Abortion is now the leading cause of death in the world and a longtime pro-life advocate calls that a sad reflection of the times we live in.

Worldometers, a website that tracks live global statistics, is reporting there were approximately 43 million abortions worldwide in 2018, a number that outpaces deaths from even cancer and heart ailments.

Erick Scheidler of Pro-Life Action League tells OneNewsNow it's hard to comprehend the "human destruction" behind those numbers.

"And especially if you think about all the misery," he says, "the bad choices, the horrible lifestyles, the indoctrination and the propaganda, and the industry of abortion and sort of sexual promiscuity in general, that's behind all those numbers."

The fact-checking website Snopes looked into the headline-grabbing topic, after Breitbart reported on the Worldometers figures, and learned that figures from the World Health Organization put the figure at 56 million abortions annually. But liberal Snopes had to argue over the definition of "death" by abortion, calling that a "political position" because the fetus is not viable outside the womb.

Pro-life activists point out that a human being is alive and developing in the womb, hence abortion claims a human life.

What is even worse than the worldwide statistic, Scheidler continues, is that humanity seems to have forgotten that every human being is unique and special because we are created in the image of God.

"And that life is a gift," he adds. "We're not treating it as a gift."

The only answer for such a culture that is killing humans in the womb, says the pro-life leader, is for the Church to speak up about the dignity of human life.