There’s a phrase you may have heard that goes something like this: “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic”. As cold as this seems, there is something in our human nature that often looks at the world this way. It was horrible when millions of Jews and others were killed in Nazi concentration camps during World War II, but for many it was difficult to comprehend or “make real” a number that large.
For my wife’s family it was very real – a single death that was a “tragedy”, to use the quote’s language. My wife had a member of her family in the Netherlands who died in a concentration camp; the punishment for hiding Jews on his property. His death has always been very real to us, hearing the stories and seeing his name on the wall of the Holocaust Museum in D.C.
Now let’s talk about another number: 1,141. That was the number of children aborted in North Dakota in 2018. It seems like a lot, and sadly it is. But try to grasp the enormity of each child dying individually, one by one. It can be difficult, can’t it?
Doctors are present at the Red River Women’s Clinic each Wednesday to physically do suction abortions and to prescribe chemical abortion pills. That means that roughly 22 abortions happen/are started on that day each week. That is roughly one child every 20 minutes. Does it seem a bit more real now?
Here’s my challenge to you. Next Wednesday, set your iPhone or Android device so that the alarm goes off every 20 minutes, from 9am to 5pm. Whenever that alarm goes off, another baby has died. When the alarm sounds, feel free to say a prayer, observe a moment of silence, or whatever you feel led to do. If you can’t do it next Wednesday, do it soon. The exact day is far less important than remembering to participate in the 20-minute observance.
There are many organizations working to end abortion in our state, and Kansas Family Voice of North Dakota® is right there in the fight! We are here in North Dakota on the ground every day of the year doing this work. In fact, eliminating abortion is right there in our vision statement. “Our vision is a state where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive, and life is cherished.”
Won’t you please consider helping us achieve our shared goal of zero abortions in North Dakota? Your tax-deductible gift will help Kansas Family Voice of North Dakota stay in the fight and help move us toward ending abortion in our state. It is an achievable goal, but our organization can only help if we have the resources to continue our work.
Thank you for all you can and will do to help us shut down the abortion industry in North Dakota. My prayer is that someday we can observe the number of North Dakota abortions by experiencing a day without alarms.
Sincerely,
Mark Jorritsma
President and Executive Director