Abortion is not the only issue of moral significance in our world, but neither are all moral concerns of equal size, gravity, or urgency. So just how big of a problem is abortion?
The numbers below should help to answer that question. The purpose of these numbers is not to belittle any of the atrocities listed below, for the death of any innocent person is a tragedy. Instead, the numbers are given to help give perspective on size and scope.
25,000,000 – Worldwide HIV-related deaths since start of outbreak to 2009. [Source]
5,900,000 – Jews killed in the Holocaust. [Source]
5,000,000 – Non-Jews killed in the Holocaust. [Source]
3,000,000 – Deaths related to the Crusades from 1095-1291. [Source]
2,500,000 – US military dead and wounded from all American wars combined. [Source]
2,500,000 – Deaths from the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. [Source]
2,400,000 – Deaths by any cause in the US in 2009 (excepting abortion). [Source]
1,500,000 – Deaths from human sacrifice by Aztecs from 1300-1521. [Source]
1,000,000 – Deaths in the Soviet Gulag from 1934-1953. [Source]
800,000 – Deaths in the Rwandan genocide. [Source]
230,000 – Deaths in 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. [Source]
145,000 – Immediate deaths from atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. [Source]
11,078 – Number of firearm homicides in 2010. [Source]
5,000 – Number executed by the Spanish Inquisition from 1560-1700. [Source]
4,743 – Number of lynchings in US from 1882-1968. [Source]
2,996 – Deaths in September 11th, 2011 terrorist attacks. [Source]
1,278 – Number of executions (capital punishment) in the US since 1976. [Source]
25 – Deaths from Salem Witch Trials. [Source]
50,000,120 – TOTAL of all of the above.
50,000,000 – Abortions in the US alone from 1973-2008. [Source]
43,800,000 – Abortions worldwide in 2008 alone. [Source]
336,000,000 – Abortions in China alone since 1971. [Source]
1,720,000,000 – Estimated number of abortions worldwide since 1973. [Source]
So is abortion just one issue among many?
Lord have mercy.
And today we celebrate...