As of July 7, 19 U.S. states enacted a cumulative 94 pro-life laws since the start of 2021. This means that more pro-life laws have been passed this year than in any other year since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.
The Guttmacher Institute, a well-known pro-abortion research and policy organization, has been tracking all the new legislation. In the past six months, states have passed over 90 pro-life laws 2021, surpassing 2011’s previous record of 89 laws passed, making it the most pro-life year since abortion became legal – and we still have six months to go.
The report references various bills that were passed, including:
- Legislation in Arkansas and Oklahoma that bans abortion at any point in pregnancy so long as the patient’s life is not in danger.
- Various abortion bans that revolve around the detection of the baby’s heartbeat, such as those in Idaho, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. Additionally, the Texas law allows private citizens to sue abortion providers.
- A ban on abortions later than 20 weeks in Montana.
- ‘Trigger’ bans passed in Idaho and Texas that would ban most abortions. These would go into effect should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade.
- A ban in South Dakota and Ohio that outlaws abortions when medical tests show that a preborn baby has Down syndrome. Ohio additionally approved a bill in 2020 that requires abortionists to bury or cremate preborn remains.
- Many others have also implemented pro-life legislation, including at the municipal level, such as a Lubbock, Texas, ordinance that bans abortions outright within the city limits.
Though some of these laws have not yet been implemented or have been temporarily blocked by judges, lawmakers in these states continue to fight for the right to life for preborn babies.
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This record year for pro-life legislation will culminate in a historic U.S. Supreme Court hearing in October, where the Court will decide on whether a Mississippi ban on most abortions after 15 weeks is constitutional or not. If the Court sides with the state, it would provide pro-life lawmakers judicial precedent to pass pro-life laws banning abortions before viability – which many peg to be at about 24 weeks, though a recent Guinness World Record holder born at 21 weeks would be inclined to disagree.
Unfortunately, some states have also passed pro-abortion legislation, including New Mexico, Virginia, Hawaii, Washington and Colorado.
Many of these pro-abortion laws refer to “abortion rights.” The Guttmacher Institute bemoans the passing of pro-life laws as being the “worst legislative year ever for U.S. abortion rights.” But the problem remains that these organizations argue for human rights and “abortion rights” from a secular perspective, ignoring the logical issue that, without a Creator bestowing upon us inherent value, there is no objective basis to argue for any sort of rights. Human rights can only exist if humans are inherently ordained with value – which can only come from a higher power—otherwise, there is no true basis for anyone to claim that humanity has any value, and thus, unique rights.
However, we know there is a God; it is made evident in His creation and His Word (Psalm 19). We also know that God has made us in His image and has placed us above all other living creatures, giving us inherent value and inalienable rights that come as a result of that (Genesis 1:26-27). Finally, we know that God has personally crafted each one of us in the womb (Psalm 139:13-15), and because we are all made in His image, God hates abortion, as it ends the life of an innocent one made in His image – a direct affront to God Himself (Genesis 9:6).
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