Another Year, Another Million and a Half Dead Babies
January 22, 2010 by Lillie
Thirty-seven years ago today, the Supreme Court of the United States legalized murder.
Since that day, more than 50 million American babies, disproportionately minority, have been killed in the womb.
As every year, pro-life organizations and individuals are marching in Washington to call for an end to the legal murder of unborn babies.
We must end this abortion abomination now.
I have in the past compared abortion to slavery. Recently I wrote in a book review at Goodreads for Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story:
We have gone from a ruling by the Supreme Court of the land that Negroes were less than human with no rights whatsoever to a Constitution with amendments that guarantee freedom and equal rights to blacks. We’ve gone from a country where a black man didn’t have control over his own body or the ability to care for his family to a country that elected a black man as president.
The story of Dred Scott gave me hope that one day soon we will see the same turnaround in recognizing the humanity and life of unborn children. One day Roe v. Wade will be overturned like the Dred Scott decision was overturned, and as the slaves were freed, the lives of unborn babies will be saved from murder in the womb. One day people will look back and wonder how we could stand by and allow babies to be killed, just as today we look back and wonder how people could stand by and allow black people to be enslaved.
Added 1/23/10: I wrote this in reply to a comment and wanted to add it to the post:
Many people who are pro-choice also see themselves as the champions of minorities, the poor, etc. That doesn’t quite compute … but that’s the way it is. They probably would say they would not have been quiet and tolerant of slavery. But being in favor of slavery is pro-choice in the same way being in favor of abortion is pro-choice: the slaveowner (or the mother) has freedom of choice but the slave (or the baby) doesn’t.
This year, for the first time, those of us who can’t march in person can join the virtual march online.
Only a few years after the infamous Roe v Wade decision, someone close to me (I’ll call her June to protect her privacy) became pregnant. She and her husband, an enlisted man in the Army, had three children already, and the youngest child was profoundly handicapped. Doctors tried to convince June to have an abortion. They couldn’t explain why her two-year daughter was born with multiple birth defects, and they suggested another child might have similar handicaps.
The doctors pressured June to have an abortion. After all, it was legal now, and she had her hands full with a small child in a wheelchair who required constant care plus two older, active youngsters. June, naturally, was worried about her family’s ability to care for another handicapped child, but she had strong religious beliefs about the sanctity of human life at every stage—from conception to natural death. Although she went through extreme emotional distress in making the decision, she refused the abortion.
Thanks be to the God, her son was a completely normal baby, and today he is a completely normal adult. He’s not rich. He’s not famous. He’s not a political leader or a brilliant scientist. He’s not necessarily considered successful by the world’s standards. But he is a man with a family and friends who love him, a man who works and pays taxes and lives an ordinary life, like most of the rest of us. And he deserves to live his ordinary life as you and I deserve to live our lives.
I have wanted to write a novel about a woman going through similar emotional turmoil as June went through all those years ago. I have a half-finished manuscript that I started several years ago, but I wasn’t mature enough as a writer to tell this story effectively at that time. I’m working on a new manuscript (albeit very slowly) about Bonita, a secondary character in Dream or Destiny, who will face the challenge of a pregnancy as a result of rape.
Life is the the most basic human right. Abortion is a tragedy, as powerfully described a post about the people who never lived because of abortion.
Although I’ve never been in the situation myself, I can understand how difficult it would be for a woman to make the decision to carry to term a baby conceived by rape or diagnosed with a severe disability. Yet I believe that is the only possible decision for a Christian.
The Bible is clear in the following passages:
Before I was born the Lord called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name. ~ Isaiah 49:1b
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. ~ Jeremiah 1:5a
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be. ~ Psalm 139:13-16
I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. ~ Deuteronomy 30:19b-20
Find more Scriptures about the sanctity of human life at Anglicans for Life.
Prayer to End Abortion (from Priests for Life)
Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,
And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.
I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion,
Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death
by the Resurrection of Your Son.
I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.
Today I commit myself
Never to be silent,
Never to be passive,
Never to be forgetful of the unborn.
I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement,
And never to stop defending life
Until all my brothers and sisters are protected,
And our nation once again becomes
A nation with liberty and justice
Not just for some, but for all,
Through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Added 1/30/10: Here’s the prayer delivered at the National March for Life Rally by Bishop Martyn Minns, Missionery Bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in America.
