The Great Tragedy of the 2012 Election
There was a great tragedy that occurred on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
The tragedy was not found in the celebrations of elected officials or the concessions of defeat. It was not colored red or blue, and it wasn’t wrapped up in useless campaign promises.
The tragedy of the 2012 election is that in this land of the free and home of the brave, many people were not allowed to vote. Their voices were silenced. Their votes were not cast. Their opinions not expressed. Why?
Because they were dead.
The great tragedy of the 2012 election is that roughly 33 million would-be voters were not with us, because they had been murdered. From 1973-1994 roughly 35 million babies were aborted. That’s roughly 35 million 18-39 year-olds who did not vote because they were dead.
That is an unspeakable tragedy.
They did not have the chance to explain to their children about what makes our nation so great. They did not have the chance to watch the results come in with their friends and family.
They did not have the chance to rest their heads on a pillow in the land of the free. That is a great tragedy.
But this story of tragedy is not over.
In 2016, roughly 5 million more voices will be unheard. Why? Because over 3,500 babies will be killed today. And each day leading up to Tuesday November 8th, 2016. In the 3 minutes it takes you to read this post, 7 babies will have been aborted in the United States of America. Their voices are silenced. Their freedom not experienced. Their opportunity to be brave not known. Their lives taken from them.
This is a tragedy that hits close to home for me. When I was 19 years old, I chose to end the life of my first child through an abortion. My friend and I were in a scary place, we didn’t plan to get married, and we had nowhere else to go. So we chose to end the life of our child.
That child would be 16 today. They’d be excited about driving a car and in just a couple years, they’d be excited about voting. But, they won’t be doing any of that. I won’t be sitting down with them and explaining how to think about policies and the candidates that represent them. I won’t be able to tell them about freedom and justice for all. I took that freedom away with my injustice.
I cannot undo what I’ve done in the past. None of us can. Only Jesus, who shed His blood for sinners like me can heal those wounds. Jesus gives us great hope in the midst of this tragedy, and all the other tragedies we face in this life.
If you have committed an abortion, I want you to know that there is a refuge in Jesus. He will heal your wounds. There is no sin so great that He cannot forgive and no sin so small that does not need to be forgiven. If you will confess your sins and turn to Him in faith, He will wash away all your guilt and all your shame. Come to Christ.
If you support abortion, I encourage you to spend time in prayer and ask God to show you if abortion is something that pleases Him or not. Ask a Christian to help you see what God’s Word says about this. I’m under no assumption that you don’t already have deeply rooted ideas, I did too. I encourage you to take the time to read what God says about life and who has the right to give and take it away. I encourage you to start with Psalm 139.
If you are a Christian, be patient with those who view things differently than you. But don’t just be patient, speak truth in love to those who are in need. Find ways to help those who are struggling through unplanned pregnancies. Investigate options for adoption and invest in the lives of those who are facing difficult choices.
I have on my wall a picture of a 3 year old boy in cowboy boots. He’s a 3 year old boy who nearly wasn’t with us today because of the difficult place his mother found herself in. She was not married and pregnant and scared. But my wife met with her and prayed with her and took her to a Christian doctor who showed her the baby in her womb through a sonogram. That young mother had the courage to keep her child.
That young boy’s smile reminds me that God can save children, one at a time. But God does this by using His people to come alongside those who are struggling and lovingly showing them the Christ who can walk them through any terrifying situation, even an unplanned pregnancy.
I believe that the only hope to turn the trend of this tragedy around is for people to turn their hearts toward the God who made them through the way paved by His Son Jesus. Jesus changes hearts, and changed hearts changes a nation. May God give grace to us as a country, and may God give us courage to stand up in the midst of this tragedy so that, if the Lord tarries, there will be many more people casting votes in 2030. Lord Jesus, we need your help.
Thank you for your honesty and your pleading with us to stand strong against abortion. I am a staunch advocate of adoption. There are so many families who want a child to call their own who would step up and help a confused Mother in her time of need. I do believe every woman who considers abortion should have to look at the sonogram and wait 48 hours before having the abortion performed. We have a holocaust on our hands and everyone thinks it’s perfectly okay. I believe that someday we will be lumped with the Germans as they persecuted the Jews. May God help us.
I am confused, your second sentence does not appear to correlate with the rest of your comment?
Sorry, I’m not sure I understand. I can clarify if you help me understand where I was confusing. Thanks.
I believe he saw the word adoption and mistook it for abortion. If that was the case then that sentence would be nowhere in line with the rest of your comment.
I find it appalling to attach abortion to the election. The referendum our President stands for is pro choice, not pro abortion. I was a Christian and ministers wife for 40 years, and although I would never have an abortion, I have always been pro choice about our bodies. If we legislate anti abortion laws, we should also legislate laws against war, no matter what the reason. I have had 6 kids, and 3 miscarriages. This would be reverting back to the days of State religion, which has no value whatsoever.
I’m not intending to debate our current president’s policies. Instead, I’m highlighting the fact that millions of babies are being murdered each year. As I see it, pro-choice is a deceptive term as it means choice for the mother/father, but not for the child. Our bodies are not our own if we are Christians. We are stewards of them, but they belong to the Lord, and children are a gift from Him, beginning at the moment of conception. Praise God for your years of faithfully serving alongside your husband in ministry and him giving you 6 children. My condolences to you regarding the miscarriages, my wife and I have had 3 ourselves, so I can sympathize with your losses. May God bless you and yours.
Same here, garretkg, No debate, just thoughts. We are made in the likeness of the Lord according to the Bible. That to me does not mean our bodies, but our spirit. No one can kill this Real part of ourselves, even with abortion. Every soul that has a purpose here, will simply find another entrance. Our purpose is to be compassionate with the individual that is here, which laws have failed time and again. If we haven’t looked into that mothers eyes and offered love before judgment, nothing is gained.
Abortion is murder…period. It doesn’t matter who is in office. We will always have people who are deceived about it, but it is particularly sad when the deception is perpetuated by other Christians. Very sad.
I should probably add that I have committed abortion. My heart aches for those who are in this boat with me. It took over a decade for the excessively deep remorse to show itself, but when it did, it just about knocked me over. I also feel these women should be loved and encouraged to forgive themselves, as God has forgiven them. That being said, it does not negate our responsibility to also continue advocating for the unborn. God bless!
Charlene, you are confused, according to the Bible because we are made in the likeness of God, Life is God and not ours to take. This “Real” part of ourselved expresses that you believe in gnostic heaven, our bodies will be transformed, life in this physical body is sacred and holy. Romans 12. Your comment about souls entering another body is extrabiblical and more likely another world view and not Chrisitanity. the Baby in the womb does have Gods living spirit. Ive seen premies so small that are living outside the womb. How can you say to be compassionate to “individual that is here” negating the living individual in the womb. The question is how come the living individual is not compassionate to the one in the womb and gives it up for adoption. If a pregnant woman loses her baby due to crime against her, whoever did it is automatic manslaughter. But if a woman chooses to abort her baby its called choice. That is nonsense. The most dangerous place in this country is in the womb. How scary that is.
