Dear New York, stand for all life

While the media buzzes appropriately about terror threats to New York City, it is easy to overlook a daily threat to the City’s unborn.

New York City is home of the Yankees, Broadway, and one of the highest abortion rates in the country.  A report by the New York Department of Health in 2010 revealed that 41% of all pregnancies in the City end in abortion.  A recent release from the Chiaroscuro Foundation narrowed down the results even more, finding that 56% of these were repeat abortions, and 38% were paid for by Medicaid.

Yesterday, Jill Stanek published an article on the Chiaroscuro Foundation findings, further breaking down these statistics.  Two of the highest abortion rate neighborhoods were Chelsea (67% abortion rate) and trendy Greenwich Village (60%).  Both of these areas are just a short taxi ride away from Ground Zero.

As we prepare to honor the ten-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks, let’s not neglect the attacks on innocent life happening daily in the same prominent city.  According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, there were 87,273 New York City abortions in 2009 alone.  To put this into perspective, that is equivalent to approximately one 9/11 every twelve days.

The attacks on September 11th sparked something in New York City, and in our nation as a whole.  “Terror” was no longer something abstract to New Yorkers, but a specific action that had taken the lives of family, friends and coworkers. In the most generic sense of the term, our nation was united as pro-life.  Innocent life had been taken, and Americans agreed that it was unacceptable.  Though there were disagreements on how to respond, all agreed: something must be done.

Today New Yorkers and people across our country must reach the same conclusion about abortion.  Unlike the 9/11 attacks, we don’t always have concrete images of friends and family that are lost due to abortion.  Similarly, because abortion is so common, we likely don’t “remember where we were” when these attacks on life took place. Still, something must be done.

Whether caused by an act of terror, or funded in a legal clinic by your taxpayer dollars, an attack on innocent life is always unacceptable.  With such high abortion rates, New Yorkers should take a stand and defend the unborn in the City. Hopefully the nation will follow.