By Carol Soelberg
I believe in UFI because I believe in the family and UFI is in the business of protecting and preserving the family. More than 30 years ago, United Families International began to realize that a threat to the family was growing. Today research and the resulting statistics are staggering. It was reported in 2006 that 50% of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce; 40% of all U.S. children are born out of wedlock.
To me, the most disturbing is that 43% of all U.S. women will have at least one abortion before their 45th birthday. In fact an article by John Whitehead called “Without the Family There Is No Freedom” states that “according to the Guttmacher Institute, the most common surgical procedure in the United States is not by-pass surgery or even cosmetic surgery—it is abortion. Indeed, in 2002, approximately 1.29 million women in the U.S. had an abortion, and 49% of all unintended pregnancies today result in abortion.” Those are staggering numbers.
Much good has come from efforts to expose and educate concerning the seriousness of the threats to the family. Marriage amendments to protect traditional marriage exist in thirty states with a couple more marriage amendments proposed for the ballot in 2012. An increased awareness of the destructive emotional and physical side effects of abortion has certainly created a shift in public acceptance of abortion. Across the country awareness exists that when the family disintegrates, government moves in to take its place. We are beginning to recognize also that such a replacement comes at great costs!
If we are to succeed in protecting and preserving the family we must work together at all levels of family strengthening. Policy and programs across the world must be enacted to protect the family but that is not enough. We must also work within our homes to create more love, loyalty, and long-lasting concern for the individual members of our families. They need and deserve our best!