Fact check: Abortion was leading Global cause of Death in 2024 with over 45 million killed

1. Summary of the results

The original statement contains significant discrepancies in the reported numbers. While it claims 45 million abortions, multiple credible sources, including the World Health Organization, consistently report approximately 73 million induced abortions annually worldwide ^{[1] [1]}. However, one source does align with the original statement, reporting 45.1 million abortions ^[2].

The claim about abortion being the "leading cause of death" is complicated by definitional and statistical considerations. Some sources support this characterization, stating that abortions represented either 52% ^[3] or 42% ^[2] of all human deaths in 2024.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial pieces of context are missing from the original statement:

• The World Health Organization provides comprehensive health context around abortion statistics but notably does not classify abortion as a "cause of death" in their mortality databases ^[4]
• The statement lacks context about other major causes of mortality such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, and smoking, which are significant factors in global mortality statistics ^[3]
• There is no mention of the substantial variation in how these statistics are collected and classified across different regions and reporting systems ^[4]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The framing of this statement reveals several potential biases:

• The use of the term "killed" rather than medical or statistical terminology suggests an ideological rather than scientific approach to the data
• The discrepancy between the claimed 45 million figure and the WHO's 73 million figure ^[1] suggests selective use of statistics
• The statement benefits groups with specific ideological positions on abortion, as it frames a complex medical and public health issue in mortality terms
• Different organizations have financial and political interests in how these statistics are presented:
• Anti-abortion advocacy groups benefit from framing abortion as a leading cause of death
• Medical organizations and public health bodies maintain different classification systems that don't categorize abortion this way ^[4]
• Global health organizations focus on safety and access to healthcare rather than mortality statistics ^[1]