In 1973 the United States Supreme Court reached a seminal moment in the history of this nation when they sanctioned the practice of infanticide while providing legal justification for its implementation. More than 35 years later, the issue is just as hotly contested and debated throughout the US as it was when the decision was first rendered.
One woman who championed this “constitutional right” -- discovered two centuries after the ratification of our founding document -- was Abby Johnson. Abby worked as the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas where her duties included running the family planning and abortion programs. For nearly eight years she escorted women from their cars into the clinic where a doctor would perform an abortion for a fee of $350 -- that being a normal part of her job. But then something unexpectedly happened. Last September, Abby was asked to be in the room during an ultrasound guided abortion -- something that had never happened before -- and she watched as the perfectly formed human life struggled for survival, but to no avail. Abby witnessed the baby “crumple” as it was vacuumed from the mother’s uterus.
One can only begin to imagine how seared the conscience must be for anyone to be able to violate the very premise upon which this country was founded, that is, the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness, and engage in the systematic murder of the unborn without regard for the sanctity of life. It is a chilling reminder of what mankind is capable of doing without regard for others if not for God removing the heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh (cf. Ezek 36:26). But for Abby, the blatant deprivation of life was too great to bear. As she explained it in an interview with FoxNews, she questioned the morality of her livelihood. Abby said that after seeing a sonogram abortion her conscience was violated. "I just thought, 'What am I doing?'" she said. "And then I thought, 'Never again.'"
Abby quit her job two weeks later and joined a pro-life organization because of what she called, “a definite conversion in my heart….a spiritual conversion.”
It took the sobering event of witnessing an abortion for Abby to reach the conclusion that such practices are profoundly immoral. Unfortunately, though, it seems as if Christians are increasingly accepting this practice as the norm. How so? A growing number of Evangelicals (among others) are going to the voting booth and choosing candidates who champion the right to abort a baby while justifying it based upon “more pressing issues”.
I would suggest to you, however, that the there is nothing more pressing than upholding the sanctity of life. There is no single greater political issue than the preservation of all human beings. After all, is that not the government’s chief role? Is not the government instituted by the people and for the people?
There is a sense that progress has been so slow and we have gone too far to turn back now. A new generation has been raised up under the inculcation of liberal ideology and under the impression that terminating life is the inalienable “right” of a woman. The question is simply this: Are we going to capitulate to evil and let this country continue slouching towards Gomorrah or will we protest vociferously where we can and when we can, but more importantly, will we continue to elect politicians who continue to let this issue fester?
How many lives must be forfeited until we realize the abomination of murdering babies far outweighs any of the other social or political interests we might hold? How many more children have to die before Christians realize that life is more important than what some politician promises them? The Christian must cast his vote on the right side of life, because in the final analysis, the moral issue is the most serious issue.
