Abortion was the No. 1 cause of death globally in 2020, with more than 42.7 million unborn babies killed in the womb, according to data provided by Worldometer, a website that uses reporting from the world’s governments to track demographics and statistics.

“This is the greatest human rights abuse of our time, and it is our responsibility to stand up and say ‘no more,’” tweeted March for Life.

By comparison, communicable diseases killed more than 13 million people worldwide in 2020; about 8.2 million people lost their lives to cancer; and smoking and alcohol led to the deaths of more than 7.5 million people around the world.

According to Johns Hopkins University, approximately 1.8 million people worldwide died of coronavirus in 2020.

“Actually, the leading cause (in fact the only cause) of death is sin—which is why every human being is under the death penalty!” Ken Ham, founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis, explained on Twitter. “But the abortion issue is the worldwide pandemic that is so evil, and the most horrific example of child sacrifice in the history of this planet. Yet, as part of the COVID regulations, many governors across the U.S.A. decreed abortion clinics essential and must remain open, while churches that preach the truth about sin and death and the need for repentance and salvation for spiritual health were closed or restricted.”

“No one can stop people from ultimately dying (which doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do our best medically to look after our health),” he added, “but we should be doing all we can to warn people about the second death, eternal separation from God, and plead with them to trust Christ for salvation. ‘And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment’ (Hebrews 9:27, ESV); ‘… if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved’ (Romans 10:9, ESV).”

As of the morning of Jan. 5, more than 518,000 abortions have already been performed worldwide in 2021.