Charlene, The very idea that a soul has more than one chance to enter into this world is against everything the Bible teaches. I would like to know the scripture you are using for your idealism. Heb 9:27 states “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” Death is death wether it is at the hands of abortionist or after a long life, a person has one chance at life. Abortion is the murder of a human being, clear and for some very simple.
Bodies are part of the whole package. We are body soul and spirit…… trinity just like our God Who has also given us the free will to choose our eternal destiny. The Nazis were pro-choice… they held the choice to improve their lives by ending the lives of others. When a mother ends her baby’s life she eliminates that child’s ability to make his or her own choice in their own eternal destination. I do believe that babies go to Heaven…. but not of their own free will. God created us so that we could choose Him ourselves.
I too, have lost children, 4 to miscarriage and one to adoption – a product of incest. Do not by any standard think that I am judgmental of the fear and torture that a young mother experiences as her body notifies her of its condition. Thank God that I did not have to add a life-time of guilt in the knowing I ended an innocent baby’s life in order to make corrections for my own. I had enough guilt and confusion for one lifetime without carrying that as well. I have held the hand of more than one pregnant single teenaged-mother and rocked her through her initial fear. Heart wrenching! Right is still right and wrong is wrong. Compassion is essential but is many times misguided.
I am absolutely unequivocally 100% “pro-choice” – I believe everyone should have the choice as to whether they live or die. So as soon as those babies are old enough to tell us what they want, I look forward to honoring their choice.
Jonathan,
You said “Life is God and not ours to take.” Are you anti-war, too?
You said: “So as soon as those babies are old enough to tell us what they want, I look forward to honoring their choice.”
But, if they are aborted, they have lost any chance to be able to grow old enough to tell you what they want. So, how can you honor their choice if they are given no opportunity to tell it to you?
I am an ordained Christian meiistnr and chaplain, and therefore my frame of reference isChristian. Every person is a beloved Child of God, created in God’s image and deserves achance at life. Everyone has the right to the chance at life. This right is given by God and protected by the US Constitution. Roe vs Wade was a blatant violation of these protections and must be repealed at the national, state and local levels. In addition, I am saddened when I hear Christian clergy state that they don’t know when life begins or when the soul enters the body. I have heard many also state that they don’t know when a fetus becomes human and discount Scriptural proof that the fetus is human upon conception. I am also saddened when I read that many Christian clergy are actively working for the pro-abortion cause, citing women’s health, women’s rights, and discounting the sad consequences of abortion (including but not limited to the death of the child, physical harm to the mother, and emotional harm to the mother and the father). Planned Parenthood’s “40 Days of Prayer,” the rebuttal against the 40 Days of Prayer for Life bothers me because I feel it is sick and twisted and makes a mockery of pregnancy and true family planning. I am also troubled that Planned Parenthoodtargets areas where the majority of the population are economically poor and/or Black and Hispanic. It troubles me that in many areas, the abortion rate of minority babies is as high or higher than the birthrate.In addition, although I believe there is Biblical precedent for capital punishment for convicted criminals, I believe this should be handled very carefully and great care and discernment should be taken to determine, within the best of the legal team’s wisdom (lawyers, judges, and other officials), that the punishment is determined to be the best course to take. It should not be used lightly and the burden of proof to the criminal’s guilt, inability for change, and for the protection of the public and victim should be very high. I would rather 10 criminals go free than 1 innocent person be wrongly executed.Although I believe everyone has the right to die as pain-free as possible, which is why I have experience in hospice and palliative care, I do not believe one has the right to take someone else’s life. Therefore, I am very opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia. In addition, disabilities are no reason to take someone’s life through abortion or euthanasia as people with disabilities have the capacity for love and to make this world a better place. They have just as much right to life as someone without disabilities does.
To find it appalling seems to be an overstatement. You may disagree but considering his position on abortion, I can see a connection. It’s the main reason I didn’t vote for him.
I would suggest you read “Ethics for a Brave New World”, 2nd edition (Crossway 2010) by John and Paul Fienberg as ch. 2&3 cover the different arguments on the abortion issue and the book covers other topics of Christian Ethics in relation to the heated issues of the day, including war. As Christians we do have an obligation to protect those who cannot protect themselves and that obligation of a woman to protect her baby trumps her choice to kill it. Thou shalt not kill means that the sanctity of human life is more important to God than a woman’s right to choose. She has a choice to obey God or to disobey Him and kill the baby, the baby has no such choice and is at the mercy of the mother. You cannot equate protecting the sanctity of human life with war as there are biblical examples of justifiable war, which the book deals with.
Charlene – war and abortion are nothing alike. In war, we fight against able-bodied and armed men and women who have chosen this course of action. I do not recall anytime in history when America has gone to war against people who did nothing wrong and cannot fight for themselves. In abortion, a woman murders an innocent, defenseless child. Do you realize that abortion means that a baby with a beating heart is torn apart or burned up? Doesn’t the baby have any rights at all? The mother can choose what to do with her body (Like not have unprotected sex with someone when she doesn’t want or cannot afford a baby) but that baby is not her body – he is his own entity with his own DNA and his own heartbeat. Outlawing abortion is the same as outlawing murder. You wouldn’t say that I am forcing my religion on someone because I say they can’t murder someone. This is in no way different. The baby is a person, not a mass of cells that is a part of a woman’s body that she can decide what to do with it. If the baby has his own unique DNA then there is NO way it IS the woman’s body. The baby is in her body, yes, but that is not the baby’s fault and should not be killed simply because the mother does not want to be inconvenienced by the human she is responsible for creating. Furthermore, I find it interesting that pro-choice advocates claim that the baby is not a human and so abortion is not considered murder. But, if a pregnant woman is murdered, the murderer is held accountable for TWO lives, not one. Pro-choice is Pro-murder!
i agree with you Diana…the way you worded this…it is something i have felt for a long time…when women say it is my body…you are right…the baby is his own entity with his own DNA and heart beat…thank you and God bless you…
My thoughts exactly, Diana. I still don’t understand how people don’t get that abortion is murder. It doesn’t even have to be explained as a “religious” issue. Babies killed in the womb, no matter how early, are in fact alive. So yes, pro-choice=pro-murder.
Pro-choice and pro-abortion are the same thing. Both end with the killing of the unborn. He is for women having the choice to end the lives of their pre-born children. He is for abortion even after birth when the abortion has failed and the baby is born alive. He is without question the most pro-abortion president in our history.
