Deaths in 2020

Every so often I take a look at the Worldometer.com website, just to see how the world is progressing, statistically speaking. It's really a remarkable website in that it keeps running totals of all sorts of data throughout the world, including population, government, economics, media, environment, food, water, energy, health, and, of course, coronavirus. Because of the way data is presented, spending more than a minute or so on the site would likely induce insanity, but just taking a quick look seems to have few lasting negative effects. 

How accurate is the information presented by Worldometer? I haven't a clue, but it seems to be held in some esteem by a wide range of folks who worry about such things. I suspect many of the numbers are driven by algorithms based on data pulled from other sources, but this is only a guess since I'm completely ignorant concerning the site's methodology.

Anyway, as I said, the data is presented as a series of continually running totals for the year; so, having no New Year's Eve party to attend, I checked it out late on December 31 to get the final totals for 2020. I was particularly interested in the death totals, not out of morbid curiosity, but simply to compare various causes of death. I especially wanted to know how many worldwide deaths resulted from the pesky virus given to us by our communist friends in China, compared to other causes. Here are the results:

2020 Worldwide Causes of Death
Deaths/Illnesses	No. Deaths
Deaths: Mothers during birth	309,631
Deaths: Malaria	395,032
Deaths: Seasonal Influenza	490,923
Deaths: Suicides	1,074,231
Deaths: Road Accidents	1,352,267
Deaths: HIV/AIDS	1,684,015
Deaths: Coronavirus (COVID-19)	1,808,041
Deaths: Caused by Alcohol	2,505,485
Deaths: Caused by Smoking	5,007,810
Deaths: Children under 5	7,614,399
Deaths: Cancer	8,227,342
Deaths: Communicable Diseases	13,004,509
Abortions	42,655,372

Yes, indeed, abortion remains the #1 killer of human beings and far exceeds other causes of death. The data on Worldometer does not include deaths by such non-communicable causes as heart disease, diabetes, and, presumably, old age, but that really makes little difference. The most alarming figure is the number of abortions worldwide. Hiding from each other in fear, the people of the world wring their collective hands over the 1.8 million coronavirus deaths, and yet ignore the intentional killing of innocents on a scale 20 times greater. 

I actually suspect the abortion data is probably under-reported, but that's a topic for another time. I've since noticed that several pro-life websites also took note of the Worldometer data for 2020. This is good. Get the word out, and let the world know what we are doing to our unborn children.

Death comes to every one of us...eventually. But how disheartening that so many beautiful lives, created by a loving God, should be snuffed out in the womb before they take even their first breath. Today, as we continue to celebrate the Holy Family during this Christmas Season, let us ask our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph to join with these heavenly children of the Father and intercede for our world that has seemingly embraced a culture of death.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us.