• According to a study done in 1994, 43% of women under the age of 45 will have had at least one abortion. Many of these women now attend church.
• 1.2 million abortions are performed in the US annually
• That equals 3,287 per day...roughly the same number who died on 9/11
• That’s 146 per hour, over 2.5 each minute or one every 24 seconds
• How many have died since you began reading this page?
• Between 1973-2003, 43 million abortions occurred in the U.S. (equal to the combined population of NE, KS, MO, TN, SC, OH, and PA)
• 52% of those women having abortions are under 25 years of age
• 60% of abortions are coerced
• 70% of abortive women say it’s immoral; 43% claim Protestant affiliation, 18% call themselves evangelical or born again
• 80% of post-abortive women said they would have chosen life if supported by family, friends or others • 7% of abortions are performed because of rape, incest, or health of the mother or the child • 54% of women having abortions used contraceptives during the month in which they became pregnant • You can get statistics for the number of abortions performed in your state at The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI)

• Click on our special Clergy Connection section that has links, sermons, FAQs, and liturgy samples. You can also order Sanctity of Life Sunday Bulletin Inserts from our Store, as well as learn about the impact of abortion on women and society at Silent No More Awareness
• Be A Voice for Life, from Focus on the Family, has a Sanctity of Life section which answers questions and provides links to practical articles, stories, and ways to be involved.
• The First Nine Months, from Focus on the Family, is a short booklet beautifully illustrates fetal development from conception to birth. To order, call 1-800-A-FAMILY, or download the PDF
• The pamphlet, The Christian View of Abortion, contains scripture, quotes from early church leaders, and great information about abortion in a concise and well-documented format. Order from Heritage House online or call 1-800-858-3040
• The tract, What About Abortion, from Concordia Press, answers questions about abortion based on the Bible. Order online or call 1-800-325-3040.
• The booklet, 30 Days for Life, is a daily devotional and covers not only abortion, but all the issues related to the Sanctity of Human Life and is produced by the National Pro-life Religious Council and can be ordered online.
• The Horton Hears a Who book and video are for your youngest church members from Dr. Seuss and reminds us that “People are people no matter how small!”

• Genesis 1:26-31 Man created in God’s image, God declared his creation, “Very good!”
• Psalm 139:1 4-17 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb...
• Deuteronomy 5:17 You shall not murder.
• Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.
• Job 33:4 The Spirit of God gives me life.
• Isaiah 44:2 This is what the Lord says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you.
• Isaiah 49:1 The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother, he called me. • Luke 1:39-45 This is the story of Elizabeth, carrying John the Baptist, leaps in her womb at the sound of Mary’s voice.
• Genesis 16 and 21:17-21 This is the story of Hagar’s “crisis pregnancy” and how God, El Shaddai or “The God who sees,” meets the needs of a woman seeking help.
• Matthew 25:31-46 Here we find Jesus’ criteria for how we care for “the least of these.”
• Proverbs 24:1-12 Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?
• Isaiah 1:17 Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
• James 1: 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
• Matthew 25:45 Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

• It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish. —Mother Teresa
• Destruction of the embryo in the mother’s womb is a violation of the right to live which God has bestowed on this nascent life. —Dietrich Bonheoffer
• Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love but to use violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. —Mother Teresa
• There is no public morality without private virtue. —Eran A. Call
• How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers. —Mother Teresa
• America, you are beautiful...and blessed. The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless. If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life. —Pope John Paul II

• Anglicans for Life urges you to stay informed on pro-life issues and make it your goal to talk at least one friend, family member, neighbor, student, or fellow church member each week about the right to life. Don't be silenced, but stand courageously for the weak and vulnerable at every opportunity.
• Register to vote. Then before each election, examine the candidates' views on the right to life and vote for the leaders America needs.
• Keep in touch with your representatives at both the state and federal level by phone, mail, email, or fax to let them know that you want them to support pro-life legislation and oppose pro-abortion laws.
• Support pro-life organizations and local pregnancy centers that help women choose life for their children and promote positive alternatives such as adoption.
•  Write a letter to the editor to your local paper to spread the truth about the sanctity of life in your community.