The babies that are never born aren’t the only ones who are damaged by abortion. This video reminds us that mothers who abort their babies suffer regret, guilt, and pain. Let’s end the pain and let the babies live.
Added: Statement of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America on the Anniversary of Roe v Wade
This just breaks my heart… Killing babies is the worst thing one can ever do.
.-= Zia Valerio´s last blog ..Episode 20: Mosbius Designs =-.
Zia,
We have to bring this murder to an end.
Thank you for posting about this, Lillie. I once shared a pro-life poem on a poetry forum and got A LOT of criticism from people who are pro-choice. I will never be silent on this issue, though. They are so small and defenseless. They need someone to stand up for them. I was angry at this one Russian girl on the Internet who shared her abortion story and she acted so callous. She even mocked the way her baby looked when she died. It’s heartbreaking. Abortion is murder, no matter what others say.
.-= Dawn Colclasure´s last blog ..Check out more writing tips from 365 TIPS FOR WRITERS! Also, a Thank You! =-.
Dawn,
I haven’t seen that video (I guess it’s a video) of the Russian girl, but I don’t want to. It’s heartbreaking that anyone could make fun of death—especially their own baby!
I have had very little criticism in the past when I posted about this, but people who don’t believe as I do probably don’t have any interest in reading my blog.
This is too important to be quiet about. I know I keep going back to the analogy to slavery, but it’s such a good analogy. Many people who are pro-choice also see themselves as the champions of minorities, the poor, etc. That doesn’t quite compute … but that’s the way it is. They probably would say they would not have been quiet and tolerant of slavery. But being in favor of slavery is pro-choice in the same way being in favor of abortion is pro-choice: the slaveowner (or the mother) has freedom of choice but the slave (or the baby) doesn’t.
Regardless of what people say or think about me, I know I have to stand before God and answer for what I did on this earth. How could I stand before Him and say I watched babies being murdered and looked the other way?
I can’t support abortion. Its against the law of GOD.
nicholson,
You are right.Thanks.
I disagree about the idea of killing child in a womb of a mother. For me abortion is murder,I will prove to you why it is a sin…In the 10 commandments of God, Thou shall not kill is the same as aborting baby in a womb of a mother.You’re murdering a person…
Michael,
Medical science has now proved what those of us who believe God’s Word have always known: a fetus is a living human being. Thanks be to God that more people are realizing that truth after seeing sonograms and learning how early a baby’s heart starts working.
This is ridiculous! Killing Babies? Oh My Goodness!
We know that this is a crime not only in the eyes of human but in the eyes of our Almighty Father!
Have Mercy!
marion,
Unfortunately it’s not a crime in the eyes of the law, but it certainly is in the eyes of God. We must change the law and make it crime in the eyes of the law as well.
though shall not kill.. thats in the 10 commandments. especially the innocent.. give them life.. we don’t know, they will be one of our future leaders…
micah,
Unfortunately, many people treat the 10 Commandments more like the 10 Suggestions or 10 Things to Do if You Feel Like It and It Doesn’t Inconvenience You rather than the law of God.
It’s unimaginable how a highly-civilized country like US could act this so barbaric. It’s just so sad.
Jamie,
I don’t think the UK is any better. From what I understand, although there are technically restrictions on abortions, it’s pretty easy for a woman to get two doctors to approve it.
Xell this is a very serious problem, and the question that strikes me when reading the article is why people don’t use contraceptive ways????
thanks
paula,
Unfortunately, some people do use abortion as contraception. However, there are cases where contraception doesn’t work–June (whom I talked about in the post) was actually on the birth control pill when she got pregnant. And there are cases of rape where the woman has no choice. But those cases are the exception and not the rule.
I don’t condone abortion! Even if the baby is only a day old in the womb or even just an hour, it is already a life. Let it live and don’t end it.
Amen, Normalyn!
Oh Lillie, this is such a difficult topic to discuss. I can never presume to tell other women what to do, even if I disagree. I don’t know, that’s just me. I respect other people’s private lives and choices first of all.
