Americans Are Confused About Abortion

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What Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece says about abortion

January 22, 2019  |  READ TIME: 5 minutes
Today is National Sanctity of Human Life Day in the United States. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation designating January 22 as the first such day. (January 22, 1973, was the day Roe v. Wade legalized abortion-on-demand in all fifty states.)

Since that time, Presidents George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump have issued similar declarations. Presidents Clinton and Obama did not.

Forty-six years after Roe v. Wade, we’re still debating abortion in this country.

Last Friday, the March for Life 2019, described as “the world’s largest pro-life event,” was held in Washington, DC. Vice President Pence and his wife made an appearance; President Trump spoke to the group via video.

The next day, the 2019 Women’s March gathered in our nation’s capital to advance several agendas, including the protection and expansion of abortion rights. The day after, thousands of churches across America observed Sanctity of Life Sunday. They prayed for an end to abortion, advocated adoption, and supported the sanctity of all human life.

Since 1973, nearly sixty-one million babies have been aborted in America, more than 54,000 so far this year.

Americans are confused about abortion

The logic against abortion seems simple. Ronald Reagan: “I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.” Pope Francis states the case succinctly: “The right to life is the first among human rights.”

And yet, public sentiment on this issue remains confused and conflicted.

Last July, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey found that 71 percent of Americans (including 52 percent of Republicans) say they oppose reversing Roe. That’s a record high since NBC/WSJ began polling on this issue thirty years ago. Only 23 percent thought the ruling should be overturned, a record low. Another recent poll found that Planned Parenthood is the second-most popular institution in America, following only the FBI.

However, a survey earlier this month reported that three in four Americans support substantial abortion restrictions. Seventy-five percent (including 60 percent of Democrats) say abortion should be limited to–at most–the first three months of pregnancy. Fewer than a third want the Supreme Court to allow unrestricted abortion. And a majority of Americans oppose any taxpayer funding for abortion.

Why women choose abortion

How can those of us who support the pro-life position persuade those who do not? It’s not enough to proclaim the biblical teaching that life begins at conception. Pro-choice supporters either don’t know what the Bible says, don’t care, or don’t consider its position relevant to this issue.

We need to respond to the arguments that do persuade them. For instance, “Shout Your Abortion” founder Amelia Bonow recently released a video promoting abortion to children. In it, she tells the children about her abortion and explains: “I feel like if I am forced to create a life, I have lost the right to my own life. I should be the one to decide if my body creates a life.”

Here’s the point: from the moment of conception, her body has alreadycreated a life.

Reports indicate that women choose abortion for these reasons (in order, beginning with the most popular): they’re not financially prepared; the pregnancy is unplanned; her partner is unsupportive; she needs to focus on her other children and/or her educational or vocational plans; and she wants a better life for her baby than she could provide.

Would a mother put a newborn child to death for any of these reasons?

It seems clear that the women in these surveys do not see their unborn child as a child. That’s the point we need to find persuasive ways to make.

Convincing our culture that an unborn baby is a baby

Ronald Reagan testified: “I believe that until and unless someone can establish that the unborn child is not a living human being, then that child is already protected by the Constitution which guarantees life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to all of us.”

How can we help our culture see the wisdom of his words?

First, ultrasounds are an option. A recent study showed that some women who were uncertain about having an abortion declined the procedure after viewing an ultrasound of their unborn child. (Those who were already determined to have an abortion were unchanged in their decision.) Unfortunately, ultrasounds do not make clear for everyone the humanity of an unborn child.

Secondscientific evidence that life begins at conception is increasingly clear. As one mother notes, “When you’re seeing a baby sucking its thumb at 18 weeks, smiling, clapping,” it becomes “harder to square the idea that that 20-week-old, that unborn baby or fetus, is discardable.”

Third, the evidence from later-term abortions is obvious. As President Reagan noted, “The abortionist who reassembles the arms and legs of a tiny baby to make sure all its parts have been torn from its mother’s body can hardly doubt whether it is a human being.”

For mothers who believe their unborn baby is a baby, we need to encourage adoption services or provide resources to help her raise her child. We must be pro-life, not just pro-birth.

When the elderly Elizabeth met the pregnant Mary, she told her, “The baby in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44). Both of their babies were miracles. But God loves every human as much as he loved their babies (Matthew 19:13-15). Including you and me.

“Like a slave in the womb”

On this day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day in America, let’s hear from his niece, Dr. Alveda C. King: “Every aborted baby is like a slave in the womb of his or her mother. The mother decides his or her fate.”

