2024 | Week of October 7 | Radio Transcript #1587
During the recent presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris hosted by ABC, Trump argued that Harris’s “vice presidential pick” — referring to Tim Walz — “says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine. He also says execution after birth — it’s execution, no longer abortion — because the baby is born, is OK. And that’s not OK with me.”[1]
Harris retorted plainly that, “Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion.” One of the moderators, Linsey Davis, was quick to “fact-check” Trump in support of Harris’s claims — except she got the facts wrong.[2] “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born,” Davis said. Tragically, that’s far from the truth.
As the Washington Stand reports, “21 states allow abortion until birth: Six states have no legal limit protecting unborn children, and the rest allow abortion after the point of viability thanks to a vague and expansive ‘health of the mother’ exception.” That “health of the mother” exception in many states is not specific to the mother’s physical health; an abortionist could simply argue that a baby would be a general burden to the mother, and therefore negatively affect her health. This is elective abortion; it is not medically necessary.
And according to the most recent CDC report from 2021, more than 5,600 abortions were performed on babies after 21 weeks gestation.
Plus, if no late term abortions were happening in the United States, then why did Kamala Harris vote in 2019 to block a bill that would have required medical care for babies born alive after botched abortions? That bill was the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.[3]
Abortions at any stage are impacting the birth rate in the United States, including right here in our state. In Wisconsin, we have been below the replacement birth rate since 1974, a problem with very real demographic and economic impacts on our state right now and moving forward.
Low birth rates over time have very real consequences — especially economically. Replacement birth rate requires 2.1 babies per woman of childbearing age. A fertility rate in the United States of 1.62 in 2023, a 2% decline from the previous year, should speak volumes to all Americans.[4]
Here is a stunning statistic: By 2050, over three-quarters of countries — that’s 155 out of 204 countries — will not have high enough fertility rates to sustain their population over time; by the year 2100, this will increase to 97% of countries, meaning 198 out of 204 countries.[5]
As the workforce dwindles and the population ages, the health and social security systems in our nation will be additionally burdened. Instead of a “baby boom,” future generations might experience a “baby bust,” if the low birth rate trend isn’t reversed.
But here’s the good news: states with strong pro-life laws are already experiencing a reversal in this troubling trend.
Based on data from January to June of 2023, states with abortion bans have increased their birth rates 2.3% relative to states without these pro-life laws. In this six-month period, this translates to an additional 32,000 babies being born![6]
Wisconsin should join the ranks of the fourteen states that have made the strongest protections for preborn children. Not only are these states experiencing increased birth rates, which is essential for humanity’s survival, but they are working on supporting a culture that values and builds up families.[7] A child is a blessing. Psalm 127:3 tells us “[c]hildren are a gift from the Lord.”
Building up families in Wisconsin and the United States requires a cultural transformation, but enacting protective laws is a crucial part of this process. Life should be protected from conception in Wisconsin. Preborn children are no less human than the rest of us and have a right to constitutional protection.
In addition to pro-life state and federal laws, however, it is also our duty to push back on politicians and media enterprises that make false claims regarding abortion. This requires constant vigilance and advocacy, but as the Gospel of John reminds us, “the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32).
For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Julaine Appling, reminding you that God, through the Prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