Pro-Choice, First, I’d like to tell you that I truly appreciate your viisitng this site and taking the time to consider a view different than your own – that is something that many in today’s culture are reluctant to do, and I am very grateful for your willingness to engage in discussion. Although I do not believe WhyProLife.com is affiliated with any particular religious point of view, the questions you pose do hold merit. Personally, I actually am Christian and would be happy to explain what I believe. The first point you raise actually relates to a much broader question that we all find ourselves pondering at some point in our lives – “Why do bad things happen to good people?” and similarly,” Why would God allow these bad things to happen?” In order to gain an understanding of this of what initially may seem to be irreconcilable, you have decided that there must be a good reason why bad things happen. In this view, an abortion must have been in the divine plan and have a deeper meaning than we can see. However, I would like to offer you an alternative view, which is this: God is not responsible for the evil in this world, humanity is. The responsibility to end evil lies with us. There is a divine plan in this world. From the very beginning, God has possessed the ability to control all of his creation and knowledge of what all his creation will do. However, this does not mean that he will intervene and control all of what we do. If he would, then we would be nothing more than mere puppets and life would have very little purpose. What defines our lives the most is not what happens to us as much as how we choose to respond to whatever it is that happens to us – whatever circumstances we face. As long as we live on Earth, ours will always be an imperfect existence in which we will likely encounter some form of suffering or hardship on a daily basis. Bad things will happen. As a Christian, I feel it is my duty to be a force for good on this Earth, take an active role in trying to help others, and pray that I may one day be considered worthy to enter a realm that is perfect, heaven. While it has never been my approach to use yelling in arguing a point as a few others in this thread have (the volume at which a statement is made cannot be thought to bear impact on its legitimacy), I can understand the sense of urgency in their statements. I will try to respond point by point to your arguments to explain why. You mentioned that an unborn baby is not alive. The abortion industry used to be fairly effective in persuading people that this was indeed the case – to this day, they make every effort to refer to preborn babies as mere uterine contents, products of conception, blobs of tissue, and other similar terms. Instead of letting women know that abortion ends an innocent life, they try to describe it with euphemisms, such as “terminating a pregnancy.” However, the only problem with this is that the facts tell an entirely different story. For example, according to a 1985 Senate report, “Physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human being – a being that is alive and is a member of the human species. There is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological, and scientific writings.” I would actually have to agree with the statement you made, which is that rights do not apply to a person who is not alive. However, this argument is not applicable to the discussion of the preborn, because science actually shows that preborn children are very much alive. There is a great deal of additional evidence I could give you that the preborn/unborn baby is human and alive –a preborn’s heart can start beating between 18-21 days after conception, development of organs begins during the fifth week of development, and the head and spinal column begin to form just a few weeks after that. However, all of these developmental facts are really beside the point. While they make the preborn’s personhood more apparent, the indisputable truth is that all of these preborn babies are at stages in life that is every bit as valid as any other stages in life. They may not yet be able to use their voice or be educated in the ways of the world, but they are just as alive as anyone else in the world. Whether a life is still inside the womb, several years from having been inside the womb, or many years from having been inside the womb, the individual deserves to have his or her life protected at every stage. You mentioned that a mother is not able to abort a child if the baby is only a month or two from its delivery date. While I wish this were true, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton actually allow a baby to be aborted at any point in the pregnancy, for any reason (or no reason). Approximately 98% of abortions may be categorized as convenience abortions, abortions due to rape are extremely rare, and (thanks to modern medicine) situations where a pregnancy must be ended to save the life of the mother are practically not existent – we have found ways to protect the mother’s well-being without endangering the life of the preborn baby. I believe you mentioned something along the lines of that abortion is ultimately the choice of the woman, because it is her body. In response to this, I would say that no one (neither men nor women) should have the ability to do whatever they want with their bodies. Please let me explain… One of the greatest minds in philosophy, J.S. Mill, published a book entitled On Liberty, in which he advocated several key principles for society. One of his key ideas is the harm principle, which holds that individuals may act as they wish, as long as these actions do not harm others. When they do, we must intervene and provide protection to whoever is the target of that harm. Also, because no one lives in isolation, even harm that is thought to be done exclusively to oneself often results in harm to others as well – immediate family members perhaps, but also the community, and we do have an obligation. This general philosophy might seem familiar; it underlies much of the legal framework we see in America today. We often hear the phrases “My Body, My Choice” and “Pro-Choice: the radical idea that women have control of their bodies” uttered by those who are in favor of abortion. However, what those who hold these signs don’t seem to be aware of is that the pro-life movement is not out to take away any of their rights, nor deprive them of any of their freedoms. All individuals, both men and women, have every right to exercise their freedom, but society always has an obligation to intervene when harm is being brought to another life. This is the case in all areas of society, not just abortion, and it holds true for men and women alike. Especially given the great damage that abortion does to women (let alone the unborn life), society has both a personal and public obligation to discourage abortion in whatever ways it can. This actually brings me to another argument you made – that an abortion is relatively painless for both the baby and mother and the mother can resume life as normal the very next day. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case for the mother or the preborn child being aborted. It has been found that a preborn baby is capable of feeling pain by as early as 8 weeks. Many abortion clinic employees have actually been shocked when they first see an ultrasound of an abortion procedure – they see babies doing everything in their power to move away from the abortion instruments, only to find nowhere escape. Despite the pro-abortion rhetoric, the reality is that abortion can be incredibly painful for the baby. As for the woman, her pain can come in a great variety of forms – immediate physical complications, long-term problems, and psychological/emotional trauma. The reason why these women suffer from these problems is not because they are stupid, but because the information regarding risks is suppressed, they are lied to about the facts regarding their pregnancy and the abortion procedure, and they are often pressured (nearly 2/3 of the time, according to surveys) into getting an abortion by others who do not necessarily have their best interests in mind. The list of painful consequences to abortion are far too numerous to mention here, but they include an increased risk of breast cancer, depression, an inability to have children, post-traumatic stress disorder, and various anxiety disorders to name a few. Many women also find themselves in deep emotional pain over their abortion for the rest of their lives. In fact, much of the core of the pro-life movement is post-abortive women who have learned firsthand of the hardship of abortion and have dedicated the rest of their lives to trying to prevent other women from making the same mistake. – Mike Y.
Everybody needs to calm the hell down, and realize that sex means denefrift things for denefrift people. In 21st century America, no, sex is not just about procreation, so cut the (*&$%. If you wish your sex life to result in children, that’s your own *(^#%$ business. But keep your nosy ass out of other people’s sex lives, thank you very much. You wanna know why there’s such a backlash against religion these days? Because you people refuse to stay out of other people’s lives.
I happen to be one who hears from GOD, which most will call mnaetl illness but I call a gift. But a gift born out of the fact that I didn’t allow my own child to be born in 1984 when I was 19. I was contacted by GOD in 2003 and told only in 2008 that the reason I was supposed to have figured out was not for my virtues but because of MY sin in the murder of my child by abortion. I was told that a woman and in fact nobody else either has the right to choose as it is choosing death for a living being who has the right to choose life. And so abortion is taking that right away without the consent of GOD. Who does very much exist. Another reason abortion and also euthanasia and murder in any form are sins and also plain murder which should all be illegal is because I was told by GOD that the soul does not live on when one is murdered, including when one is aborted. In every other instance of death death which is natural GOD has the chance to take the person’s soul out of the body before the body is dead and to take it to the next realm, which can include another stint on Earth for those not yet fully deserving Heaven. And every person who goes on to Heaven is the person who has survived his physical death only because it was the death planned by GOD. Even when a person survives an accident it is only GOD’s plan. Why then can’t GOD plan for abortion? HE can. But HE won’t. It is up to us all to save the babies and the young soldiers and those being killed by the Al Quaeda and all the muggings and home invasions and all the family disputes that turn deadly. We need to be all informed that there is life after death but only for those who dies a natural death. Therefore even capital punishment isn’t right because a person who might be able to be better in a subsequent lifetime will not be able to make up for the wrong he or she did in this lifetime.If you want to scream about the right of the mother to choose abortion, then also realize that the mother is choosing a Hell for herself if she realizes what she is doing and if she has been told it is death for her child. Which is the way it is sometimes. And they just prefer to be thinking of themselves as I did when I was feeling too young to go through a pregnancy and also too unable to afford the expense. I didn’t even consider having my baby and it didn’t even occur to me that it was already a baby in GOD’S eyes and also in the fact that it was having all the DNA to know exactly the eye color, the height, the hair color, the intelligence and also in great part the personality. So how can you say that it is only a bunch of cells when all that plan is already there from moment one? You can’t. And the woman and also her parents or husband or boyfriend doesn’t have the right to choose abortion which is death for the child.
