Overall, abortion rates have dropped to their lowest point since the Supreme Court legalized it in Roe v. Wade, according to a Guttmacher study.
As expected, blacks are still overrepresented among women who abort. Last I read, black women aborted at three times the rate of white women. In 2004, black women aborted at five times the rate of white women.
Download the 28-page Trends in the Characteristics of Women Obtaining Abortions, 1974 to 2004 in PDF.
To what can we attribute these disproportionate rates of child killing? “Poverty” is an oft-cited factor. I’d add “ignorance,” “apathy,” and “plain old immoral” to the list. The cure for one is education; the cure for the others is a shift in values. Before I’m accused of race baiting, the reasons I believe women abort apply to all women, regardless of race. But we’re still left with why black women kill their babies at a disproportionately higher rate.
At this year’s GodBlogCon, someone asked me what I thought could be done to reduce abortions. Perhaps educating pregnant women about the adoption option and making the process easier would help reduce abortions. Opening more homes for unwed mothers, where they can receive spiritual and financial support, may encourage pregnant women without family support to carry their babies to term at the very least, and bless a childless couple and provide an intact family for the baby.
The ultimate responsibility falls on people who have sex outside marriage, regardless of their financial condition. Killing the baby shouldn’t even enter their minds. Bringing forth that life and doing what’s in the baby’s best interests, despite what it costs you, should be the top priority.
That’s my simple, naive, and “impractical” answer.
(Hat tip: Hot Air)