1. There is a Constitutional right to life in the United States. Amendment 5 of the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights states that no one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. This was based on the Declaration of Independence, which said that all people are endowed by their Creator with the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and that the primary of purpose of government is to secure these rights. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution repeats the right to life, liberty or property and requires that every person be provided equal protection. Every president, vice- president, cabinet member, federal or Supreme Court judge, Congressman, and Senator, upon election or appointment to office, swears an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.
2. Human life and personhood begin at conception. This is a scientifically proven and indisputable fact. According to the worldwide acclaimed geneticist Dr. Jerome Lejeune, at the moment of conception, every chromosome that will determine every genetic trait is present at conception. At 18 days after conception, the baby’s heartbeat is strong enough that a sonogram can detect it. The brain and central nervous system are working in the womb—a definite sign of life, according to The Developing Human, a textbook in embryology used by medical schools training obstetricians.
3. Roe v. Wade and its companion case Doe v. Bolton legalized abortion nationwide for any reason throughout all nine months of pregnancy. Although the Court said states have a compelling reason to regulate abortion in late pregnancy, it made the exception allowing abortion even in the third trimester if it was necessary for the mother’s health. It then defined health reasons for legal abortion as much broader than protecting the mother’s life, but said all factors of her health including physical, emotional, and even the woman’s age could provide reason for legal late-term abortion. In effect, any reason for legal abortion became acceptable. (410 U.S. 197 1973)
4. Abortion was legalized in 1973 by Supreme Court Justices who, by their own admission, did not know when life begins and did not consider it necessary to find out. The Roe majority stated in the decision authored by Justice Harry Blackmun, “We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins... the judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.” (410 U.S. 113; 93 S. Ct. 705; 35 L. Ed. 2d 147 1973)
5. Most Americans oppose the permissiveness of current U.S. abortion law. Polling from the respected Wirthlin polling firm showed that only 12 percent of Americans agree with the current law of unrestricted abortion throughout pregnancy. Fifty-five percent would outlaw abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life. An additional 24 percent would allow abortion for other reasons, but outlaw it after the first trimester.
6. Pre-born children undergoing abortion suffer an excruciatingly painful death. In a suction abortion, the tiny unborn child is torn limb from limb by a high-powered vacuum nearly 30 times as strong as a home vacuum. In a D&C abortion, the unborn child is literally sliced into pieces by a scalpel. In a D&E abortion, the abortionist cuts off the arms and legs and severs the head with forceps before removing the body parts from the uterus and reassembling them in a basin to be sure all of the body has been removed from the mother’s uterus. In saline abortions, the baby is injected with a salt poison that burns his or her body from the inside out over a grueling three-day period before inducing miscarriage, at which time the baby is sometimes still alive and suffering. In partial-birth abortions, the baby’s legs and arms are delivered, then the baby is stabbed through the head or his skull is crushed. According to Dr. Jean Wright, Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesia and Director of Pediatric Critical Care for the Emory School of Medicine, unborn children have a greater sense of pain than newborns, because their nervous systems are just being developed and pains sensors in unborn children produce a greater hormonal stress reaction than in newborns and adults.
7. Abortion is traumatic to the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of women. According to the book Aborted Women: Silent No More, the minimum rate of immediate physical complications following legal abortions, based on reported figures, is fully ten percent. Ninety percent of women who abort experience emotional and psychiatric stress following an abortion; up to 10 percent require psychiatric hospitalization or other professional treatment. 15,000 to 30,000 aborting women per year face emotional trauma severe enough to render them unable to work. Women who have had abortions are nine times more likely to commit suicide than those who have not. Fortunately, many American women who have had abortions have received help and are beginning to share the truth about abortion through the Silent No More Awareness Campaign.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of January 1, 2006, the earth’s population will stand at 6,488,578,564 people. A far more significant statistic is that more than 1 billion babies have been aborted worldwide since 1973 when abortion was made legal in the United States. More than a sixth of the entire planet has been exterminated! May God forgive us for our wanton disregard for His precious gift of life.

During Sanctity of Human Life month [in January], it’s important that we consider the biblical case against abortion. Certainly, a number of political, social and economic reasons oppose this evil practice, and we must highlight those — particularly when engaging others who don’t share our faith. However, as pro-life Christians, we must always remember that our ultimate authority in defending the sanctity of life comes from God himself.

Although the term abortion isn’t mentioned in the Bible, many verses unmistakably proclaim the sanctity of life in the womb. The passage most commonly cited comes from Psalm 139:13-14, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

On a recent “Focus on the Family” broadcast, Pastor Tommy Nelson of Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas, shared a few other relevant passages. These include Psalm 119:73, “Your hands made me and formed me”; Job 10:10-11, “Did you not... clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews?”; and Exodus 21:22-25, in which God outlines penalties for injuries that are inflicted upon children in utero. Scriptures also tell us that Jeremiah (1:5), John the Baptist (Luke 1:44) and the apostle Paul (Galatians 1:15) were known by the Creator before they were born and ordained for a specific calling while in their mothers’ wombs.