Beautiful and honest. Thank you for this.
And this is one of many reasons why I love you and yours so much!!
Pingback: Personal Testimony on Abortion and the Election | Denny Burk
Very well said. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your personal journey and for preaching truth.
Powerful. Thank you for this post.
Amen Brother! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your words of faith. I have yet to find a good enough reason for an abortion to be done, but am thankful that our God is a forgiving God and for anyone that went through this, even thought the hurt will always be there, there is forgiveness if it, if it is only asked for.
This article is very humbling. Still, I think it worth remembering that it was God’s Will that President Obama be elected, even in spite of his views on abortion. We all believe in the sovereignty of God, and must trust his judgment and take the President at his word that he is a Christian — even if he is not as vocal as some of us. God continue to Bless the USA.
We aren’t at all to take anyone at his word that he is a Christian. They will be known by their fruits, as Paul said. One can claim to be a Christian, but without actual belief in the basic doctrines of Christianity that has a noticeable impact on one’s worldview, it is far-fetched to claim such.
God is sovereign, but allows us to mess up and then live with the consequences of our sins… He has in the past ‘given us over to our sins’ – I don’t think it was His “will” that Adam sin, but He does have a plan because He’s that good. I will continue to pray that He Bless our country – but we have to acknowledge – we do not want those who choose abortion, who choose to encourage homosexuality, who choose to encourage drugs – to be blessed… we must all press on!
I agree with everything you said, except one part. I’m not sure that “we do not want those who choose abortion, who choose to encourage homosexuality, who choose to encourage drugs – to be blessed.” Jesus told us to “bless and not curse” (Rom. 12:14) and to take care of our “enemies” when they are hungry or thirsty (Prov. 25:21). I think that people who sin in the ways you mentioned are no different than any other person. We do not always remember that we are all capable of the most atrocious evils. We must love and reach out to the hurting and the broken and the sinners. That is where we would still be, but for the grace of God! Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. If we are his body, then we should love and bless everyone, even when they do wrong. How else will they see the infinite grace of God?
Was it God’s will or did God allow it? There is a difference
@John Luke – Don’t confuse God’s sovereignty with his blessing. Some of the most striking verses on the Sovereignty of God are in Lamentations (3:37, for instance) right after Jerusalem was laid waste by God’s chosen avengers, the Babylonians. I’m praying that our leaders and people will change their minds before the Lord’s patience with us wears out as well.
God’s will is more important than politics…God’s will is for people to become reconciled to Himself through Christ. Let’s not confuse God’s will with God placing leaders over nations.
God’s will? Is it God’s will for people to sin? I think your confused. God gave man his free will. God will establish his will when God chooses. We must have faith that God will do this, and I do! Meanwhile, man had the right to choose between good and evil!
I believe that we as believers are charged under Romans 13 to obey lawful authority. That said I believe, as our founding fathers did, that we also answer to a much higher authority in the person of Jesus the Christ who would never have condoned the act of abortion , though He can forgive. As christians I would go so far as to say that we are obligated to oppose those portions of the current president healthcare laws that would compel people to act against the basic tents of their faith,
this was so beautiful. and powerful. thanks for sharing.
Why am I pro-life? That is simple. I am NOT pro-death!(By the way, God is pro-life and pro-choice! He sets beofre us LIFE and DEATH (for ourselves) and then implores us to choose life! He commands us not to shed innocent blood, and if you could tell my blood type from seven weeks after conception, abortion would have shed mine and my mother’s blood! Some people advocate Quality of life . I do too, but I need to have life beofre I can enjoy quality of life! Check out David Pelzer who suffered at the hands of his mother (I mean REALLY SUFFERED) yet today is a motivational speaker. Mother, you did not, could not create the life that grew inside you! This quickening you feel, even in the denial of it, in a crisis pregnancy, is a sign of life, a gift from God to the earth. I thank God and your mother that you were born. Can you imagine what life would be like if we all made a choice’ to end the lives of all our children? I am pro-life because each of us is a unique representation of God in the earth never has been beofre, never will be again, not one in a million but one of a kind. I am pro-life because in the death of one child there is the death of a whole bloodline, generations die, and mothers lose the joy of nurturing, caring, and all that goes with mothering. I have seen mothers no more mothers, children dead pained, after the fact, with a hurt that no-one but Jesus Christ can fix! I have seen sexual dysfunction at work as a woman purues her mate for sex around the clock, with a need to become pregnant again, to get back’ the aborted child and crying as each month’s cycle begins. I have seen women whose lives have changed drastically after an abortion: no zest for life, angry, depressed, refusing to take basic care of self , their environment, or their living children. I have seen enough hurting women and families to know that a choice for abortion is a bad choice even in cases of rape/incest. My friend shared her story of forgetting she had had an abortio as a teen until the Lord called her to accountability. She denied his allegations about her in connection to an abortion, until he took her down memory lane to bring her healing. Her abortion experience was so traumatic that her brain locked it in a dark box and stowed it away! Sixteen years after an abortion, she wakes up to her reality! Now she is married, having difficulty having children, and needing to tell her husband about this stashed record! Abortion affects families, ebven the men who were not the fathers of the dead babies and it affects the latter too. I have seen men hurting about their dead children. one man names his 6 dead babies and tells you how old they would now be, that he has nightmares about them. He still can’t understand why they are dead. Poet Laureate, Gwendoly Brooks, claims abortion does not make you forget! The reality is that every woman who has had an abortion, will one day remember it with regret even to the day she dies. The guilt of knowing she ended her child’s life can only be relieved by admitting to herself, and to God, that indeed, this was her child, and she decided under whatever constraints to end that life. Healing begins with admitting one’s missing the mark’, and asking pardon from the One who gives life, and who claims, and rightly so, to be the Father of the spirits of all mankind . I am pro-life because without life none of us could enjoy life moreover, Jesus Christ of Nazareth came that we might have life and have it more abundantly! I am so glad to be alive, despite the hardships that I have encountered! May it be that my life is a blessing to someone else!
Very powerful and well said! The only issue I could see in it is someone might say that many, perhaps most, of those children (now grown) could very well be proponents or supporters of the Democrat party. Regardless, you are correct in your analysis of this tragedy and travesty! God bless you and keep fighting the good fight!
Many of those children would be republicans,democrats,Christians,Jews, athesists, gays and straight. But they would be alive and reflect the image of God.
Agreed and that is why abortion is wrong. I don’t want babies to live so they can vote a certain way. God gives life in the womb, we have no right to take it from there.
