To the editor:
On the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of the horribly misguided Supreme Court decision somehow permitting the destruction of innocent human life in the womb (Roe vs. Wade), it may be instructive to reflect on the human carnage wrought by this judicial ruling.
Based on the most recent assessments, the aggregate number of human lives lost (since 1973) totals about 57 million. To lend some perspective, that total infant death toll since 1973 is approximately 18,000 times the death toll in the 9/11 attack, 1,100 times the lives lost in the Vietnam conflict, and 35 times all U.S. highway deaths during the past 40 years.
As I ponder these numbers, it remains incomprehensible to me that, in 1973, the highest court in the land could so easily trump the most fundamental right of all — the right to life — without seriously confronting the equally fundamental question of when human life actually begins!
If there is any positive news, it may be that the current annual death numbers have been decreasing over the past 20 or so years to a current level of “only” 1.1 million lost lives. Additionally, attitudes regarding the morality of abortion appear to be trending in a positive direction. Ashley McGuire of The Catholic Association recently reported that 49 percent of Americans now consider abortion to be immoral while only 15 percent consider it morally acceptable. McGuire further notes that “the past four years have seen more pro-life laws passed by state legislatures than in the entire previous decade.”
While we should celebrate the positive trends, much more needs to be done. We have now eliminated 57 million human lives whose lost potential is known only to God. Surely this nation — blessed beyond any others by God — must confront and put an end to this abominable stain on the national soul!
David A. Nealy
Greenwood
