Are Pro-Life Campaigns Making a Difference?

Right to Life of Kansas released a report analyzing the most recent U.S. abortion data. The report assesses nearly 40 years of American pro-life political strategy.

“As the pro-life movement prepares to enter its fourth decade of fighting abortion, it is imperative that it look in the mirror and assess its progress towards ending abortion,” it reads. “The findings of this report are devastating to analyze.”

Information for the report was gathered from a 2011 Alan Guttmacher Institute paper, as well as a recent Barna Group Survey and Gallup poll results. The Guttmacher Institute follows trends such as annual number of abortions, abortion rate and the number of states using taxpayer funds to pay for abortions. Of the 10 indicators of the status of abortion in America, the report notes that every category is either “stable” or “increasing.”

The Barna Group and Gallup polling results provide insight into public opinion and the importance of abortion as a political issue. The Barna Group statistics have abortion listed at all-time lows for political relevance, and the Gallup polling shows that while the number of Americans self-identifying with the term “pro-life” has jumped 12 points in 16 years, the percentage of people who believe abortion should be legal in some or all circumstances has increased two points to 77 percent over the last 36 years.

The report submits that the pro-life movement consider several crucial strategic questions such as, “Is the 35-year pro-life strategy of regulating abortion winning the war against the evil of abortion?” Right to Life of Kansas President John Seiler, Jr. says he hopes that the analysis will shed some light on the answers.

“When you look at the raw data, it is alarming,” he says. “It is vital that we understand where the pro-life movement has been, where it is at, and determine the best way forward.”

The report can be viewed at: rtlk.org/analysis.html