One fact drawn out by the recent Saddleback Civil Forum, albeit ironically, is that abortion numbers and rates in the United States have been in decline since 1989. (See the presentation here and the US News & World Report story here.) While it is frustrating that Roe vs. Wade continues to stand, it is encouraging that rates have gone down and continue to slowly decline.

One could speculate as to why this is: Perhaps it is a consequence of Presidential Executive Orders that have attempted to keep the federal government from paying for abortions. Perhaps it is the promotion of abstinence among teens. Perhaps it is the ongoing national debate that is having some effect on our culture's perspective on abortion. Rates of unintended pregnancy (nearly half of all pregnancies!) have "stagnated over the last decade" (source), though variations among subgroups could show increasing rates among people less likely to pursue abortion and decreasing rates among others. Nonetheless, 1.6 million human lives—20 percent of pregancies—are extinguished each year in this country by means of abortion.

Rick Warren asked the two major candidates for President, "When does a baby get human rights?" as shown in the following video:

(You can stop the video at 3:40 as at that point the video has already presented the two candidates' responses in full. See also the full text transcripts. Or watch other video from the event.)

Their answers:
Barack Obama: "Well, I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade."
John McCain: "At the moment of conception."