Abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide in 2019, according to figures released from Worldometers.info, a website that uses reporting from the world’s governments to track demographics and vital statistics.

LifeNews.com, a pro-life website, was among the few outlets to report on the 2019 abortion numbers, which show 42.3 million preborn babies killed worldwide. Worldometers recorded 58.6 million deaths last year from violence, illness and natural causes. Abortion statistics are recorded separately from mortality numbers.

By comparison, 8.2 million from cancer; 5 million from smoking-related illnesses, and 1.7 million to HIV/AIDS. The numbers also record deaths from malaria, alcohol, medical errors, injuries by accident and other factors.

“The abortion number is incomprehensible, but each of those 42 million abortions represents a living human being whose life was violently destroyed in their mother’s womb,” wrote Steven Ertelt and Micaiah Bilger for LifeNews. “Each unborn baby already had their own unique DNA, making them distinct from their mother.”

Abortion rates compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control, state governments and organizations such as Planned Parenthood show around 1 million abortions annually in the United States, with Planned Parenthood accounting for more than 345,000 of them in the 2019 reporting year.

The world’s largest abortion provider receives around $500,000 in Medicaid funding each year from the federal government and some states.

An estimated 61 million preborn babies have been killed through legal abortion in the U.S. since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision make abortion legal nationally.

“Our politicians are guilty of enabling abortion,” posted Franklin Graham on Facebook. “My prayer is that people’s eyes would be opened to this tragedy and force an end to abortion once and for all.”

Syndicated Christian radio host Janet Mefferd responded on Twitter with a sobering reminder from Scripture: “Be sure of this: ‘Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.’ Isaiah 13:11”

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