LifeDate Fall 2025 – Life … as We Age
by Rev. Dr. Aric Fenske
These statistics are both startling and sad, but they are not just numbers.
A quick online search would tell you that just over one million abortions were performed in the United States last year (2024), and that roughly 63.4 million abortions have occurred in the US since 1973, when abortion became effectively legalized nationwide.
Since the Death With Dignity Act was first passed in 1997, around 4,300 people have died in the US by physician-assisted suicide (PAS). The numbers are far larger in our neighbor to the north. Since 2016, more than 60,000 people have died by physician-assisted suicide in Canada, and, as of 2023, PAS accounts for nearly five percent of all deaths in Canada.
These statistics are both startling and sad. But those are not just numbers. Each one represents a precious human life, wonderfully and fearfully made and redeemed by God, with families who mourn their death. And sadly, the reality is far worse than these numbers reveal.
These numbers may show us how many abortions or deaths by PAS have been legally performed and reported in our country, but it would be impossible to estimate how many lives are actually taken each year.
Most forms of chemical contraception, along with the “morning after pill,” are designed to work in several ways, one of which is preventing a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb, thus destroying the new life that has been created. Only God Himself knows how many times the use of chemical contraception has prevented pregnancy and how many times it has ended a pregnancy. And, as chemical abortion becomes more widely known and available (even through the mail), one is left to wonder how accurate the reporting on its use is.
Much the same could be said about the lives of the sick or aged which are ended prematurely. We may know the numbers for reported instances of physician-assisted suicide. But how many more lives were ended knowingly or unknowingly by lethal doses of pain medications? How many lives were taken in the pursuit of harvesting their organs for donation?
How many lives have been taken?
Only God knows for sure. But, by His grace, He will continue to make us aware of these tragedies and strengthen us to be His Gospel-motivated voices For Life!