By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director

gallagher@paprolife.org

As we mark the 45^th anniversary of the tragic U.S. Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade, I would like to offer 45 reasons for hope for the cause of protecting innocent human life:

1. Statistics show the number of abortions in the U.S. are on the decline.
2. Polls show the Millennial Generation is more pro-life than young people of generations past.
3. President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order barring taxpayer funding of organizations that perform and promote abortions overseas.
4. The White House supports no federal funding for abortion giant Planned Parenthood.
5. Vice-President Mike Pence has been outspoken in his defense of innocent human life.
6. Strict constructionist Neil Gorsuch now sits on the U.S. Supreme Court.
7. The President has vowed to appoint Supreme Court Justices who will not legislate from the bench, hastening the day; when Roe v. Wade will be overturned.
8. The annual March for Life continues to attract huge crowds, largely made up of young people.
9. Pregnancy resource centers are reaching out to pregnant women everyday with compassion, love, and support.
10. The number of pregnancy resource centers in the U.S. far outnumber abortion facilities.
11. Abortion centers are closing all across the country.
12. Congress boasts a pro-life majority, as do many state legislatures throughout the nation.
13. 4D ultrasound technology is showing babies smiling in their mothers’ wombs.
14. Women who regret their abortions and who want to help other women avoid similar heartache have found their voice in organizations such as the Silent No More Awareness Campaign.
15. Healing retreats such as those of Rachel’s Vineyard are bringing hope to women scarred by abortion.
16. A number of Planned Parenthood workers have left their jobs in the abortion industry and have become powerful spokespeople for the pro-life cause.
17. Abortion survivors such as Melissa Ohden are speaking out about being targeted for abortion when they were preborn babies.
18. A number of men are taking responsibility for pressuring their wives and girlfriends into having abortions.
19. Scientific research supports the pro-life contention that abortion hurts women physically, mentally, and emotionally.
20. The blogosphere is filled with pro-lifers willing to share their knowledge.
21. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter allow the pro-life movement to get accurate information out into cyberspace.
22. Nurses who work with premature infants are sharing their experiences about the fragility of human life.
23. A number of abortionists have stopped doing abortions and now promote life instead.
24. College students are organizing and motivating their classmates to support pregnant women on campus.
25. Teens for Life are finding innovative ways to promote life in their communities.
26. Local chapters of National Right to Life are educating people about the life issue at area fairs and festivals.
27. State affiliates of National Right to Life are passing pro-life laws and changing hearts and minds about abortion.
28. Campaigns to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide have failed much more often than they have succeeded.
29. Popular culture is recognizing the humanity of the preborn child by sharing Ultrasound  videos and praising “baby bumps.”
30. People with Down syndrome are showing why it is inhumane to abort a child diagnosed with a disability in the womb.
31. New attention is being focused on the brutal practice of dismemberment abortion, where a child is torn limb by limb from a mother’s womb.
32. An increasing number of people are questioning the practice of sex selection abortions, in which babies are aborted just because of their sex.
33. The gruesome practice of  partial-birth abortion, in which a baby is partly delivered, then killed, has been outlawed.
34. A number of members of Congress are determined to shine a spotlight on allegations of baby body part harvesting in the abortion industry.
35. Public opinion polls continue to show most people oppose most abortions.
36. Polls also indicate that the vast majority of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.
37. Polls demonstrate that most Americans oppose late-term abortions.
38. A number of states have passed laws ensuring that no taxpayer funding of abortion can occur in the health insurance exchanges created by Obamacare.
39. Many Congressmen want to make the Hyde Amendment, which bars taxpayer funding of abortion except in rare cases, permanent.
40. A distinguished counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway, spoke at the March for Life.
41. Women across the country are courageously stating that Planned Parenthood does not speak for them.
42. People with disabilities are leading the fight against doctor-prescribed suicide and euthanasia.
43. Some people who joined the pro-life movement way back in 1973 continue to serve the cause with dignity and honor.
44. A number of celebrities, such as actress Patricia Heaton, are bucking the Hollywood trend and boldly proclaiming their pro-life views.
45. The end of Roe v. Wade is in sight, given anticipated changes in the makeup of the Supreme Court.