It’s not relevant in anyway how those potential lives would have voted. They were created in the image of God and had every right to a chance at life regardless of whether or not they grew up to vote a certain way. A belief that life is precious and sacred stands alone and needs no further justification.
Ryan, I very much agree. The election just provided a platform to highlight this holocaust. Thank you.
Thank you for standing for goodness and life….
Thanks so much for your stand in the midst of what Satan may throw but Christ is the victory!
This was beautiful! I am strongly against abortion! I believe it is murder. If you aborder a baby, you are being selfish and not realizing God has a person for that child. I pray for every pregnant women to make a decesion by God’s word!
what the hell? a woman doesn’t want to give a kidney and that makes her unfit to have an abiroton?? because she doesn’t want to undergo surgery to remove an organ, thus she has reservations about abiroton!also, did any one else notice that most of panel was male, they will never have to go through abiroton and are looking at it from the outside. Also, they seem to believe just people want abirotons willy nilly, have they ever thought about the women who are raped i didn’t think so .
A great thought to be sure. It would be nice if every aborted child could have been adopted into a caring home. It would be nice if the people who find themselves in these situations had taken precautions to prevent being in these situations in the first place. Yet that’s not reality. Reality for many of these cases are mother’s who may or may not have a husband who may or may not be working who are already struggling to support 2+ children. The orphanage is full and parents who adopt in reality are quite picky about their choices. There is of course the minority that see past any discrimination in their selection but the minority doesn’t help here. I agree that abortion should be not be commonplace; not because it’s illegal but because proper education has taught contraception or individuals have practiced celibacy. At that point what you’re having to ask yourselves is would it be worse for the parents to raise a child into the world to have a likely(although not certainly) miserable life? In the end abortion is not a disease, but a symptom of uneducated individuals who are too stubborn to do what’s best for them. I mean, people still don’t wear seat belts. Without proper education, more than just one life is ruined.
We have kids in other countries starving do we go slaughter them as well. Many great leaders have risen above adversity. These babies are not given the right to try. Its stolen from them. Even one of our presidents was adopted.
I agree, whole heartedly, that ppl should practice safe sex, not only to prevent pregnancy, but for their own health. Education is the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancy, in conjunction with morality, from the start. The difficult part, is to practice what you/your partner know…I believe that a lot of ppl KNOW how to prevent unwanted pregnancy, but just do not practice it. Only God can give a person enough wisdom to do what is right. Unfortunately, many put themselves in precarious positions, and make bad decisions, in the heat of the moment. As I said, in so many words, education is key, but I believe this issue must start with a moral compass, given by God. There is HOPE in the fact that God has chosen Christians, us, to spread His Word. Without HOPE, without God, and His direction, where will we be? Where will we end up? It is time to give your beliefs a voice. Do not be silent. You may be the voice that changes the lives of two ppl, the one who is searching for the right path for them, and the unborn child, that could be the next Billy Graham.
As someone who was almost aborted, I wholeheartedly disagree. I am very thankful for my life. Sure, being raised by teenagers wasn’t always a picnic, but I would take that over having been murdered any day!
Thank you for sharing your touching personal story, and praise God that He has brought you to a saving knowledge of Himself. I am curious to know from you what do you think you needed 16+ years ago in order to make a different decision: would a ban on abortions have been sufficient to deter you or would you have sought an illegal one out regardless? Would you have accepted the offer of a sonogram to see your little one and been changed by the image, or would you have resented the notion and hardened your heart? Would counseling on adoption have made a difference? I ask because I want to pray for women/couples who find themselves in such a situation and that God would provide effective means of changing hearts.
Great post. However, I wanted ask why you only used the abortion numbers up to 1994. From 1973 till this present time, there has been approximately 54 million abortions.
Hello…I used those numbers because those would be the people who’d be 18 years old now and able to vote. Thank you though for pointing out the many, many other children who have had their lives taken from them through abortion.
The one thing that separates women from men is their role in the cnunitoed existence of the human race. Its what makes them unique, important, and necessary. I personally think that abortion suppresses this, and as a result, it also degrades women. Sure, perhaps there are some special exceptions, but these should be very few and rare. Intercourse does have a purpose, and its not purely for pleasure the pleasure is merely a side affect of something far greater.
Thank you. You have an incredibly powerful platform because of your own personal story; thank you for speaking bravely about the reality of legalized murder in our country. I’m devastated about the outcome of the election, especially considering how many Christians voted for the Democratic candidate, but I never cried about it until I read your article. Well done. I will be praying about how God can use me.
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Beautiful post. Abortion is such a terrible tragedy… it completely breaks my heart. I have a few family members and friends who argue that it is a woman’s right. My sister argues that it should be legal for the sake of sexual trauma victims. She says they shouldn’t have to “carry the reminder” with them for nine months. I told her that whether or not the woman aborts her child, she’s going to remember what happened and will need serious prayer and counseling for healing. I believe the stat is that of all aborted babies, only 2% were conceived from a rape anyway.
My heart is sadden by the numbers of unheard voices. Those unborn babies are not with us, but I know they are on God’s hand. Not trying to down play this truth, but I feel like we forget that these babies are not the only ones who couldn’t vote. People, babies, who were sent to an unnecessary war could not vote. Lives lost to violence and kids who took there lives for various reason were not able to vote as well. Though I completely agree with this sad reality, I feel like we leave other un-lived lives. Let us be all things to all people so that we may win them to Christ and that they may live.
That all is very moving and I am glad that you are at a place of healing But i have to say that if the majority of those dead childrens parents had kept from having sex especially without protection would your cause be so great? Maybe the solution is to “preach” pro-action and not re-action.
May The Lord change the hearts of the people who read this. Amen and Amen.
A-MEN SON,WE MUST STOP ABORTION ,BECAUSE IT IS THE SAME AS MORDER
I am pro-life because I am alive. I value my life, and I am grutfael that my mom decided to let me breathe. I have a disabled child who loves life and is glad he was born. I have a younger brother and an older sister who were given up for adoption and both of them are glad to be alive. My parents were poor and often relied on welfare to support me, nonetheless I am grutfael that they didn’t decide to terminate me or my other siblings as I love my life and each of my siblings lives. I’m pro-life because my sister had an abortion to save a man she loved from suffering the consequences of their pregnancy as he and she were both married to different people when she became pregnant and he is in the military and if his wife or her husband pressed charges he would lose rank, pay, and possible face jail time for infidelity. Now that he is soon to be her ex-husband, I wish she would have kept that baby, and then maybe she would have been saved from years of irresponsible, self-absorbed, abusive, selfish decisions of this man by allowing him to suffer the consequences instead of making the baby pay the price 🙁 I am also pro life because I am not God, and no one else on this earth is either, therefore we do not get to decide when any other human being should cease to live on this earth. Only God who has infinite knowledge, forsight, and wisdom should make that choice, if Adam and Eve had known that and acted on that then we wouldn’t have people choosing to take eachother’s lives, God knows that and so do I and that is why I choose life. I don’t follow the thinking that God is responsible for death and suffering, I know that God allows us to destroy eachother and ourselves because he will not force us to make the right choices. But .. we are not God and so we cannot give eachother the right to make immoral choices.
i can identify with the author’s wife. i, too, had an abortion. when i was 17 and unmarried. i had another one when i was 19. i gave it a lot of thought. while i wasnt a Christian yet, i was still a believer in God and Jesus. I so wish i could reverse my decisions. but what’s done is done and i know i am forgiven and i rejoice that i will see my two babies in heaven one day. p.s. i was blessed to have 2 more children, by God’s merciful grace. he gave me some more chances because being a mother is what my life’s goal was! i am SO BLESSED!!!
