Does abortion regulation result in saving more babies?
It’s a good question. One you may already believe you have the answer to. What if we set aside what we’ve been told the last 50 years, to consider the possibility that it may be wrong?
Lets take a moment to unpack the elements of this question.
What is abortion regulation? It is, simply put, allowing or permitting the intentional destruction of a human child – within certain guidelines.
That does seem extreme – to allow children to be killed. But, when you consider that so many MORE will be killed, it starts to sound rational to tolerate some killing.
Saving more babies is a noble endeavor. Let’s not overlook the presuppositions of this relative statement. More than what? Certainly not more than legislation like HB 1682 or HJR 109 – which offers equal protection to all children from conception.
No – in the case of Missouri’s “New Amendment 3”, proponents are contrasting it to the destruction of all babies that will die under the Original Amendment 3 (2024). Typical fear tactic.
[TIP] It’s generally unwise to make decisions out of fear.
It is not possible to accurately quantify pregnancies ending in abortion in Missouri, but some estimates are available based on reported data. Here is a chart showing the reported numbers of live births, reported numbers of in-state abortions and the reported numbers (some estimates) of out-of-state abortions on Missouri residents.
This graphic from the KC Star shows a 2023 estimate for out-of-state abortions. Add that to the above chart, and the numbers look fairly close.
The above data doesn’t even take into account the growing trend for medication abortions. According to the below chart, reported medication abortions account for more than half. Medication abortions are grossly underreported – making the actual number substantially higher. Only God knows how many children have been destroyed through abortion.
You may notice that the differences in the reported numbers of babies aborted even after our so-called “total abortion ban”, which occurred in 2023 and most of 2024, are statistically insignificant. In fact, if the reported abortions from out-of-state are accurate, abortions may have increased in 2023. Live births have not gone up since 2023, they’ve actually gone down.
When you begin to examine the evidence, it appears that regulating abortion may not actually be saving children. Rather, it may be contributing to the devaluing of that human life. What are the true consequences of telling a mother that her child can be disposed of for fill-in-the-blank?
Voting yes on the New Amendment 3 will only perpetuate this problem. What needs to happen is that vulnerable children need the same protection as the rest of us. Amendment 3 needs to be completely repealed and Equal Protection needs to be passed.