The number of U.S. women who died from illegal abortions prior to Roe v. Wade is also exaggerated. I once attended a debate at which the pro-choice advocate used the well-worn statistic that, prior to Roe v. Wade, 5,000 to 10,000 women in the U.S. died every year from illegal abortions.221 During the question and answer period, I said, “According to the Centers for Disease Control, only 39 women in the U.S. died from illegal abortion deaths in 1972, and 24 women died from legal abortions in that year.222 Yet you claimed that, prior to Roe v. Wade, 5,000 to 10,000 women died every year from
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