Abortions are the leading cause of death worldwide, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet from 2024. “Around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year,” the WHO document stated.
In the United States alone, approximately 1,500 to 2,500 abortions occur daily. The Guttmacher Institute reports that in 2020, 930,160 abortions were performed in the U.S., for a rate of 14.4 per 1,000 women, making abortion the nation’s top cause of death. Data aggregator Worldometers notes, “Nearly 20 percent of all pregnancies in the USA (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.”
When compared to other causes of death, such as cancer, which claimed 10 million lives globally in 2024, or smoking-related ailments, at 6.2 million, the abortion death toll is enormous.
Approximately 66 million unborn children have been aborted in America because of the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, finally overturned thanks to Supreme Court justices appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2022.
Pro-life advocates are set to gather in Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life this month, urging renewed protections for the unborn in memory of the deadly Roe decision.