Although the case for life is an objective one, the pragmatic argument against abortion has been heavily bolstered by the confluence of scientific advancements and federal policy. As birth control has become more effective and the Affordable Care Act mandates that employer-sponsored insurance fully funds contraception, women — especially working women — have never needed abortion less.

That birth control actually does work is confirmed by the dismal statistics of women who elect to undergo abortions. In a study of women from 2014 — that is, years after the ACA’s contraception mandate went into effect — just 13% of abortion patients used oral contraceptives, which have a success rate of more than 99%. Another 2.6% used long-acting reversible contraception, the patch, or the ring, which all have similarly soaring success rates at preventing pregnancy.