Since the United States legalized abortion in 1973 in Roe v. Wade, approximately 40 million abortions have been conducted in this country. These death toll numbers, which continue to mount, dwarf the statistics of Americans killed in war, crime, accidental death from handguns, you name it. As we enter the year 2011, legalized abortion in America is by far the leader in institutionalized death. Prior to 1973 abortion was more than simply illegal, it was a socially shunned activity for both the pregnant mother and the covert abortionist. Today not only have the tables turned on the legality of taking the life of a baby in the womb, but the decades that have passed since Roe v. Wade have seen a continual desensitizing of Americans to the ramifications of abortion.