The year of the pro-life law

In 2014, the pro-life movement celebrated significant victories: The abortion rate dropped to its lowest point since Roe v. Wade, states enacted at least 20 laws limiting abortion, and more than 70 abortion facilities shut their doors.

In its 2014 year-end report, Operation Rescue identified a cause-and-effect relationship between these victories. Abortion legislation, combined with other factors, caused abortion facilities to close, which led to fewer abortions.

The abortion rate has fallen by 14 percent since 2002, according to an annual report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Examining state statistics shows the abortion rate has significantly declined in areas where facilities have closed, according to Operation Rescue. In 2013 alone, Ohio’s abortion rate dropped by 9 percent, which Operation Rescue links to four facility closures that year.

“We are continuing to witness the implosion of the abortion cartel in America,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “The only things that are preventing total collapse are court injunctions that are blocking several state abortion safety laws from being enforced. Once those laws clear the courts, we expect to see even more dangerous abortion facilities close.”

New state laws, increased coverage of abortion violations, lower demand for abortions, and fewer abortionists have all contributed to the facility closures. Admitting privilege laws—which require abortionists to have admitting privileges at a local hospital—have been especially effective. Operation Rescue credits Texas’ recent pro-life law for closing several facilities this year. Though courts have suspended the law’s ambulatory surgical standards, the state still requires admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of all abortion facilities, except for two—one in in McAllen and one in El Paso.

“Because we have masterfully translated public opinion into legislation, giving pro-life Texas a voice in action, our state is the paradigm of fear for abortion advocates—not just in the U.S., but across the world,” Lauren Enriquez wrote for Texas Right to Life. “There is a reason so many states look to Texas when they craft their own pro-life bills: Our successes have withstood a hailstorm of attack from the loud-but-outnumbered abortion camp.”

Pro-life legislation and facility closures all link back to a greater pro-life victory: More Americans are becoming pro-life, or at least modifying their pro-abortion views. Those who favor abortion dropped to 41 percent, while 50 percent consider themselves pro-life, according to a 2012 Gallup poll. Similarly, more than half of Americans view abortion as morally wrong, while only 38 percent view abortion as morally acceptable. And 52 percent of Americans believe abortion should be limited on some level, while 20 percent want to ban it entirely.

“No matter how one views the numbers, they show that we are winning,” Newman said. “As the truth about abortion abuses and other dangers become public and are followed by new laws that increase protections for women and their babies, we can only expect the decline of the abortion cartel to continue until it collapses altogether.”