New York Figures: Abortion Not Rare, Used as Birth Control

Opinion   |   Brad Mattes   |   Jan 14, 2011   |   2:14PM   |   New York, NY

The most populous city in the nation is also the most deadly for unborn babies.

The New York City Department of Health recently reported that a startling 41 percent of pregnancies in the city ended in abortion. That’s almost double the national rate of 24 percent.

While New Yorkers are noted for sticking together and accepting one another, regardless of background, creed or ethnicity, they’ve all but abandoned the unborn. The contradiction is not lost on some pro-lifers. “Our boast is the Statue of Liberty, not the Grim Reaper,” Archbishop Timothy Dolan told reporters last week. “This New York community, which prides itself on its gritty sensitivity to those in need, is letting down the smallest and most helpless of them all.”

One thing is certain. If abortion is supposed to be “rare,” it’s not in New York. In the Abortion Capital of the World, more than one out of four procedures is performed on women aged 20 to 24. About half were African-American women, and one-quarter were Hispanic. Most lived in the Bronx and Brooklyn, where abortion mills claim a strong presence. So even in the “Big Apple” the abortion industry blatantly targets minorities and the poor.

Planned Parenthood continues to be virtually silent on these recent numbers. But liberal fanatics are bellowing that the death toll would be lower had there simply been greater access to birth control. (We know of at least 60 organizations in New York that are passing out free condoms — not even counting school health clinics.) The harsh reality is that abortion is the new birth control. That’s why Planned Parenthood is hiding behind their fat wallets and statistical success. To the abortion industry, numbers like these represent higher profits.  

Thankfully, a group of committed citizens is responding to this breakdown of values. They’ve issued a call to NYC neighbors to empower women with more choices than just abortion, and they’re recognizing it starts with education.

That’s why Life Issues Institute exists: to offer the educational tools and support that communities all around the world need to face this important issue. We’re daily combating the abortion industry’s lies, so that more fathers and mothers will be spared the pain and regret of a choice they can never undo. Thank you for joining with us, so one day, as the Statue of Liberty proclaims, all the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” will be given the freedom to do just that.

LifeNews.com Note: Bradley Mattes is the executive director of Life Issues Institute, a national pro-life educational group. Mattes is a veteran of the pro-life cause, with over 33 years of educational, political and humanitarian experience.