Report launch event hosted by Family Research Council and Global Life Campaign
Abortion was first authorized in 1920 by the former U.S.S.R., and is currently authorized, partly or fully, by 136 nations, but the 60 nations still prohibiting abortion face relentless international pressure to permit abortion without restriction. We now have nearly a century of evidence documenting what happens when governments authorize abortion: it does not become rare, but increases exponentially. Indeed, in less than one century, abortion has become the Greatest Genocide ever, far surpassing all wars and democides combined. The Abortion Worldwide Report is the first to systematically track reported abortions in 100 nations, territories and regions, from the year of authorization through 2015. The Report contains 4,915 country years of data, major findings, country abortion graphs showing the impact of authorization, world maps, and a policy table for 196 nations. The principal authors are Wm. Robert Johnston, Ph.D., and Thomas W. Jacobson, M.A., who compiled the data and information in the Report over the last 32 and 14 years respectively.
Come join experts from Human Life International, Global Life Campaign, Charlotte Lozier Institute, Regent University, and Family Research Council, as they unpack the groundbreaking findings of this Report.
Arina O. Grossu, M.A., is the Director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, where she focuses on sanctity of human life issues ranging from conception to natural death.
Fr. Shenan J. Boquet is the President of Human Life International (HLI). He has traveled around the world spreading the Gospel of Life. Father Boquet is a priest of the Houma-Thibodaux Roman Catholic Diocese in Louisiana, his home state, where he served before joining Human Life International in August 2011.
Charles A. "Chuck" Donovan is the President of the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI). He served as Legislative Director of the National Right to Life Committee more than three decades ago, worked as a writer for President Reagan, helped to lead the Family Research Council for nearly two decades and most recently has been Senior Research Fellow in Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation. Donovan has played key roles in the development of public policy regarding public financing of abortion, compassionate alternatives to abortion, the child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, and rights of conscience. Donovan earned a B.A. in English at the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife Meg reside in Virginia. They have two daughters and two sons.
Brian Clowes, Ph.D., is the Director of Education and Research at Human Life International (HLI). He is a graduate of West Point, a former A-Team leader for the Army Special Forces ("Green Berets"), and holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Systems Science. Since 1995, he has been HLI's Director of Research, and is one of the most accomplished and respected intellectuals in the international pro-life movement. Best known as author of the most exhaustive pro-life informational resource volume The Facts of Life, and for his Pro-Life Basic Training Course, Dr. Clowes is the author of nine books, over 90 scholarly and popular articles, and has traveled to 50 countries on six continents as a pro-life speaker, educator and trainer. He and his wife, Kathleen, have seven children.
Thomas W. Jacobson, M.A., is the Executive Director of the Global Life Campaign (www.GlobalLifeCampaign.com). From 2001-2010, he served as Representative to the United Nations for Focus on the Family, meeting with ambassadors, diplomats, and officials from 110 nations, and authoring 80 policy briefs. In 2002, he began compiling abortion data on countries and created one of the two databases from which he and Dr. Johnston teamed up to create this Report. Jacobson earned a M.A. in Public Policy from Regent University, a B.A. in Psychology from George Fox College, and a diploma in Biblical Studies from Lutheran Bible Institute. He lived in Brazil for four years, and has traveled to many nations, including meeting with government officials in 18 nations. He has two sons.
Ernie Walton, J.D., is the Academic & Administrative Director of the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, & the Rule of Law, based in the School of Law at Regent University. He earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from the same school, where he serves as a lecturer, specializing in human rights, international law, and national security law. He earned his B.S. at Houghton College in Business Administration/Economics, magna cum laude.