The Verdict: Pro-Life Laws Reduce Abortions

According to a recent study by Michael New, assistant professor of political science at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, laws designed to reduce abortions actually reduce abortions.

New’s sources were the Guttmacher Institute, formerly affiliated with Planned Parenthood, and the CDC.

The findings pertain mainly to public funding restrictions, parental involvement laws, informed consent laws, and how legal status of abortion affects the incidence of abortion…One study from North Carolina showed that when a state abortion fund periodically ran out of money, there were statistically significant decreases in the abortion rate and, months later, statistically significant increases in the birth rate. In fact, this study found that 37 percent of the women who would otherwise have had an abortion carried their child to term when public funding was not available.

The question is, why is there an “abortion fund”? At any rate, guess who funds it? If you said, “The government,” you’re half right. The government funds it with our money…because the government has no money of its own.

The study also found that in states where minors seeking to kill their unborn babies have to notify parents before the fact, the kill rate “showed a statistically significant decline ranging from 13 percent to 42 percent.” Parental involvement also improves health outcomes for teenagers through lower pregnancy, gonorrhea, and suicide rates.

It’s as though parents know better than the teenager or Planned Parenthood. Shocking.

I don’t know if anyone’s measured the impact of Live Action’s work in this area. In the organization’s undercover videos, Planned Parenthood workers ignored statutory rape and lied about fetal development. At least 10 states have defunded Planned Parenthood. If women want to legally kill their own children, they should bear the burden of paying for the procedure.

When advocating for the lives of unborn babies seems like an uphill battle, remember studies like this one. Laws designed to deter certain actions reduce those actions.

Photo credit: dalurton1 (Flickr Commons)