The God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness our Founding Fathers proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence does not exist in New York. It vanished.Every year in the Empire State there are over 100,000 children deprived of the chance to experience fulfilling lives; to aspire to greatness, or even possess a fleeting sense of hope.
No one knows their names. They're forever invisible. Their souls are in repose.
Because they were aborted.
Abortion is a subject that makes people deeply uncomfortable. It's too often off-limits, and should never be that way. We need to talk about it more. Especially when we have the numbers.
The most recent state Department of Health (DOH) statistics document the tragedy of abortion. The numbers are gruesome. No New Yorker barely knows it, and the majority of our citizens seemingly do not care about the stark reality of lives never lived.
In 2006, there were 121,178 abortions in New York according to DOH, which includes:
* 29,186 women with one previous abortion;
* 16,815 women with 2 previous abortions;
* 8,068 women with 3 previous abortions;
* 3,804 women with 4 previous abortions; and
* 3,803 women with 5 or more previous abortions.
It doesn't improve from the gruesomeness, with:
* 47,071 abortions paid for by taxpayers through Medicaid;
* 13,778 abortions with a gestation period greater than 13 weeks;
* 65,704 abortions for women aged 20-29; and
* 28,722 abortions for women aged 30-39.
These numbers should break your heart in half if you have the capacity to have a heart. Each number has a story. A story that is either poignant, frightening, or unimaginable for the victim, her family and friends.
Abortion statistics are never reported. Not in a paper, local television news, national television news or talk radio. They should be.
Despite the powerful National Abortion Rights Action League and the National Organization for Women asserting that abortion is not a form a birth control, the multiple abortion numbers transform the claim into pure fiction. Yet, that fact does not matter to our elected officials.
Not one politician in New York held a news conference to celebrate the 121,178 abortions that happened here in 2006. For good reason. What would be said? Damn, we missed our 140,000 goal?
Our elected officials will never call attention to these DOH numbers. And every single one of them knows why. They understand abortion is the taking of a human life. But cravenly refuse to admit it.
If abortion is such a sacred right why don't abortion doctors speak on behalf on those we cast our ballots for? Did Mayor Michael Bloomberg or Governor David Paterson ever invite an abortionist to a campaign rally or news conference during their careers to hail the precious right to an abortion? Of course not.
There were 83,226 abortions in Mayor Bloomberg's city in 2006. We didn't hear one word - not a peep - from this man who revels in lecturing his constituents about how to live healthy lives.
Immense psychological repercussions are common for women who undergo an abortion. Yet this Napoleonic mayor deigns to condescend to us about smoking and transfat at fast food restaurants. His priorities about how to live a healthy life are backward.
The Bloombergs, Patersons and others that support this "procedure" can't even bring themselves to use the word abortion. It's called "reproductive rights" or "choice."
We all deserve to make choices in life. The DOH website lists the choices New York's moms and dads made in 2006 for "most popular birth names by sex." It's on the same statistics table as abortion, and the bureaucrats at DOH likely never noticed the contradiction.
Michael and Matthew are the most popular boys names with Emily and Isabella the most popular girls names. They are beautiful names, and when the 2007 statistics come out thousands of Michaels, Matthews, Emilys and Isabellas will never be placed in a baby stroller because of the culture of abortion.
