As Leaders Focus on Coronavirus, Abortion Has Become the Leading Cause of Death, Accounting for Nearly 42% of Deaths Worldwide

According to a new report, abortion is now the world’s leading cause of death, accounting for nearly 42% of all deaths worldwide. Let that sink in for a moment. That’s almost HALF. More than cancer. More than heart disease. More than any criminal violence.

In 2020, our entire country, and indeed the world, was forced to shut down to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Classrooms were closed, creating additional burdens on working families which the ACLJ – not the government – has been working tirelessly for months to help ease as part of our School Choice Initiative.

Small businesses and restaurants were forced to close, in some cases forever. Travel was restricted. And were all urged to wear face coverings, continually wash and sanitize our hands, and stay away from each other as much as possible. And countless out-of-work families have been left struggling to pay bills and keep roofs over their heads.

All of this resulting from precautions put in place by the government to fight a worldwide pandemic which has reportedly taken just over 1.9 million lives worldwide.

And we don’t say that lightly or to try to downplay that haunting number. The loss of life is horrific and even one death would have been too many. We at the ACLJ have even made changes to our daily routines and office policies in order to ward off the spread.

Of course we agree that we must all do our part to protect the most vulnerable and defenseless. But what group is more vulnerable, more defenseless, and more unheard, than unborn babies still in their mothers’ wombs?

So how is it that an astounding 42.6 MILLION BABIES WERE ABORTED – KILLED – IN 2020, according to the latest report (which notes that all other deaths combined totaled about 59 million last year), and yetnot a single mandate was announced or abortion business forced to close?

Across the globe, we’ve lost almost 43 million innocent lives – in one year. Over 20x as many precious lives have been taken by Planned Parenthood and their fellow abortionists globally as have been lost by this indiscriminate virus – and we haven’t been ordered to alter one aspect of our lives. That is both hypocrisy and tragedy on an epic scale.

Even after this unfathomable abortion statistic, COVID-19 is still not even close to the leading cause of death last year. As stated in the report:

By comparison, communicable diseases killed more than 13 million people worldwide in 2020. About 8.2 million people worldwide lost their lives to cancer while nearly 5.1 million people and 2.5 million people succumbed to death as a result of smoking and alcohol, respectively.

The government has certainly taken action in all of those cases. It regulates alcohol production and consumption. It mandated warning labels be printed on all cigarette packaging, and has outlawed smoking in public places because smoking is dangerous even to non-smokers. Cigarette companies can’t even advertise in media publications like they used to.

But with the exception of new rules and protections put in place by the current pro-life Administration and some forward-thinking states, which we wholeheartedly supported, there’s been little done in terms of limiting the growth of the deadliest industry in the world, the abortion empire. In the last few years, we’ve made some incredible strides, including helping to cut some of the taxpayer funding Planned Parenthood and other abortionists received, but it still hasn’t slowed the unspeakable tide of abortion.

In fact, abortion giant Planned Parenthood found a way to make even more money during the health crisis. It doggedly fought to keep its clinics’ doors open while other non-emergency health procedures were halted, and by applying for and receiving COVID-19 relief funds it wasn’t eligible for.

In fact, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi – who it’s worth noting has supported mask mandates, while infamously not wearing one for her own haircut in a salon that was supposed to be closed due to the pandemic – actually attempted to cram an additional billion dollars in funding for Planned Parenthood into the initial COVID-19 relief package. What that would have done to stem the spread of the Coronavirus remains a mystery. Fortunately, the ACLJ caught it and helped stop it from going through.

If public health and safety is such a high priority for the Left, why won’t they lift a finger to save babies?

The answer, sadly, is simple. Abortionists have deep pockets. Remember, at the beginning of 2020, the abortion juggernaut Planned Parenthood made no secret of its plans to contribute tens of millions of dollars to pro-abortion candidates, including President-elect Joe Biden.

As we’ve told you before, the radical Left worships at the altar of abortion. Why would it ever attempt to stop one of its biggest supporters from making even more money?

And now as the pro-abortion Left will control every branch of the federal Government, we expect the rules and legislation we’ve successfully fought for over the last four years to be under direct attack. The abortion-loving radical Left will launch every salvo in its arsenal to destroy those protections and push its extreme abortion agenda.

Now more than ever, we must defend unborn babies from abortion. Abortion is a pandemic that many leaders refuse to fight. That is why the ACLJ is redoubling our efforts to support pro-life laws, cut taxpayer funding from Planned Parenthood and other abortionists, and save precious babies.

We’re preparing for the fight of our lives over the next four years, but we will not back down. Not for one moment. Not until every unborn baby is safe, no matter how long it takes. They’re depending on the work of the ACLJ NOW MORE THAN EVER.