Not Death, But Life for the Unborn

Churches across the USA could choose one of the Sundays of January to observe as Sanctity of
Life Sunday. Some congregations chose January 15 and others January 22. Whatever the date,
Christians across the land remembered the year 1973, when the Supreme Court of the United
States of America handed down the fateful decision regarding a woman's right to legal abortion.
Thirty-nine years ago the majority of justices ruled in the court decision Roe v. Wade that a wom-
an has a constitutional right to abortion. Even though abortion became the law of the land, there
has been unrelenting conflict between pro-choice supporters and pro-life opponents that has not
diminished over the years since the decision. The supporters of a woman's right to abortion view
it as a simple surgical procedure whereas the opponents see it as the killing of the unborn. The
tension has only intensified since the ruling was passed down.

In the USA, abortion has become one of the most common surgical procedures performed on
adults. I have read accounts that one in three women in the USA has had at least one abortion.
In some areas of American cities, abortions far exceed live births. Since 1973 there have been
50 million babies aborted; that is a rate of 3000 aborted children a day in the USA alone. Those
stark numbers represent a lost generation.  The emergence of ultra-sound in Crisis Pregnancy
Centers has presented to many women the reality that the 'thing' within them is indeed a human
life. The younger generations have grown up seeing ultrasound images of their brothers and sis-
ters developing in their mothers' wombs. Therefore, the sentiment of younger generations has
become increasingly pro-life in more recent times.

Yet in the USA, it is the reality that abortion continues as normal. One interpreter of the times
recently referred to abortion as being as American as apple pie. The Pro-life Movement is not
as vocal as it used to be and it has been continuously dismissed by mainstream media. The Pro-
choice people seem more entrenched in their positions. It seems clear that the two positions
are irreconcilable and that there is no room for compromise. It is an issue of two opposite views
of life: Pro-lifers stress that the unborn child has the right to life and the Pro-choice people de-
fend that a woman has an unrestricted right to choose. I stand firm in my Pro-life convictions,
but I do not see a way for this to be resolved in the current era. I will write more in a forthcom-
ing blog.

Blessings to you and yours,