobby could scheme up.  

In an op-ed for Fox News entitled, “America Needs to Get Ready for a World After Roe,” SFLA President Kristan Hawkins observed, “In a post-Roe, post-Dobbs America, a renewed commitment to serving women and their children, born and preborn, will be crucial to ensuring a safety net is in place.”  

The Pro-Life Generation needs to continue in their prayers and activism as we strive to beat back and defeat abortion by protecting life in law and service. We will work to bring the abortion rate down (and end it altogether) through pro-life legislation led by Students for Life Action and pro-life assistance to mothers and preborn children led by initiatives like SFLA’s Standing with You.  

To learn more about SFLA’s Post-Roe plans, click HERE.  

To become trained in our Post-Roe plans, register for the National Pro-Life Summit where we’re creating Post-Roe activists and single-issue voters.