Bear with me, because, at the risk of being called “too pro-life,” or perhaps even the dreaded “anti-abortion” I am writing again about abortion. Call me anti-choice, regressive, a one-issue voter, or whatever you like, but maybe the innocent deserve a second column.
It seems these are the days to talk about it. It feels like a carbonated bottle has been shaken for the past half century, and the top is finally starting to blow. Everywhere you turn on social media, abortion is the issue of the moment. And things are getting volatile.
In the United States amazing things are happening in the pro-life world. Call me a Trump supporter if it makes you feel better, but love him or hate him, he has spoken for the unborn, the disabled, and the unwanted in a way that no other empowered politician has spoken before: “Every child is a sacred gift from God … We know that every life has meaning and that every life is worth protecting … Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life … Let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: All children, born and unborn, are made in the holy image of God.”
There are states signing bills to make abortion illegal, and I recently heard that they have put an end to government-funded research on aborted fetal tissue.
In response, other states are pushing forward bills to allow abortion up to birth, and even afterwards. There are riots on the streets. Celebrities are telling their followers that this isn’t a time to listen, it’s a time to act against the works of anti-abortionists. And those followers are following through on their behalf.
It’s physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually exhausting. I applaud the dedicated men and women who continue to fight when they are ridiculed, ignored, threatened, and spat upon by the mob. I know they will be blessed by God for their faithfulness.
Last month, Canada celebrated 50 years of unchecked abortion. We have no laws, no legal limits, and a “Catholic” Prime Minister who applauds it. Call me judgmental, but it’s satanic and inhuman that a person would celebrate such a thing. While I was reflecting on this reality last month, I wrote the following on my Facebook page:
“Days like today, that acknowledge 50 years of unchecked abortion in Canada, always make me think of my university friend, ‘Sara.’ Sara had an abortion over Christmas break. One evening, when a group of five of us girls were studying our scripts and drinking wine, she broke down and confessed it. She sobbed and looked utterly broken. I was the only pro-lifer in the room, and I was the only one she would look at. The other girls spouted off their insulting and meaningless, “It was your choice, your body! It wasn’t wrong!” nonsense. Sara knew those to be lies, and they would never fill the void inside. She told me that she marked her son or daughter’s due date on her calendar, had named the child, and then proceeded to drink herself to sleep. She knew that I was the only one who could acknowledge her pain, because I was the only one able to acknowledge why it would be painful. When it comes to post-abortive suffering, it’s ONLY the pro-lifers who can offer true, honest compassion and help to the woman in pain. Pro-lifers love them both.”
Sara was utterly broken. Why? Because when a woman experiences abortion and is no longer being manipulated by the movement paid to perform it, she is left alone as the mother of a murdered baby. Whatever led her into that clinic (poverty, abuse, fear) remains. The only thing removed is the son or daughter.
Dr. Robert Whalley of MaterCare International spoke with me about the women his organization helps in Isiolo, Kenya. Before MaterCare, they had a one-in-30 chance of dying in childbirth. They do not even have a word for abortion in their language. Government-funded groups would have to describe it to them.
These women are the poorest of the poor. Call them ignorant, but upon hearing the description these women were aghast. How dare these Westerners suggest killing their son or daughter would be something they would even consider? Instead of offering to help end the poverty or lower the mortality rates, they offer to kill their children, free of charge? How can this be anything less than the work of the devil?
Whatever the pro-choice mob might say, abortion has never ended poverty. Abortion has never stopped abuse. Abortion has never taken away the pain of rape or punished the actual criminal. It has not helped immigrants, it has not repaired broken relationships, and it most certainly has not provided women with higher esteem and dignity in the work force. Every single promise abortion has made is a lie.
But our God is a promise keeper: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
If we can shut our ears to the voices of the mob, and perhaps risk being called names, we will hear his promises of hope, and light, and love. And then he will call us by a new name: “Beautiful and beloved child of Mine”.
If you or someone you know has been deceived and is suffering from the pain of abortion, know that there is help, hope, and healing available from a God of abundant life.