By M.H. Cavanaugh
Christian Action League
January 16, 2015
This Sunday, January 18th, will be observed around the country as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.
On this day, the Church proclaims its duty to protect innocent human life – specifically, the life of the unborn child. Since the infamous Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court – the decision that essentially made abortion legal in 1973 – churches have been the primary force of opposition upholding the right to life. Christians believe that God is the giver of life and that all of humanity is created in His image.
The Scriptures read, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). All of mankind, even in his fallen state, reflects to a degree the likeness of God. When someone dares to lift their hand to take a human life, that person lifts their hand in rebellion against the image of the Almighty. When Cain killed Abel, the Lord said to him, “Thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). Even nature itself records the violation of a human life.
The Bible clearly speaks of life beginning in the womb. The mother of Samson was told that he would be a Nazarite from the womb (Judges 13:5). Psalm 58:3 says the wicked are estranged “from the womb.” Luke 1:15 declares John the Baptist would be a great man of God and “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” These passages speak of unborn babies as living persons. And in the case of John the Baptist, only a living human being can be filled with God’s Spirit.
2011 is the latest year for which abortion statistics are available, revealing that 1.06 million abortions were performed during that period. That’s actually down 13 percent from 1.21 million in 2008. From 1973 through 2011, nearly 53 million abortions have been performed in the United States. Using the figures available from 2011 as a projection to the current year, it is estimated over 56 million unborn lives have been snuffed out because of abortion.
It’s difficult to get one’s head around the wholesale slaughter of more than 56 million babies. One way, however, to get the picture is to consider that over 56 million reflects more than all of the populations of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming combined.
Thursday, January 22nd will mark the 42nd Anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Americans are expected to gather in Washington, D.C., on this day for the National March for Life. This year’s theme for the March and Rally is “Every Life is a Gift” and its activities are certain to focus on a major pro-life bill the U.S. House of Representatives intends to bring to the floor for a vote on the same day.
According to National Right to Life, “[t]he bill is the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36), which would extend general protection to unborn children nationwide beginning at 20 weeks fetal age, based on congressional recognition that by this point in development, if not earlier, the unborn child is capable of experiencing pain.”
To send an email message to your Representative in the U.S. House in support of H.R. 36, go to this link: http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/issues/alert/?alertid=64029806&type=CO
In lieu of the celebration of life across the country, North Carolina will have a number of events.
Saturday, January 17, North Carolina Right to Life will host its Annual Prayer Breakfast for Life at the North Raleigh Hilton in Raleigh. The breakfast meeting will feature newly elected pro-life U.S. Senator from North Carolina, Sen. Thom Tillis. Wesley J. Smith, Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism, will also speak.
Afterward, a number of pro-life activists will converge on the Halifax Mall, behind the Legislative Building in Raleigh for a rally at 1:00 p.m., which will immediately be followed by a march.
“Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is officially set for this Sunday,” said Dr. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “But if a church hasn’t planned to recognize the day this Sunday, they could do it another day. It really doesn’t matter which day you do it. The point is that we are living in a time when a culture of death is pervasive and churches should designate some moment they intend to focus on this issue – the sanctity of human life.”
“We should engage in corporate prayer for the unborn children threatened by abortion. We should pray for the mothers of the children and the doctors who perform abortions. Pastors should preach about this subject. They and their churches should firmly speak the truth in love. Churches must offer opportunities for parents of aborted children to receive spiritual and emotional healing through prayer or other means such as counselling. In whatever way the churches observe this day, it’s proper they engage in those activities that promote that God is the giver of life, redemption and hope,” said Dr. Creech.