In 2004, according to the US Labor Department, there were approximately 884,974 doctors in the United States (Source). At that time, the 884,974 figure represented 0.29% of the overall population (i.e. less than 1% of the population).

According to the National Right to Life, from 1973 to 2006, there were an estimated 49,551,703 abortions performed in the United States.

So then, how many of those aborted babies could have grown up to be physicians? If you take the 2004 Labor Department figure of 0.29% and apply it to the total number of abortions (49.5 million), you get: 143,700. Is that the number of physicians that could have arisen out of the population of aborted children? Are we short that many doctors because of a pervasive culture of death . . . a culture that is so well embraced and championed by one of the major political parties (the Democrats) and their current standard bearer, fourth term abortion advocate, President Barack Obama?

Obviously, the answer is not so clean and neat. Many factors would have to go into an estimate of how many aborted babies could have potentially become physicians. There’s the racial, socio-economic, and gender distribution among doctors (for example, there are more White doctors than African American doctors) and the racial, socio-economic, and gender distribution among aborted babies (for example, the disproportionate rate of African American abortions compared to their makeup in the general population). So, suffice it to say that the number of potential physicians among the population of aborted children would probably not be as high as 143,700. But, at the same time, the figure isn’t zero either. The point here, using physicians as the specific example, is that abortion snuffs out human capital and therefore, to some real extent, human innovation and advancement.

What if then, after going through all the research and the math, we found that abortion prevented the contributions of only 100 potential doctors? Ask any individual physician and he will likely be able to cite several cases where he saved a life by catching something early (like a skin cancer) . . . that’s commonplace to the occupation. However, some physicians are also scientists whose life work is to discover new, life saving, life preserving medical innovations. There could have been one of those too in that low-ball estimate of 100 snuffed out future doctors! What have we lost thanks to our culture’s shortsighted selfishness? Truly, only God can answer that question, and only God can see which lives were negatively impacted because aborted baby Johnny never grew up to become Dr. John.

But doesn’t abortion prevent “unwanted” children?! How about all that suffering that could have happened if those aborted, unwanted children were born? How many neglected kids would have sat around in run down, inner city apartments eating chipping lead paint? What kind of trouble would a lead poisoned kid impose on society . . . welfare . . . prison . . . madness? Maybe even . . . music!

Argonne researchers recently discovered that the probable cause of Ludwig von Beethoven’s serious lifelong maladies was lead poisoning. Beethoven suffered terribly from poor digestion, abdominal pain, and depression; all of which are indicative of lead poisoning. Then, there was his deafness, which added insult to injury. Beethoven’s physical suffering was so great that he specifically mentioned in letters to his physicians that his remains were to be used to determine the cause of his illness, so that others may be spared the suffering which he endured throughout his adult life.

Yet, there was his music which brings joy to the world even to this day. Suffering and great contributions are often intertwined. Ludwig would be the first to tell you that.

In 49,551,703 abortions, what have we potentially lost? Only heaven truly knows the specifics, but the rest of us still slogging in the journey of life may safely assume that the deficit is both stunning and profound. The culture of death has, in effect, bitten off its nose to spite its face . . . a fitting visage for such a macabre fellow.