The whole gender/sex thing in the abrtioon debate is a complete fallacy. There is no collaboration between the two, as can see by the fact that there is a similar ratio on both sides of sexes that agree/disagree. If anything abrtioon is a power used by men to make sure women stick to a male role. This is the big difference between older and newer feminism. Most women from the suffrage movement and early feminism rebuked abrtioon. Hence newer feminism is just an arc from socialism.
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Very well written; beautiful!
Thanks much for sharing. Though I am older, I have a similar story. I praise God for His grace in your life and mine.
By telling of our experience – by giving a face to the incomparable loss – we show this is much more than a political or ideological argument. We have lived with the choice and can testify that it leads to a very personal hell.
And yes, I pray for our President. May he feel the full conviction of the Holy Spirit and then have the courage to follow God’s will.
Excellent Article….Extremely Well Done!
So if I need to ” spend time in prayer and ask God to show you if abortion is something that pleases Him or not” can any of you point out to me when He is letting us know things please him?!
oh right. you can’t.
And those weren’t babies that were murdered. They were cells that were removed from the host organism.
Jamie…appreciate you taking the time to write. I certainly do think there are many places in God’s Word that helps us to see how God designed life and the fact that only He gives it. If you would be interested in looking through those verses, I’d be happy to post some more for you, but for now, here are two.
One that has become dear to me is Psalm 139:13-14 where the author reflects and says “you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” This verse tells us that what is in a mother’s womb is not just a parasite, but is actually a human being that is being knit together by God Himself.
Another is in Luke 1:39-45 where Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, came to visit Elizabeth, who was pregnant with another prophet named John, and when Mary came close the Bible says “the baby leaped in [Elizabeth’s] womb.” This clearly shows us that God says what is in a womb is a baby.
Now, I understand why believing the Bible can seem foolish, but I just want you to consider that there is a chance you are off base in how we know what is real and what is not in this life. If there really is a God, then it truly changes everything.
What if Jesus really is who He says He is? What if He really is the one who died for sinners like you and me? What if He really did rise from the dead? If those things are true…then there is hope for you, and hope for me. I want to challenge you to turn from your sin and trust in Jesus.
I’m happy to continue this conversation if you think it would be helpful.
Blessings,
G
Jamie,
It saddens me that you can refer to a precious life as “cells” and say that abortion is just removing those cells from it’s host. I have had three children and am expecting another baby, and these blessings are such a miracle! I don’t honestly know how someone can experience the birth of a baby and claim it is just a bunch of “cells”. It does not magically turn from cells to a life at birth. I think this lie is how people justify abortion, and it is sad so many believe it.
I have a personal relationship with God, and I know that if you seek Him too you will find Him. It is through my relationship with Him and through His Word the Bible that I know what pleases Him. I pray that you will see truth and know God’s grace.
Sixty years ago, I was faced with an unexpected pregnancy and my Mother took me to several places, but no one would do the procedure. Did not recognize God’s intervening at the time. The young man who I loved, married me, a beautiful little girl was born, later we had a son. We were married 49 years and my beloved mate is now with the Lord. Yes, Jesus forgave us both and we were blessed. That 60 year old woman grew into the most beautiful person who loves her Lord and
Savior, has 3 precious children, 8 grandchildren and a godly husband. Thank you Sovereign God for your intervention and for blessing me all these years. I now have 6 grandchildren, 9 greats another due next year. I give praise to Him for all my blessings. I also thank Him I do not live with the guilt of killing a precious child. PTL! I
Praise God from whom all blessing flow!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carrie, hug your husband and tell him that I am so proud of him for being bold and for writing this beautiful article. I thank God for the work that he is doing in his life and I thank God for saving us.
People will continue to make up excuses and believe the lies until they surrender to ther King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We are his hands and feet, I thank God for Garrett and for his life. Thank you for loving on my Lindsey so well. It was such a pleasure visiting with you during my last visit to the big city. You made my mom and I feel so welcome.
Very well written and I couldn’t agree more. I’m going to share this with others.
As I read this, I thought back to our conversations in the past, and how we both knew that God’s lavish grace was our only hope. I love ya, bro. Thanks for writing this and being vulnerable. You are and continue to be an inspiring example of a godly man that I want to be like…of course, I’ll have to hit the gym a lot more though.
Thank you friend. Grateful for the hours you poured into me. May God continue to bless you and yours. G
Great post! Have you seen 180movie.com about abortion? It was done by Ray Comfort.
I have. Appropriately intense. Thanks…G
Like you, I’m against abortion. However, there’s a difference between being pro-life and pro-birth. The pro-life persons with whom I want to be in conversation are those who are willing to refute double-speak, such as condemning abortion, but also making it impossible to teach human sexuality, including birth control, to young people. Is it worse to have protected sex outside of marriage than it is to have an abortion? Is it worse to protect oneself from a sexually transmitted disease than to have an abortion? While I believe that it’s best to practice abstinence outside of marriage, I know that many young people will make a different decision. When they do, it should be the choice between the lesser of two “evils”—protected sex versus an unwanted pregnancy. (Some will object that this is inconsistent. It’s no less inconsistent than the message of conservative Christians who teach “thou shalt not kill” to kids in Sunday school, and then turn around and send those same young boys and girls off to war, who, by dint of circumstance and collateral damage, end up shooting, killing, and bombing innocent Afghanistan babies and their parents.) On another front, are the pro-lifers willing to support programs that make it possible for a pregnant teenager to stay in high school, graduate, and go on to higher education? It’s not enough simply to condemn abortion. What’s needed is a new cadre of people willing to think through the public policy issues and practices that would make a different set of decisions possible for couples faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Until then, I won’t stand in solidarity with people who simply want to practice double-speak, and hypocrisy. At least the Roman Catholics have a thoroughly “consistent ethic of life.” They condemn the death penalty, and promote disarmament and nonviolent means of resolving national conflict. They support a living wage, the right to form unions, and many other things that the typical so-called “pro-lifer” doesn’t support, because most pro-lifers today don’t profess and practice a “consistent ethic of life.” Finally, in addition to the statistics you quote, there’s another silent holocaust going on. Today, and every single day, some 20,000 to 30,000 children around the globe will die of poverty-related causes; many poverty conditions around the globe are worsened by U.S. foreign trade policies; these need to be rethought. Merely filling the air with pro-life rhetoric in the name of Christianity is not totally adequate as Christian witness. As Christians, we’re called to make sure that our nation has in place all the necessary conditions, resources, and relationships that make mutually interdependent human flourishing possible. We need to do more wrestling with what it means to promote and practice a “consistent ethic of life.”
Thank you.
