A recent article titled “Abortion-immigration dynamic” in the Washington Times raises some interesting points about the economic and demographic shifts caused by legalized abortion in developed nations. The author argues that immigration is the only thing saving the U.S. from having a similar fate as Europe and Japan, where legalized abortion has led to both declining populations and national economies in those countries.
The ar
ticle develops this study of population decline caused by abortion within developed countries the following way:
“John Mueller analyzed (population decline) in his recent book, Redeeming Economics (Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2010). The United States’ pregnancy rate has remained doggedly more than 3.0 per woman. However, since Roe v. Wade, roughly 1 in 3 pregnancies in the United States ends in abortion. The baby dearth has caused a slow and steady aging of the U.S. population that is just now catching the attention of Americans in light of the imminent retirement of the baby boomers.”
And how does legalized abortion affect the U.S economy?
“When Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973, the workforce did not immediately feel the adverse effects of abortion…However, in the early 1990s, the economy began to feel the pinch. A third of the workers that would have entered the marketplace at that time had been aborted.
Now, decades after Roe, the median age of whites in the U.S. is 41. However, the median age for Hispanics in the country is 27. The U.S. business community has become fiercely pro-immigration – lobbying for non-enforcement of punitive immigration laws, increased guest worker passes and increased levels of legal immigration. As the United States ages (albeit more slowly than the rest of the developed world), the marketplace is increasingly ravenous for young workers. As many as 20 million illegal immigrants currently live in the country. They tend to be young, work hard and pay taxes. Hispanics also have significantly higher birthrates than whites.”
The author argues that the high level of immigration influx is what sets the U.S. apart from going over the “demographic cliff” like other developed nations. But as we read this article, we must also see beyond the numbers into the human stories behind those numbers. “A third of the marketplace” aborted? Forget the economy, I’m interested in how many lives those numbers represent. A declining economy is only a small consequence to pay for the shedding of so much innocent blood.
As a first-generation immigrant and naturalized citizen to this nation myself, I can understand the arguments this author makes about the positive aspects of immigration to America.But immigration, which I recognize is considered a complicated issue in our country, cannot be our only source of comfort. My citizenship is God’s Kingdom first and foremost. Would overturning Roe vs. Wade be great for our economy and population (as the author later concludes)? Yes, of course. But we must also remember that praying and fighting for the ending of abortion will bring greater rewards as His sons and daughters. We fight for the laws of our Kingdom above all.
LifeNews.com Note: Jael is originally from Bolivia, but grew up in the Northern Virginia area most of her life. She leads worship and directs the House of Prayer at Iglesia Nueva Jerusalen, a local Latino church pastored by her father. This column originally appeared at Bound4Life’s blog and is reprinted with permission.
