The dying gasps of an industry

Suppose that you were the CEO of a business in crisis. Industry-wide, sales are down a shocking 21 percent. What would you do?

You might start by trying to improve your company’s public image. If that fails, you might go negative, increasing your customer base by scaring them away from alternatives to your product. And if you’re truly desperate, you might seek a government subsidy.

The Centers for Disease Control recently released its 2014 abortion statistics. The number of abortions in the United States fell to a new record low—from the previous record low set in 2013. In the ten-year period from 2005 to 2014, abortions plummeted 21 percent. And while the CDC’s consistently delayed reporting is obviously an issue, all signs point to the abortion industry being in even more dire straits today than it was in 2014.

Pro-life legislation is certainly one cause of the drop in abortions. But even in states that are hostile to life, babies were better off in 2014 than they were in 2005. Other contributing factors include improved contraceptive methods; a spike in sexual abstinence among young adults; pro-life educational efforts, which have a greater reach than ever thanks to social media; and the continued work of pregnancy resource centers, many of which have harnessed innovative marketing tools to reach mothers in crisis.

So what’s an abortion vendor to do?

Try to improve your company’s public image: Last year, Planned Parenthood blew $4 million on an effort to “refresh our brand.”

Go negative on your competition: The abortion lobby has dramatically increased its attacks on pregnancy resource centers, but has little to show for it. A recent attempt to smear pregnancy centers with fake online reviews fell flat, and the reviews were taken down for violating Google and Yelp terms of service. Laws forcing pregnancy centers to advertise for abortion have run into First Amendment obstacles.


Seek a government subsidy: Naturally, Planned Parenthood is working overtime to preserve its existing $500 million annual taxpayer subsidy. But Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups are also out to destroy the Hyde Amendment, which is a restriction on federal funding of abortion through the Medicaid program. The Hyde Amendment has prevented over two million abortions since it was first enacted in 1976; if you were born through the Medicaid program during that time frame, there’s a 1 in 9 chance the Hyde Amendment saved your life. Eliminating the Hyde Amendment would create a massive subsidy for the abortion industry, and could even reverse the downward trend in abortion numbers.

The days of “safe, legal, and rare” are long gone. As I wrote a few years ago:

There is a kernel of fundamental tension between the movement for “choice” and the movement for “access.” They can coexist while there are a million abortions a year. But in the long run, in order to have access, a critical mass of women have to make the “right” choice.

“Choice” has fallen by the wayside. The abortion lobby’s current priorities—rebranding, attacking on pregnancy resource centers, and pushing for subsidies—points to one goal: increasing the number of preborn babies who die by abortion.

I realize there are still moderate pro-choicers out there. If that’s you, I have a message: Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and all the other “pro-choice” organizations stopped representing you a long time ago. The abortion industry is dying, and as it struggles to stay afloat, it has quickly shed any pretense of charity. It is acting like the profit-driven business it has always been. If you find this appalling, please consider joining our efforts to help women and children. Even if you aren’t 100% on board with the anti-abortion stance, look into what your local pro-life charities are doing. You’ll find many opportunities to advance true choice.