Pro-Life Truths

Fifteen Pro-Life Truths to Speak

by: John Piper

1. Existing fetal homicide laws make a man guilty of manslaughter if he kills the baby in a mother's womb (except in the case of abortion).

2. Fetal surgery is performed on babies in the womb to save them while another child the same age is being legally destroyed.

3. Babies can sometimes survive on their own at 23 or 24 weeks, but abortion is legal beyond this limit.

4. Living on its own is not the criterion of human personhood, as we know from the use of respirators and dialysis.

5. Size is irrelevant to human personhood, as we know from the difference between a one-week-old and a six-year-old.

6. Developed reasoning powers are not the criterion of personhood, as we know from the capacities of three-month-old babies.

7. Infants in the womb are human beings scientifically by virtue of their genetic make up.

8. Ultrasound has given a stunning window on the womb that shows the unborn at eight weeks sucking his thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. All the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning fluids, and there is a fingerprint. Virtually all abortions happen later than this date.

9. Justice dictates that when two legitimate rights conflict, the limitation of rights that does the least harm is the most just. Bearing a child for adoption does less harm than killing him.

10. Justice dictates that when either of two people must be inconvenienced or hurt to alleviate their united predicament, the one who bore the greater responsibility for the predicament should bear more of the inconvenience or hurt to alleviate it.

11. Justice dictates that a person may not coerce harm on another person by threatening voluntary harm on themselves.

12. The outcast and the disadvantaged and exploited are to be cared for in a special way, especially those with no voice of their own.

13. What is happening in the womb is the unique person-nurturing work of God, who alone has the right to give and take life.

14. There are countless clinics that offer life and hope to both mother and child (and father and parents), with care of every kind lovingly provided by people who will meet every need they can.

15. Jesus Christ can forgive all sins, and will give all who trusts him the help they need to do everything that life requires.

A Day of Victory?

National Sanctity of Human Life Day was January 15th (Thursday of last week). Most likely the last official Proclamation like this for quite some time.

He has surely made mistakes, but I will miss having a president who took a stand for the unwanted and unborn child.

It was seven years ago that President Bush made the Proclamation:

"Let us recognize the day with appropriate ceremonies in our homes and places of worship, rededicate ourselves to compassionate service on behalf of the weak and defenseless, and reaffirm our commitment to respect the life and dignity of every human being."

I have written some here and here about the gruesome and horrific truth of abortion. The absolute sin and hatred of God it represents and how we (including the "Christian" we) have not only turned our heads but also covered our eyes and ears to avoid looking at the atrocity.

Today, as our nation celebrates the Inauguration of our 44th President, I cannot help but to grieve.

Grieve for the unborn who will never waken to a day on this earth.

Grieve for our culture that is blind to its wicked ways and has given way to the sinful desires of idol worship ... and let us not forget ... our God is jealous.

Grieve for our nation that sees a victory in the election of our new President who has a proven disregard for human life.

While certainly there is victory in the promise of progress. The progress from a nation divided over slavery and hatred to one that has begun to heal and recognize the heinous consequences of it's actions. It is not lost on me that history is being written today.

But it comes with such a price.

The celebratory manner in which people have encircled this man is a reflection of what matters most to men ... and it seldom reflects obedience to God.

I do not see a victory in the election of this President. One who speaks hope and promise while silencing the cries of the unborn. One who has been relentless in his pursuit of more freedoms for the business of baby killing.

They are facts that don't bode well on this day of "victory".

But.

We need to be reminded ... again and again.

Benjamin was born at 38 weeks gestation ...
An age where babies can be legally aborted in this country.

One More Week

I am almost certain that the majority of people who read this blog will be voting next week for John McCain. I am also almost certain that the majority of people who read this blog are Christians and would consider themselves pro-life.

But just in case.

I will make this plea.

Please read Randy Alcorn's blog post, titled; "I'm not Voting for a Man; I am Voting for Generations of Children and their Right to Live".

If you are staunchly against abortion ... no matter what ... then it would not be necessary for you to watch the video at the end of that post.

However.

If you are somewhat undecided or take a position of relativism regarding the mother's health or some extenuating circumstance, then I believe it to be of utmost importance that you watch that footage.

If you think that your third-party vote will make a statement, I would say that statement is not near worth it's cost.

The footage on the video is beyond gruesome and horrific. It will make your heart race. It will make you physically ill. It will feel like you are seeing something that you should not.

Because you should not.

I made myself aware of this atrocious truth many years ago and as the images were seared into my mind they were also laid heavy on my heart.

We live in a society where we rely on images to convince us of truth.

William Wilberforce used imagery to expose the truth of slavery.



Remember Amilla Sonja Taylor? She just had her 2nd birthday. This image serves as a reminder that with God, all things are possible.

Our media loves to project images. Graphic war images of soldiers carrying small children, Darfur, Hurricane Katrina, PETA, etc.. It is with these images that we are made aware of certain "perceived" realities that we would otherwise be ignorant of.

Unfortunately, they are in control of these images and through their twisted filter we are unable to expose the horrible truth of abortion.

The video I mentioned states the following in the intro:

Here ends the apathy of ignorance.
Here begins the responsibility of knowledge.

Vote against this:

January 22, 1973

On January 22, 1973 the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion in this country.

On that same day, one year prior, I was being carefully knitted in the womb of my 17 year old mother. If my calculations are correct she would have been close to her 2nd trimester and I would have been growing itty bitty fingernails! I guess I was looking something like this:

















Had her choices been different in the fall of 1971 when I was conceived, I most certainly would not be here today. If she had been given the option to abort her pregnancy and save her family the embarrassment and expense of a baby then without question the decision would have been swift and firm and most likely out of her hands. She would have been considered "unfit" and my grandparents were in no position to care for another child. In the eyes of the world, to end this pregnancy would be "best"......for everyone.

By grace alone I am here. Through that same grace I came to surrender my life to the Lord and acknowledge the complete sinful nature that sets me apart. I am grateful and humbled for the gift; the grace gift of forgiveness and reconciliation. How grateful could I be if I failed to acknowledge the reality of what "could have been" and what sadly has come to be for so many unborn babies?

The bible is so very clear about where God considers *life* to begin.

Jeremiah stated, Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:4-5)

King David, in one of his Messianic Psalms, states "But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God." (Psalm 22:9-10).

King David also praised God’s perfect knowledge of Man when he sang "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being unformed. And in Your book they all were written. The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them."(Psalm 139:13-16).

Mary, while pregnant with Jesus, visited Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. "Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”

I could write pages about the graphic facts on abortion but it shouldn't be necessary. Do people need to witness a murder with it's vile images to determine that it is wrong? I could also write pages about the misconceptions that most people have in regard to what is *legal* in this country. Again, it shouldn't be necessary. Conception is life- enough said. Still, there are those who will argue about when conception begins and so I'm sure they would be stunned with disbelief to learn that there are small percentages of abortions performed each year on babies who are close to full-term and yes- it is legal.

On Sunday, January 21st the President of the United States has again made the proclamation for the National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2007 . While he is a president that stands amid great controversy and public ridicule I am grateful to live in a time where our nation's leader has spoken up for the unborn.

My goal for this year is to regularly volunteer at our local Crisis Pregnancy Center and to include my girls in that. They are a beautiful legacy that speaks of His grace, His perfect plan, and his love for the unborn. They exist because in the fall of 1972, Roe vs. Wade did not.

On July 20, 1972, two days after my mother turned 18 years old she gave birth to me:


















What a porker!