Today is the 38th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that opened the door for legalized abortion in the United States. It is one of the few Supreme Court decisions that most Americans know by name. While many of the more famous decisions represent crucial moments in American history for the rights of the oppressed (Brown v. Board of Education, etc.), Roe v. Wade stands as a blight on American history for the resulting carnage of the abortion industry since January 22, 1973.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, 22% of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion. Eighteen percent of women who have abortions are teenagers, and more than half are in their twenties. Between 1973 and 2008 (the most recent year for reported statistics), 50 million legal abortions have taken place. In 2008 alone, there were 1.21 million abortions.[1]
The Guttmacher Institute also reports some of the reasons for abortion, stating:
The reasons women give for having an abortion underscore their understanding of the responsibilities of parenthood and family life. Three-fourths of women cite concern for or responsibility to other individuals; three-fourths say they cannot afford a child; three-fourths say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or the ability to care for dependents; and half say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner.[2]
The number of abortions in the United States is staggering—50 million in 38 years. These are 50 million lives that were ended. These were 50 million individual persons whose opportunity to develop, live, and thrive was taken from them all in the name of a right to privacy. Since when did my right to privacy allow me to take someone else’s life? These are precious little lives that have been exterminated, and our society has chosen to make it legal.
On this anniversary of a terrible day in American history, consider the following verses. Jeremiah 1:5 states, “Before I (A)formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” In Psalm 139:15-16, David writes, “My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”
I hope and pray for the day that abortion will no longer be legal and people will see the value of these little lives in the womb.
Ethics as Worship 
I too am against abortion. But it is more complicated than you make out.
David, you are right that abortion is more complicated than I mentioned in my post. My point was really not to write a discourse on the issue of abortion. I was merely noting the staggering statistics related to abortion and my desire to see it go away both legally and morally.
For an in-depth analysis for why abortion should not be legal by a scholar who has studied the issue from both an ethical and a political perspective, check out Francis Beckwith’s books Politically Correct Death: Answering the Arguments for Abortion Rights (Baker, 1994) and Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
I am happy to discuss this with you in more detail here in the comments. Where do you see problems for the case against abortion?