This is Part
II in my blog series. Click on these titles to read previous posts:
In my
last post, I wrote about racial division being used to engineer a civil war. I
noted that racism today encompasses not only race, but social and political
views. Perhaps the topic generating the loudest pseudo-racist response is
abortion. To stand against it drops the opposer into the bigotry camp. A
pro-life supporter disparages women’s rights and wants to interfere with their
health care. The law is on the side of the abortionist. The women demanding
their rights long ago achieved those goals. And yet, the protests continue as the
law creeps forward, stretching the proverbial inch into a mile.
In
response to the late-term leniency approved by some states, other states have
pushed back, outlawing abortion past a certain point. And pro-lifers have
celebrated that in some places ending the life of the unborn can only happen up
to a point. A decade ago, I can’t imagine
the pro-life team applauding any law upholding the right to any abortion. But
something more brutal was introduced, and the thought of killing
a full-term baby overshadowed the reality that some 2,500 early-term abortions
are performed in the U.S.A. every day.
On the pro-choice side, as well, the outlook has changed. Abortion was
once a private matter, an unspoken event. Now, for some, it’s an accomplishment
to be touted like a badge on a girl scout’s sash. Women march in protest, fearing
the reversal of what is now neatly woven into the fabric of our law. Christians
and others who stand for the rights of the unborn may attempt to bring change, but at this point in history, it’s not likely that the law will give.
So, is
there any solution? Crippling the abortion industry can only come with a change
in culture. This is where the battle must be fought. There are some ways the church can
help curb the number of abortions. First, come alongside young women who may be
turned away from abortion as an option. This, of course, is being done
effectively by many organizations, but perhaps greater effort is needed from
the Christian community as a whole in seeding pro-life groups with prayer,
finances, and enthusiasm. Second, some people’s behavior is not going to
change, but education, along with correct and consistent use of birth control,
will go a long way in cutting profits for the abortion industry. So, maybe we
shouldn’t have a problem with that type of education.
Third, an
honest assessment of how the message is presented may be needed. Not
all, but most pro-life ads on social media and on billboards portray happy, well-tended,
predominately white babies. I’m not calling abortion a racial issue, but as
with the underlying causes of racism, the political agenda may be more about
population control than we realize. A pro-choice politician recently made the
racially charged statement that the unborn headed for a life of poverty and
crime can die now or die later. With that mindset working against us, the
church’s appeal to choose life shouldn’t contain even a hint of racial or
economic bias.
As with
any outcry of civil unrest, public opinion plays a major role in pumping up
the opposing sides. What a good American should think about reproductive rights
has been settled by the media and Hollywood.1 Anyone not buying into their program is an
enemy of the state. Some religious organizations have side-stepped over to the
other team. A recent article2 reported the unified stance of a group of Kentucky church
leaders in support of abortion.
Opposers leaving the fight might lessen the severity of the
war, but a large number of Christians and others who call a baby a baby still
exists. So too exists a battlefield of women (and men), politicians, news
anchors, celebrities, and abortion industry moguls who consider a baby a
disposable non-person. The battlefront has quieted a bit with the introduction
of a few state laws meant to soften the shock of the late-term abortion. And
it’s been a while since the last women’s march brought tens of thousands of
protesters employing lewd props and hateful speech in demand of the rights they’ve
already secured. But there is no resolution, nor can there be, so long as our
national perception of personhood remains vehemently unfocused.
For a great organization helping women and babies
around the world,
In two weeks:
Part III: Potusphobia: Fear, Hate, and the President