My 1st pregnancy almost killed me. My team of OB’s all said my organs will shut down if I get pregnant again. I had my tubes tied but that is not 100%. If I were to accidentally get pregnant again, I would absolutely have an abortion. And that’s no ones business. It’s up to me and my husband. Not up to you, and certainly not up to some politician.
I am very sorry to hear about your difficult pregnancy. That is a very scary situation. I’m thankful the Lord saw you through it. I do pray God would give you wisdom if you were to get pregnant again, and I do think that in the end, you and your husband have the right to make your own decisions. I would hope that you also know that it is God’s business what we do with our bodies and with the challenges He places before us. I trust that He would guide and guard you both through even the toughest of decisions.
So if you think that my husband and I have the right to make our own decisions, why would you push to make abortion illegal? I will die if I get pregnant and attempt to carry to term. Outlawing abortion isn’t very pro-life in my situation. And if I die, my fetus would go with me.
These kinds of conversations are best done face to face, through much prayer and in the context of a trusted relationship. If you and your husband ever do find yourselves in this challenging spot, please know and if you can’t find help at your local church, my wife and I would be happy to help you work through it.
“These kinds of conversations are best done face to face.” Possibly be the wisest sentence ever posted on the internet.
Thanks not only for a graciously-written article, but the willingness and self-disciple to carry that grace through in these comments.
, i am pro-life because 1. an unorbn fetus is still a human life that should not be sacrificed, 2. abortion harms the woman involved as well, and 3. I believe God has a plan for every life and that even if the child is unwanted by their biological parent(s), they were conceived for a reason. I understand that many people bring up the fact that unwanted pregnancies can often be a result of rape or some difficulty that endangers the mother’s life. but as difficult as it sounds, i still believe those cases occur for a reason and that God has a plan for them. if He hadn’t wanted the child to be born, no egg would have been fertilized.even if you do not have faith in God, in the majority of cases the mother is not going to be harmed by having the child. adoption is always an option, and if the reason behind not carrying the baby to term is simply because they do not want to deal with the responsibilities of pregnancy or the humiliation of being accidentally pregnant, is that really reason enough to justify murdering an unorbn child?on the feminist note from above, i definitely do not agree with the truly liberated woman quote, and thank you Frank for reminding us that violence or any other characteristic knows no gender bounds. gender roles are what we make of them, and saying that violence is a male-only issue is certainly flawed logic. just as validating the death of an unorbn child by saying that protecting the lives of people who are already alive is a higher priority is flawed. even if you believe that a fetus is not truly living, doesn’t that child represent another opportunity for the next Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, or Martin Luther King, Jr.? not to sound callous, but the pregnant woman has experienced life and had at least some time to contribute to society. though she may not be ready to give up her chance, is the slight possibility of her death during labor enough reason to deny the child even an opportunity to contribute? that seems selfish to me.i apologize if i offended anyone, but it wouldn’t change what i said.
I could not agree more. Just yesterday I realized that this issue has been weighing on my heart heavily for about three years. I am planning to speak out about my story of my unplanned crisis pregnancy and Gods incredible faithfulness to help me when I chose to have my daughter. Though i was basically trembling in fear, He provided encouraging words from a trusted friend at just the right time and gave me the courage to choose his will. thank you for articulating this so beautifully and being another tool of Gods to help me see the truth and inspire me to be obedient to him. I pray for all who read this (and agree) to speak the truth in love, like you said, and for hearts to be conformed to the likeness of Christs.
Pro-life or pro-choice watch this video: http://www.180movie.com
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Shouldn’t this be called the tragedy of every election since 1991 (the year when those legally aborted children would be eligible to vote) NOT just 2012? I respect you opinion but I hardly think that it pertains specifically to this year’s election. Would you have written this post if the Republican candidate won?
Theresa…great question. This post is not in response to who won this election. It is in response to the holocaust in our land. I would have written it regardless of who won the election. Thank you for the clarifying question.
I can’t stand pro-forced birth. It denigrates the flemae population to making their bodies a crime scene. I want desprately to be a cop one day but that is one crime scene I couldn’t examine without total consent from the women. Making abortion illegal is going to throw us back to days of back alley coat hanger abortions. Not a world I want to live in.
Thank you for your powerful testimony. It is very moving. I am an African American Pastor and I have been in the fight to end legalized abortion for many years.
The Bible, God’s Word says “Your Word is a Lamp to my feet and a
:Light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
I believe that God’s precious Word is very clear when it says,
“Thou shall not kill.” The correct translation is “You shall not take innocent life.” That is not difficult to under stand. How tragic when we try to make simple and clear truth compicated and difficult. Babies are made in the image of God and everyone of them should be celebrated. It is sadly so easy for people who are already born to say “I believe in being pro -choice!” If we could somehow hear the opinion of the unborn babies, what do we think they would say? I would definitely expect they would say
“Please let me live! I want to live just like you do. Please just give me
a chance.” Tragically, the unborn are a race of people whose civil
rights are not respected or protected by our culture.
One day though, abortion will once again be illegal. And I believe
that one day, generations to come will look back at us, like we look back
at Nazi Germany and say “How could they have ever let such a
slaughter happen right in their own communities?!” Tragically we have
allowed it to happen – one baby at a time. But by the grace of God,
one day it will end. Scripture in the Word of God that give us
very clear direction from God about addressing this issue include :
Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 30:19 (30:15 – 20); Proverbs 24:11,12; Proverbs 31:8,9
Garrett,
I’m not sure you’ll remember me, this is Dave Battle from Campus Crusade at Tech. A friend of mine posted your article on FB. Excellent article! I appreciate and respect the heart and conviction that you right with. Another friend of mine posted a few months back to anyone that was considering an abortion, please come to her first and she will take the child and raise him or her. Can you imagine if we decided that as a community of believers to seriously fight abortion with open arms like this. If instead of trying to legislate our way to a society free of abortions, we did exactly what your wife did and come alongside people, offer them support and encouragement, and be willing to take on the difficulties ourselves in order that life can given a chance. It would be a different world. You change a heart and you’ve changed the future.
Dave, so good to hear from you friend. Hope you are well and walking with the Lord. Praise God for your friend’s example. I think you’re right. Sacrificial love means getting into people’s lives and helping them as they allow. May God give us grace to be that kind of people. Keep seeking the King. G
U.S. History is not all fun and games, slavery was a travesty during it’s time, and abortion is a travesty for our time. We haven’t learned from our history, we have dehumanized people in the past and we still do it today.
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I am so touched by this. I feel convicted to share this. I have a similar story. In 1991, I chose not to have a child. At that time I did not trust God to handle my life. Then God reached into my life and showed me the most beautiful child, my niece. He changed everything in me thru her. God does punish sin, and I believe He punished mine, but He also gave me a second chance. I became a foster parent, and my husband and I adopted 11 year old twins, a girl and a boy. They are 13 now. It is my heartfelt prayer that Jesus will make a difference in their lives thru me. I will never know if my child would have been a boy or girl, what color eyes he/she would have had, and it is a choice I will always regret. But God uses all things for His good purpose, and I am so very grateful for that.
Thank you for your honesty! God is a God of restoration, and you are proof of that!!
