Now that the holidays are behind us, our team at PassionLife is starting to focus more and more on the immediate year that’s ahead of us. We’re thinking with our board of directors and our staff here and around the world about our strategic plans for this year and how they roll into the next several years together. As part of that process, we like to think through where abortion is most concentrated in the world. This will inform where we want to give our attention, where we want to direct your donations, where we want to appeal for your intercessory prayers, and where we plan to travel this year and in the coming years.

One of the greatest challenges we face in this strategic planning process is identifying reliable data on abortion rates worldwide. There is no regulated universal system for collecting this information, making it difficult to assess the global landscape accurately. Various sources exist, but they all present unique challenges.

Over the past eight or nine years, PassionLife has come to rely on The Abortion Worldwide Report by author Robert Johnston and his website, johnstonsarchives.net, for the most comprehensive and trustworthy data available. While some data may be outdated or unofficial, Johnston acknowledges these limitations and provides valuable insights into global abortion trends.

Based on this research, we can confidently assert that abortion is heavily concentrated in three specific regions:

• Asia: Countries like China, India, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam have exceedingly high abortion rates.
• Eastern Europe: Former USSR nations, including Russia, Romania, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, also report very high abortion rates.
• The Caribbean: This region often surprises people due to the historically strong Catholic influence in countries like Cuba. However, the Caribbean islands have some of the world’s highest abortion rates. For several years, Cuba held the unfortunate distinction of having the highest rate until recently.

To focus our efforts strategically, we prioritize countries with a population of at least ten million people. While smaller nations like Greenland and some Caribbean islands have high abortion rates, our resources are best utilized in countries with larger populations where we can impact a greater number of lives.

Historically, our list of priority countries, based on abortion rates, included Cuba, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam. We have already undertaken mission trips to Kazakhstan, a country with a historically very high abortion rate, and have witnessed some positive developments in Vietnam, with recent data suggesting a decline in their abortion rate.

However, the global abortion landscape is constantly shifting. Our most recent data reveals that India has now surpassed all other nations, taking the top spot for abortion rates, followed closely by China. Azerbaijan, a nation previously absent from our list, has risen to the third position, while Cuba has dropped to fourth.

This new information is crucial in guiding our strategic decisions for 2025 and beyond.

• The encouraging progress in Cuba fuels our commitment to continue our work there. Their significant drop in abortion rates demonstrates the impact of our efforts, and we remain dedicated to supporting the gospel of life in Cuba.
• The rise of India as the global leader in abortion rates presents an urgent challenge and a significant opportunity for PassionLife. We must rethink our strategies and find ways to double, triple, or even quadruple our impact in India to address this growing need.
• The emergence of Azerbaijan as a high-priority nation prompts us to consider expanding our efforts into this new territory.

While we celebrate the progress made in Cuba and remain committed to our ongoing work in Asia, we must adapt to the evolving global abortion landscape.

Russia continues to present unique challenges due to the weakened state of the Church within the country, making it difficult to establish a strong foothold for our mission. We have seen some promising developments in Romania and hope to build upon those successes in the future.

Ultimately, our mission is to bring the gospel of life to the places where it is needed most. That’s where your support, your prayers, and your partnership are most critical. We need your help to reach these vulnerable women and families, equip the Church in these nations, and work towards a world where every life is cherished and protected.

We invite you to join us in this critical mission. Your prayers, your financial support, and your active engagement are vital in our efforts to bring hope and healing to women and families around the world.

This article is adapted from the episode transcript.