While the pro-life movement longs for the day unborn children can be protected under the law from abortions, a new survey of the number of abortion centers nationwide shows it is possible to make a difference now.
Despite the Supreme Court having allowed virtually unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason via the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions, the pro-life community has been successful in getting abortion centers to close.
Noticing a recent rash of closure and wanting to know concrete figures, pro-life nurse and blogger Jill Stanek asked Operation Rescue for some hard data.
“It has seemed to me an awful lot of abortion mills have been closing lately,” Stanek said. “So Cheryl Sullenger of Operation Rescue was kind enough to compile a list for us. OR keeps the most accurate and up-to-date record of active and closed abortion mills I’m aware of.”
The pro-life group provided figures showing 31 abortion businesses closed in the last 12 months while 9 new abortion facilities opened — for a net drop of 22 abortion facilities.
Stanek provided new numbers from the pro-life organization of the total number of abortion centers across the country.
“As of now a total of 689 surgical abortion clinics remain in the US, from a high of almost 2,200 in 1991,” she indicated. “This number does not include abortion mills that solely commit medical abortions, i.e., distribute the abortion pill, RU-486.”
Since 1991, including the 31 Stanek noted, more than two-thirds of abortion centers have closed that were operating nearly 20 years ago.
Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood of Lawrence quietly closed its abortion facility located near the University of Kansas. With the closing, Kansas is now down to three abortion centers left in the state.
The abortion center in Youngstown, Ohio closed after 34 years of doing abortions. The Mahoning Women’s Center in Youngstown announced that its last day of doing abortions was in January.
The abortion center run by Arkansas abortion practitioner William Harris closed in July and he passed away in September.
The Michigan abortion business where embattled abortion practitioner Alberto Hodari forced a teenager to have an abortion against her will has closed as well.
And, in one of the bigger victories for the pro-life movement, the abortion center in Maryland where a young woman was killed in a botched abortion has closed for good.
