The heart and mind of America is changing over the issue of abortion.  The startling statistics cited below are well beneath the radar of our major media outlets, yet they are greatly encouraging for those of us standing for life.  As you will see, the battle for the lives of pre-born children is being won as gentle Christians live out their faith in the streets of their cities.  That’s right!  During the administration of the most pro-abortion President our nation has ever had (William Jefferson Clinton) the number of abortions performed in America, the number of abortion mills in America, and the number of doctors performing abortions in America plummeted dramatically.

President Bush stated in October 2003, while signing the Partial Birth Abortion Ban:  “I don’t think the culture has changed to the extent that the American people or the Congress would totally ban abortion.” 

Au contraire, Mr. President!  The culture may not be ready, but God is!  And, just a cursory look at the figures below, indicate that the culture may be more ready for legalized abortion to end in this nation than any of us know.  How can this be?

Abortion is not a political issue.  It is a Gospel issue.  When gentle Christian warriors allow their theology to become biography in the streets of their cities, the gates of hell cannot prevail!  The heart of our nation is changing toward the unborn child.  The truth, concerning the sanctity and preciousness of life, is overwhelming the lie of abortion.  The abortion industry does not have enough fingers to put in the dike to stop the hemorrhaging.

“Abortion will come to an end in America when the Church of Jesus Christ makes up her mind that it will come to an end - not one second sooner!”  Rev. Flip Benham  

What the Abortion Statistics are Saying:  “Christians are winning!”

· 60% of Americans now believe abortion should be illegal in most cases. (Coral Ridge Ministries poll, January 2005)

· 72% of Americans now believe abortion to be wrong.  (Coral Ridge Ministries poll, January 2005)

· 51% of the people in America now believe abortion to be murder – only 35% don’t.  (Zogby poll, Jan 2001)

· There has been a 13% increase in those identifying themselves as pro-life since 1995.  (Gallup Poll, August 2001)

· Teen pregnancy rates have declined in all 50 states.  ('National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy' poll 2000)

· Teen pregnancy, birthrates, and abortions have declined each year since 1991.  (Center for Disease Control [CDC])

· Support for Roe v. Wade has plummeted 13% among entering college freshmen since 1991.  (LA Times poll, June 2000)

· The number of medical schools teaching the abortion procedure has dropped 57% since 1987.  (American Medical Association)

· The number of abortions performed in our nation dropped by 40 % between 1991 and 2001.  (Life Dynamics {LDI}, Jan 2001)

· There were over 2,000 free standing abortion mills in 1990 – today there are 726.  (LDI)

· Over 500 free standing abortion mills have closed in the past six years.  (Alan Guttmacher Institute [AGI])

· The three individuals most instrumental in ushering in the Roe v. Wade era are today, all professing, confessing, Christians – Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe), Sandra Cano (Mary Doe), and Dr. Bernard Nathanson (founder of NARAL).

· The number of abortionists killing children has declined almost 40% since 1991.  ( LDI, 2001)

· Abortionists killing children are getting older (average age, 59).  There are few young doctors to replace them because no one wants to be known as an abortionist (American Medical Association {AMA}.

· Many abortionists are losing their licenses as medical boards discover their incompetence and negligence.   (AMA)

· The callous abortion industry cover-up of the abortion/breast cancer link is being exposed.  (Dr. Joel Brind)

· The truth about hundreds of women who have died as a result of “safe,” legal abortion is being made known.  (Priests for Life)

· The employee turnover rate in abortion facilities is incredibly high.  (PPFA, LDI)

· Sexual perversion, alcoholism, drug abuse, divorce, suicide, depression, and murder are ravaging those who work in the abortion industry.  (American Psychiatric Association [APA])

· The animosity and distrust between abortionists and their staff creates a terrible work environment.  (Life Dynamics Inc.)

· Planned Parenthood, the leading provider of abortions in our nation, is losing ground.   (PPFA)

· In 1995 Planned Parenthood had 928 affiliates.  In 1999 it had 845.  (PPFA Annual Report 1999)

· In 1995 PPFA had 21,000 employees.  In 1999 it had less than 17,000 employees.   (PPFA Annual Report 1999)

· The number of yearly attendees at PPFA Sex Ed Programs has plummeted by 320,000 since 1991.  (PPFA Annual Report 1999) 

· The humanity of the little child in the womb of his mother has become almost impossible to deny, thanks to science, technology, and the bold witness of gentle Christians who have stormed the gates of hell and shown the truth in the streets of their cities.

· People involved in the abortion industry hate what they do, they hate each other, they hate themselves, and they hate those who confront them in their sin.  (APA, John 15:18-19)

What the Abortion Industry is Saying:  “We are losing!”

1. “A little more of this and doctors just won’t do abortions.  Would you?  (Abortionist Warren Hern, full page ad in Rocky Mountain News, July 23, 2005, referring to Operation Save America’s National Event in Denver, July 2005).

2. “This is a crisis, it’s increasingly impossible for women to get a service (abortion) that’s absolutely legal.” (Melinda Dubois – US News and World Report, 1998)

3. “Hate and harassment clearly inhibit women from access to abortion.  It is more difficult now to get an abortion than it was five years ago.” (Gloria Feldt of PPFA, 1997)

4. “Abortion opponents will achieve their goal without ever having to overturn Roe v. Wade.” (Kate Michelman of NARAL, 1997)

5. “The number of abortions in this nation has dropped twenty-nine percent in the last six years.” (Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former U.S. Surgeon General, 1998)

6. "The anti-abortionists are winning without really winning.  They scare off the younger doctors."  (James Pendergraft, Abortionist – The Associated Press, 1998)

It is when the heart of a nation changes, that the laws of the land will reflect that change.  The battle for the lives of pre-born children must be won in the streets of our cities – at the very gates of hell – before it is won in Washington, D.C.  We pray that these statistics and statements will be an encouragement to you.  The abortion industry is in a downward death spiral.  You will never see this on the national media for it has no desire whatever to allow these facts to be known.  You, however, “are the light of the world … let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.” 

Rev. Flip Benham