Thanks for this Garrett. Powerful and challenging.
Whenever we talk about our position on abortion we must consider our own part in the solution, not just our pro-life position.
As a former counselor/volunteer with a pro-life pregnancy organization; a person who has stood with unwed women during pregnancies and served as a shepherding home (where pregnant mother lived with us until her baby was born and then was helped to get on her feet financially and spiritually) I feel I have earned my right to have a strong voice as a pro-lifer.
We Christians speak loudly about our position but we, as individuals and churches, have not been as active in providing the intervention, care, stability and witness to these young women (and sometimes not so young) as we should.
Whenever I speak to a pro-choice citizen I am able to express my firsthand knowledge on the impact of abortion on women and the gift of life through adoption, for those who cannot keep their children.
I am so thankful for those who work closely with unwed pregnant women in counseling centers and others who provide food, clothing, education and work opportunities for them.
My prayer is that God will raise up more and more Christians willing to invest their lives in this ministry.
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Garrett,
God wants your voice heard and I thank him for giving you the boldness to write this article. Don’t stop! About 26 years ago someone very close to me was at my home and picked up a brochure on the pro life/anti abortion stance. Without me knowing her situation she read the article and then asked why I had the brochure. I was able to share with her why I felt that life began at conception and that this precious baby deserved life, life with that birth mom or life with a family who longed for a baby. I found out years later that she had contemplated an abortion, she saw no other way out and had never even thought of giving this child life. She went through with that pregnancy and a 25 year old amazing young women walks this earth today. Thank you Jesus and thank you for caring for my daughter Lindsey a friend of yours at CHBC. love your precious wife she is a jewel.
Thank you for this thoughtful post!
On November 7, 2008, I wrote the following as part of a congratulations:
With the election of Barack Obama as 44th president of the USA, in a more profound way, we move further from some of the saddest days of American history. The wrongful treatment of African-Americans during the days of slavery must never be repeated. Ironically, however, another group of vulnerable citizens has received far worse treatment. Will the new president’s policies further the horrors unleashed upon this group? Or, will he stand in a great tradition of those who against all odds and pressure oppose oppression and violence?
Will our new president help the helpless? Will he hear the cries of the most precious and vulnerable citizens? Or, will he cower to the pressures of popularity and political expedience? The unborn babies living in their mothers’ wombs need a president who cares and values their lives. Will he refuse to support any policies aimed at their destruction? Will this president say, “Never again!”? Or, will he increase the horrific systematic destruction of the unborn? Will he deny their personhood and let them die brutally at the hands of “professionals”? Or, will he say, “Enough is enough!”?
http://www.thinkpoint.wordpress.com
May God move his heart to do that. Prov. 21:1
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It sounds as though everyone commenting on this original message would find it helpful to read the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare Services” by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 5th Edition, 2009 (latest edition). The full copy is available at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/health-care/upload/Ethical-Religious-Directives-Catholic-Health-Care-Services-fifth-edition-2009.pdf. For abortion, see specifically paragraphs 45 thru 48, although the entire section is on “Issues in Care for the Beginning Life.” The Bishops have done a fine job of articulating as policy much of the concern that has been expressed through this message string. There is great affinity on these issues among Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics. btw, violation of any of these directives by a Catholic healthcare organization makes them liable to a decision by their local bishop that they may no longer present themselves as a Catholic healthcare institution. They really mean it!
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Aside from my personal belief that abortion is an evil, a comment by a minister coupled with the other problems unchecked sexual activity creates besides pregnancy has sat in my head for a while. Historically speaking, until the mid-20th century until now what was the common or average age when couples first committed themselves to marriage? Was it 14-15? 16-17? 18-19? 20-21? Later than 22? Whatever the answer, what is the common or average age when couples first commit themselves to marriage today? 17-19? 20-22? 23-25? 26-28? Later than 29? Based upon what you discover, is it easier to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage if you know the wait is short (1-2 years)? or long (4-6 year)? The comment the minister stated was our culture pressures the young to wait on getting married but then places an expectation that abstinence of years should be practiced because it is felt the young are not responsible or mature enough to marry and start a family. This does same thinking does not carry over when it comes to the military which consistently demonstrates that the young military members are able demonstrate in large scale responsibility and maturity. Now starting a family and being in the military are not the same type of life events but both do require the individuals involved to accept responsibility and grow in maturity in both life events. If the youth of this nation were to marry young and grow into responsibility and maturity with an eye and thought toward avoiding unpleasant consequences then (following in the same line of thought) the level of pregnancies with unwed mothers should start declining. This is not to say it would disappear. We are talking about an aspect of the sinfulness of man here. As far as the other problems involved with unchecked sexual activity outside of marriage, the level of diseases should also decline. What can be recognized is the current US culture has changed quite dramatically within the last 50 years (within a lifetime). The question is can the US culture start moving back?
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Thank you for being so honest and transparent about your past. I have a friend who is the same way, and her testimony is so powerful! God uses our mistakes and our brokenness to minister to others if we will let Him. We lost a son to a tragic accident that was preventable last May. Staying silent helps no one heal. You never know who you’ll help by speaking up. You’ll take some hits, but your courage is greatly appreciated!
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All you people are integrating your religious views into politics. This. Should. Not. Be. Happening. In a secular society, individuals should make decisions as they see fit, as long as they are not breaking the law by doing so. There are limits to abortion too. Extricating a fetus when it hasn’t even developed a central nervous system can be likened to amputating a part of your body. Sure, it was once part of a living thing, but it was never autonomous to begin with. To implicate that abortions are murder, and that it is a “Holocaust” is truly vile. Likening people who undergo the process of abortion to Nazis?? I don’t think so.
Also, there is a trend with most voters who vote against abortion policies. The trend is that, most of them are also conservative voters, and are against the system of welfare. By letting “pro-life” (which in itself is a misnomer – it should be called “pro-birth”) parties win, you would also be letting conservative policies into the door.
That begs the question: what part of the population would even want abortions? Are there any who need abortions? Of course there are. People who feel they cannot support a child because of the various stressors in their lives not only benefit from abortion, but the rest of society benefits as well, as it is less of a burden on the welfare system. But if you let a conservative government into office, not only will there be babies who can’t be supported being born – you will also have welfare systems which are chopped up and run through a blender. What do we have in such a scenario? Babies being born, and growing up in a society where they cannot advance. Stagnation of society, as the gap between the classes continues to widen.
We need the gaps to close, but instead, “pro-birth” (being one of the many) standpoints will only serve to widen these gaps. Think about things economically and politically before you put religion and God into the mix, as not everyone is Christian, and not everyone benefits from your personal God.
Women are not unique and males are just as ioaprtmnt in the continuation of the human race.B. Abortion does not degrade women. THEY are the ones CHOOSING it.C. For some people, sex in purely about pleasure. Not everybody wants children or is prepared to take care of them. Does that mean that they cannot have intercourse? No.
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I commend you for having the courage to tell your story and speak out on this horrible act. I pray God blesses you for your honesty and courage. Please tell Carrie hello.
An interesting dialogue is worth comment. I feel that you must write more on this topic, it won’t be a taboo subject but typically people are not sufficient to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers dacefgdddc