When it comes to pro-life news, 2019 has been a banner year. From heartbeat bills to Focus on the Family’s Alive from New York event, support for the pro-life message has never been higher. Here are eight pieces of pro-life news that we can be thankful for this year:

  1. The New York and Virginia pro-abortion bills – Being thankful for these terrible pieces of legislation may seem odd but hear me out. The response to what happened in New York with its abortion until birth bill and the shocking infanticide comments made by the Virginia governor resulted in an outpouring of pro-life support across the country. Many people who were previously on the fence about abortion saw the legislatures in those two states go too far. People were outraged, and much of the pro-life legislation passed this year is in reaction to those two events.
  2. The fight over Georgia’s heartbeat bill – Hollywood brought all its might to the fight over Georgia’s pro-life heartbeat bill, even threatening to pull productions from the state, and it lost. The bill would make it illegal, except in certain circumstances, to have an abortion after the 6th week of pregnancy, when the baby’s heart starts beating. Although the bill is still caught up in the courts, the enormous amount of publicity encouraged other states to also adopt similar pro-life legislation.
  3. Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act – Although the bill did not pass this year, U.S. House and Senate members are passionate about seeing that babies born alive after failed abortions are protected and given the chance to live. The interest and support for this legislation came after the infanticide comments made by the Virginia governor.
  4. Missouri’s last abortion clinic – When it comes to enforcing the rules and regulations around the state’s abortion clinics, Missouri doesn’t mess around. This year, the Columbia Planned Parenthood location had to stop performing abortions because its physician could not get admitting privileges to the local hospital. St. Louis is now the only place where a woman can get an abortion in the state of Missouri, and the likelihood that the clinic’s doors will remain open remains in doubt. Hopefully, at some point, Missouri may become the first state without an abortion clinic.
  5. Alabama outlaws all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest – In one of the most sweeping pro-life bills ever passed, Alabama has made abortion illegal in all cases unless the mother’s life is at risk.
  6. Planned Parenthood loses Title X funding – This year, Planned Parenthood lost $60 million in federal funding because it refused to separate its health care practices from its abortion business. It was a sign to the country that the organization will put abortion above primary care and cancer prevention.
  7. Planned Parenthood fires Dr. Leana Wen – In a shocking move, the abortion business fired its first physician leader in 50 years because of her desire to increase Planned Parenthood’s health care services. It was another very public instance where Planned Parenthood showed its true colors to the country.
  8. Alive from New York – Life inside the womb is precious, active and human. That’s what Focus on the Family wanted to show New Yorkers and others around the country by showing a live 4D ultrasound in Times Square New York. The event gathered 20,000 people and thousands also watched it on a livestream. In 2020, the Alive event will be hosted in five different cities across the country on May 9. If you want to continue supporting life into 2020, consider attending one of the Alive 2020 events in Southern California, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Southern Florida. Let’s make next year even better than 2019!

When it comes to pro-life legislation, there’s a lot to be thankful for this year. Hopefully, 2020 will be even better.