But I can see where you’re right. I don’t agree with abortions when there is absolutely no justification in doing it. There are no “mistakes”. If the mother is healthy and so on, then not carrying the baby to term would be a sin.
But what if the mother was raped? What if the baby actually is handicapped? As opposed to your example, nowadays we can see from very early on in the womb if the baby is fine or not. Could you condemn that child to a life of misery? I honestly don’t know what to say..
Even so, orphanages worldwide are filled with parent-less children. I don’t think their situation will improve if abortion would be illegal. If any, it will only harden. And I am a very sad person to think this.
Jenny,
I appreciate your respect for other people’s private lives. However, if you saw a man stabbing his wife or beating his child, would you respect his right to manage his private life? It’s when those private decisions cause harm to other people that I believe we cannot stand by and allow people to be killed or hurt.
If you believe, as I do and as the Bible says and as medical science now shows, that a baby in the womb is a living person, standing by and saying it’s the mother’s right to make the decision to kill that baby is the same as standing by and watching your neighbor shoot another person and say it’s their private business.
Of course, when a woman is raped, it would be traumatic to carry that baby to term. If the woman reports the rape, she is given the morning-after pill as part of her treatment in the emergency room. So a woman becoming pregnant as a result of rape is rare. In fact, I’m writing a novel with just that scenario so I’ve done some research and learned that unless the woman either fails to report the rape or refuses the morning-after pill, it’s very difficult for her to become pregnant. Of course, I’m sure there are cases where the morning-after pill doesn’t work, just as the birth-control pill didn’t work in my example. But the number of abortions of women who are pregnant as a result of rape is miniscule compared to the number of abortions. And as painful as it might be to the woman, I still think she is morally obligated to let her baby live. As the saying goes, “two wrongs don’t make a right.”
And I must disagree that a handicapped child is condemned “to a life of misery.” I know families who have raised handicapped children who are happy and filled with joy—in fact the handicapped child (who is now a handicapped woman in her 30′s) in my example is one of the most joyous people I know. And she makes everyone around her happy with her infectious smile. I have been handicapped myself as an adult, and I can assure you that I have never lived a life of misery. People who don’t have experience with handicaps often have no concept of what it’s like. Yes, there are challenges, but that doesn’t mean a handicapped person is living a life of misery.
Your point about many parentless children in the world is a valid one. However, in the US, there are far more families who want to adopt than there are babies to adopt. There are older children, but most of those are because they either lost their parents are—more likely—were taken away from abusive or neglectful parents. That is a serious problem, but it is an issue totally unrelated to abortion. More and more families are adopting children from around the world, and more needs to be done to make that feasible. Just look at the problems adoptive parents are having getting children out of Haiti—children who have already been approved for adoption but are still in process of red tape.
The answer to the problem of orphans is not to kill babies but to find better ways of placing those parentless children in loving homes.
Truth really is bitter but we killing our own future our own generation, for the reasons of fear, unknown wishes and desires. A developed country with this rate of abortion is really shameful.
Mike,
At the Washington pro-life rally last week, there was a preponderance of young people in the crowd. They recognize that many of those who should have been their peers never were born … and they themselves are very fortunate they were not aborted also.
Today, mind is held up as an idol because of its subjective feel and deceptive god-like properties. So, people for abortion make up various and sundry excuses to justify the act of abortion. Any one knows that the only control they have over their body is to accept its condition, for the body grows in stages and then it deteriorates until death.
.-= Souhail@ Diagnostic Medical Sonography´s last blog ..Understanding Echocardiography and Gynecological Sonography =-.
Souhail,
Let’s pray that people stop justifying abortion.
I pray that everyone sees and realize the importance of children in our lives.
Kimberly,
Absolutely, that is important.
Thank you for your bold statement on this matter. Someone needs to stand up for the defenseless. What I don’t like is when people use rare exceptions like rape to justify aborting every baby. That’s kind of like saying we can’t outlaw bank robbery because what about the guy who was forced to rob a bank or something terrible would happen to his family, basically he was being blackmailed. Instead of making all abortions legal common sense would say we’re only going to allow an abortion in the case of rape.
Jean,
Your bank robbery analogy is a good one. People will look for any justification to do what they want rather than what is right.
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