January 19, 2017 – Sunday, January 22, 2017, will mark 44 years of abortion-on-demand through all nine months of pregnancy in America. The U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton in 1973 overturned the abortion laws of all 50 states.

In those 44 years the lives of more than 57 million unborn children have been taken by abortion, according to estimates.

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, “We mourn this tragic loss of life. 57 million lives is a difficult number to comprehend. Imagine California and New York disappearing overnight, and the impact that would have on our nation and society.”

Despite the loss of life this year’s commemoration comes as the prolife movement rides a wave of momentum: abortions continue to decline, prolife elected officials hold majorities nationally and in many states, and an aging U.S. Supreme Court could see decisive changes.

Listing said, “It’s a great time to be prolife. With continued effort in the next few years we could see a major turn towards a culture that values every human life.”

On January 17 the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute released a report showing annual abortions in the U.S. declined to under 1 million a year, the lowest figure since 1974. The 2014 abortion rate was the lowest since Roe v. Wade in 1973. The long-term abortion decline began in 1991, coinciding with an increase in prolife views and prolife laws at the state level.

Many of those recent laws were made possible by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992. Though the prolife movement was upset that Roe v. Wade was left standing by that decision, an aging U.S. Supreme Court provides an opportunity to revisit it. President-elect Trump will nominate a replacement for Antonin Scalia and could have opportunities to nominate as many as three more justices.

Listing said, “We’re counting on prolife elected officials to deliver on their promises for judicial picks who believe in the rule of law. It’s time for voters to once again be responsible for the issue of abortion, not the personal biases of unelected officials.”

Legislation to defund Planned Parenthood and redirect their funding to community health centers is currently being discussed in Congress as part of a repeal of Obamacare. President-elect Trump has promised to sign legislation to defund Planned Parenthood, which does more than 300,000 abortions annually.

Listing said, “For decades prolife people have been forced to help run the nation’s largest chain of abortion clinics, and it’s finally time for their conscience rights to be respected. There are far better alternatives that deserve that funding instead.”

Hundreds of thousands of prolife people will gather for the 44th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. on January 27. President-elect Trump’s advisor and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway will speak at the rally preceding the march and will be joined by other speakers and members of Congress.