The Global Reality: 99% of Abortions Happen Outside the U.S.A.
By Melanie Salazar
When Americans think about abortion, we often picture it as a domestic battle — court cases, state laws, ballot initiatives.
But here’s a fact almost no one talks about: The World Health Organization estimates that around 73 million babies are aborted worldwide every single year. Meanwhile, the Guttmacher Institute reports about 1 million abortions annually in the United States. Even without counting the unreported abortions, that’s only about 1% of the global total.
That means 99% of abortions happen somewhere else — in communities where preborn children have no legal protection, where the abortion industry is propped up by Western governments and corporate NGOs, and where local movements for life are underfunded and sometimes targeted for speaking out.
I’ve Witnessed the Global Struggle — and the Global Resistance
Since 2019, I’ve served as a pro-life missionary across four continents, standing in solidarity with grassroots leaders who are resisting abortion’s exploitation of their communities.
Australia (2019): I helped train student leaders and joined them for campus outreach rooted in dialogue, human rights, and truth-telling. The pushback was fierce — pro-abortion activists staged massive protests to try to silence us.
Africa: In Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, and now Ethiopia, I’ve seen how foreign governments and NGOs pour millions into “reproductive rights” programs — importing abortion into cultures where it’s foreign, unwanted, and deeply harmful. These programs are a form of cultural colonization, replacing local values with Western abortion ideology.
Asia: In India and Sri Lanka, abortion is driven by gendercide — targeting baby girls simply for being girls. This is systemic violence rooted in sexism and inequality, and it doesn’t end at birth. Infanticide of girls still happens in some communities.
Latin America & the Caribbean:
Colombia, Bolivia, Jamaica, & Dominican Republic: Equipped young people to form grassroots, justice-driven collectives that defend the dignity of all human life.
Guatemala: Attended an International Pro-Life Congress, building connections with leaders from across the region.
Mexico: Spoke at Pasos por la Vida, the national March for Life, to tens of thousands.
Across the region, pro-lifers are organizing to resist the “Green Wave” — a massive, well-funded push to legalize abortion under the banner of liberation.
Across every continent, the abortion industry operates like a global empire — exploiting shame, poverty, inequality, and political instability to push its agenda. But everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve also seen the resistance — people rising up in solidarity to defend the vulnerable and dismantle systems of oppression that treat human life as disposable.
Hope Is a Form of Resistance
Everywhere I’ve been, pro-lifers have told me they look to the U.S. movement for hope and inspiration. They study our strategies, share our victories, and stand with us in solidarity.
When Roe v. Wade was overturned, it wasn’t just our victory — it was theirs too — it was an international celebration. Everywhere in the world pro-lifers danced, cheered, and prayed with us. That moment proved that change is possible, even against entrenched, powerful systems.
Hope fuels resistance. And it’s why the global fight for life is far from over.
Why PAAU Is Going to Europe
Now, the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising is preparing to take that hope, strategy, and solidarity to Europe. We’re not going just to protest — we’re going to build alliances, share strategies, and amplify a vision for a world beyond abortion. We’re going to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with European activists resisting the abortion industry’s political and cultural domination.
This matters because the European pro-abortion lobby is watching U.S. tactics closely — pushing for free-speech “buffer zones” around abortion businesses and the criminalization of peaceful pro-life advocacy. Europe is also a critical battleground where abortion policy is written into the DNA of the European Union, influencing United Nations agendas, foreign aid, and global funding streams.
We can’t let these authoritarian moves go unchallenged.
Here’s what our trip will do:
Trainings in Direct Action & Sidewalk Counseling
We’ll provide on-the-ground skills training to student groups and activists so they can confront abortion in their cultural context — effectively and fearlessly.
Movement-Building Across Borders
We’re connecting U.S. and European advocates under a shared banner of preborn justice. This is how we strengthen the resistance — together.
Seeding Sustainable Leadership
The strategies, events, and workshops we bring will be carried back into communities across Europe, fueling long-term grassroots growth long after our return.
Stand With Us in Solidarity
The global abortion crisis demands a global movement — one rooted in solidarity, in resistance, and in the unwavering belief that every human life has value. This work is urgent, and it will not happen without your support. PAAU runs on collective action, mutual aid, and the courage to show up where others won’t.
👉 GIVE today to send PAAU to Europe — to resist, to build solidarity, and to advance the movement for life and human dignity everywhere.
Go to PAAUNOW.org/Europe to make this mission possible!
This is more than a political fight. It’s a global struggle for justice, solidarity, and liberation from the violence of abortion. Let’s rise up together.