By Rev. Mark H. Creech, Executive Director
Christian Action League
Since abortion was legalized in 1973, the problem of “throwaway life” has multiplied astoundingly. Today the issue of abortion presses on the American conscience like no other issue. And it should. Over 50 million abortions are on record in the United States since the Supreme Court upheld abortion as a Constitutional right.
It’s not easy to picture the bodies of more than 50 million babies. So let me put it to you this way: In the years since the Supreme Court legalized abortion, we have snuffed out a population approximately the size of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming combined.
Many who justify this form of extermination do so on the grounds of safeguarding human rights – the rights of mothers to avoid the consequences of conception. Others have a vested interest – the fathers who want no further responsibility, or the doctors, medical assistants, and scientists who make abortions a very lucrative and rewarding business.
The effects of this willful destruction of life are far greater than we think. The West is unquestionably moving more toward a society of middle-aged and older people. The present generation isn’t replacing itself with younger life and fewer and fewer workers are left to support the economy. Moreover, the West’s population decline due to the use of contraception and induced abortions is threatening its future as a strong geopolitical power.
Mother Teresa once pointed out the consequences of abortion, saying, “The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate of human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father’s role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts – a child – as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience.”
But more importantly, abortion is affecting our relationship with Almighty God. Few nations in the history of the world have so invited divine judgment while being so desperately in need of God’s favor.
Some are quick to point out the Bible doesn’t specifically speak out against abortion. But the Bible doesn’t specify every sin. It does say, however, “Thou shalt not commit murder” (Ex. 20:13). Moreover, the Bible clearly speaks of human life’s beginnings in the womb.
The Bible says, “For thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Wonderful are thy works. And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from thee. When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance: and in thy book they were all written. The days that were ordained for me. When as yet there was not one of them” (Ps. 139:13-16).
Note in this passage how often the Psalmist refers to himself in his unborn condition with the personal pronoun “me” or “I.” In these verses, the Psalmist uses the pronoun ten times. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he openly declares his personhood even while yet in his mother’s womb.
What is more, there are many other examples of the same in Scripture. The mother of Sampson was told her child would be a Nazarite from the womb (Judges 13:5), the implication clearly being his status as a person began before his birth. Psalm 58:3 says the wicked are estranged “from the womb”, implying even as unborn babies they are living persons. Speaking of John the Baptist, Luke 1:15 declares the great man of God would be “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” Only a person can be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Although Saturday, January 22 will mark the 38th anniversary of the infamous Roe V. Wade decision, making abortion legal in the United States, it will also mark a new day in the debate on abortion. What’s new is that America is moving closer than ever before to a strong pro-life majority. According to the latest Gallup poll, 51 percent of Americans describe themselves as pro-life compared to only 42 percent as pro-choice.
Doug Carlson of the Ethic and Religious Liberty Commission also notes that as the new U.S. House of Representatives gets underway with the people’s business, “a sizeable number of representatives are zeroing in on the life issue – namely, cutting taxpayer funding of abortion.”
In North Carolina, pro-life Republicans control both the state House and Senate and have promised to everything they can to turn back the tide of abortions in the Tar Heel state.
It’s a new day for pro-life advocates and there are many reasons to be optimistic.
The heart of the abortion problem can be stated in this simple fashion: Once a woman has conceived, she already has a child; the choice is what to do with that little boy or girl. Although the word “choice” sounds so positive, the real choice is whether to have a living child or a dead one. That’s really the issue – what will be done with a human life that has been given to our keeping?
Just as people today have asked, “What were the German Christians doing when the Nazis were slaughtering Jews?” our grandchildren may ask, “What were you doing during the American holocaust? What did you do to stop the woeful destruction of innocent life in the massacre of millions of little babies?”
Someday the mask of silence and secrecy will be taken away and everyone will see plainly the ghastly details of the practice of abortion. If abortion is wrong, and it is, then we cannot and must not be silent. Besides taking a stand, we need to help others realize what is happening and put our influence as Christians where it counts. And may God hasten the day when this scourge on our land will finally be no more. Yes, may God hasten the day!!!