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Those whose lives were taken in 1974 would be 48 years old now, at the height of their working careers and, if not for the cultural damage that has been done over these years, may have been well into building their own families.

Surveying our national culture since 1973, I cannot identify a single cultural institution that is better. On the contrary, regarding our core social institutions, everything is uniformly worse. The American family is in far worse shape today than in 1973. According to the Census Bureau, in 1968, 85.4% of American children lived with two parents. By 2020, this was down to 70.4%.

Fewer and fewer of our young people are interested in marriage and children.

In 1970, per the Census Bureau, the median age at first marriage for men was almost 24 and for women a little over 20. By 2021, for men this reached almost 31 and for women almost 29. Fertility rates have dropped dramatically. The fertility rate — the average number of children that a woman brings during her productive years — must be 2.1 to keep a population from shrinking. In 1970, our fertility rate was 2.54. By 2020, it was down to 1.78. The overall implications are an ageing society. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, in 1970, 10.1% of Americans were over 65. Today, almost 17% are over 65.

An increasing burden of caring for the elderly falls each year on a shrinking number of working Americans. Per the Kaiser Family Foundation, those over 65, now 17% of the population, account for over 35% of our health care expenditures. How can anyone not see all this as flashing danger signs to our national future? The bottom line is a country with a future is a country that values and respects the sanctity of life.

With all the supposed concerns of woke culture, the truth is that respect between people — whether between races and ethnicities, or between men and women — begins with respect for the sanctity of life.

Let us all pray, as we begin a new year, that this will be the last year that pro-lifers need to march in Washington to protest the Roe v. Wade regime.

Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show “Cure America with Star Parker.” To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www. creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2022 CREATORS. COM