Strong words, but true.

Dr. Mildred Jefferson, the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School, explained her pro-life passion: “The fight for the right to life is not the cause of a special few, but the cause of every man, woman and child who cares not only about his or her own family, but the whole family of man.”

Do you agree?

NOTE: For more on this crucial subject, please see my paper, Abortion and the Mercy of God.

NOTE: Click here to review the Denison Forum 2018 Impact Report. We are so grateful for each of you who help us impact the world around us as we strive to reach and encourage culture-changing Christians.
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This makes me so very sad…..Medically assisted suicide has been talked about before here in New Mexico. The 2019 Legislature is in session and lawmakers are considering whether to legalize medically assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.

This is a bad bill, plain and simple. ABQ Journal Story

I get very sad when death is a major topic at the Roundhouse, is it a house of death? Abortions and assisted suicide. Please pray for our Governor and Legislature that they will choose God and life.

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25

Read here about House Bill 51 on abortions from our Dear Friend Elisa Martinez of New Mexico Alliance for Life:

Dear Dewey,
Last Wednesday, over one thousand pro-life New Mexicans traveled to Santa Fe to urge state legislators to vote against bills that would hurt New Mexico’s women, children, and doctors, including House Bill 51, which strips away critical protections for women seeking abortions. Sadly, New Mexico media outlets ignored the pro-life gathering, while giving ample coverage of the abortion-up-to-birth, so called “Women’s March.”
Tina Atkins, the mother of the late Keisha Atkins gave tear-jerking testimony about her daughter’s untimely death, as a result of a massive infection from Keisha’s late-term abortion in 2017. “I lost my baby and my grandbaby on the same day because late-term abortion is legal in New Mexico and because no one is paying attention nor do they seem to care,” said Tina Atkins (more photos and video HERE).
URGENT! YOU’RE INVITED: PRO-LIFE LEGISLATIVE FORUM TUESDAY, JAN. 22, 2019 WITH NM STATE LEGISLATORS! More info below.
On Friday,over 100,000 pro-life Americans, including members of our NMAFL team marched in Washington, DC for Life, and yesterday, hundreds of pro-life New Mexicans gathered in Las Cruces to celebrate the Southwest March for Life.
The millions of people gathering around the country prove the recent polls showing that at least 75% of Americans believe in some form of significant abortion restrictions.
UPDATE: In Santa Fe, pro-life New Mexico lawmakers announced they will be filing a pro-life repeal of New Mexico’s abortion criminal statute that addresses the concerns most New Mexicans have about abortion.
PRO-LIFE LEGISLATIVE FORUM & TRAINING
WHEN: TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
NEW BEGINNINGS CHURCH,
(Northwest corner of Montgomery and Carlisle)
On the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, join us to discuss what you can do to be an advocate for life during the 2019 NM legislative session. Don’t forget to Invite others!
New Mexico Alliance for Life, in partnership with New Mexico Right to Life and Family Policy Alliance invite you to the Pro-Life Legislative Forum & Training, where you will hear state legislators speak about the critical abortion issue, and learn what you can do to defend life. Our special guests include: State Senator William Sharer, Representatives Rod Montoya, Rebecca Dow, David Gallegos and Dr. Gregg Schmedes. This is a free event, thanks to New Beginnings Church for hosting this important gathering. You don’t want to miss this event.
It is critical that you get involved today. Learn how to become an effective actvist for life at the legislature, and learn why the passage of bills like HB-51 are matters of life and death. In fact, there may be committee hearing as early as this Saturday for HB-51. If you cannot attend, please contact your state senator and state representative today, and tell them to vote NO on dangerous HB 51. (Find your state representatives here).
HB-51 is so dangerous to New Mexicans that it would criminalize doctors, strip away life-saving protections for women, and leave children’s health and safety in the balance. READ the fact sheet so you know what to say to legislators.
NMAFL will update you on dates where you are needed to speak in front of legislative committees about critical abortion bills.
I hope to see you Tuesday at the Pro-Life Legislative Forum and Training, and I look forward to working together to protect life!
Your Friend in Life,
Elisa Martinez
Founder and Executive Director
New Mexico Alliance for Life
The New Mexico Alliance for Life is a nonpartisan organization focused on changing state and local laws by empowering women with better and informed choices when facing unplanned or difficult pregnancies and advocating for better protections for women and unborn children from an unsafe abortion industry. For more information visit www.nmallianceforlife.org
NM Alliance for Life | NM Alliance for LifeAlbuquerque, NM 87110

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