Facts to Consider When Discussing Abortion

1. Biologically speaking, fertilization (or conception), which is when a man’s sperm combines with a female egg, is the beginning of human development. The result of fertilization is a single-cell embryo called a zygote with unique DNA containing all the instructions needed to develop into an adult. To read more, visit The Endowment for Human Development.

2. Only 3 weeks and 1 day after fertilization - the heart begins to beat. By 4 weeks, the heart typically beats between 105 and 121 times per minute. More info here.

3. On January 28, 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada in a 5-2 decision, struck down Canada’s abortion law. Only one of the seven justices declared a constitutional right to abortion. All seven explicitly recognized the legitimate interest of the state in protecting the life of the unborn child.

4. The Canadian Institute for Health Information records 87,595 abortions in 2021, but acknowledges that because data from abortion clinics is not mandatory, the numbers are underreported. CIHI records 34,903 abortions in Ontario, while the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care reports 42,021 abortions, based on physician billing records, for the same year, a difference of over 7,000. See Run with Life Blog for more information.

5. Research on the impact of abortion on women reveals that 45% of abortions are repeat abortions.

6. A recent study (published June 2023 in the International Journal of Women’s health) covering a 17 year period showed abortion is associated with a greater incidence of subsequent mental illness than birth, and the difference is not explainable by prior medical history.

Recommended reading for more information on how Canada became the only democratic country in the world to have no abortion law protecting preborn children during all 9 months of pregnancy:
Morgentaler v. Borowski: Abortion, the Charter and the Courts by F.L. Morton, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1992 Ch. 19. This book is available in the Choose Life Niagara Library.