Greg Cromartie
Host of Theology Unplugged
Host of Theology Unplugged
Ideas have consequences. The ideas passionately debated in Michael’s blog: Emergers On Abortion: Where Do You Stand? are no exception. We can discuss this issue until eternity without changing the consequences of the thing itself. That’s what I want to discuss here…"The Thing Itself."
Those who support abortion rights and those who would turn a blind eye to it including, sadly, many who name the name of Christ don’t deal with the reality of abortion. They’ll discuss women’s rights, Middle Assyrian Laws, poverty, Old Testament penalties for causing a miscarriage, population control and on. All worthy topics in and of themselves. But they don’t want to address what abortion is and what it does . . . the dismemberment and killing of an innocent human being. Indeed, how can one defend this?
Warning: very graphic images—adult supervision advised.
If one won’t or doesn’t consider these images how can he rightfully defend or even allow abortion The Thing Itself?
The abortion industry (And it is an industry, making millions of dollars killing for cash) knows that when America looks at The Thing Itself, America and even pro-choice activists will reject it. This is evidenced in the following statement made by Charlotte Taft, Dallas abortion provider, at a training workshop for the National Abortion Federation:
…the same woman who Janie Bush was talking about, who was a Pro-choice activist in the Dallas Community, when she came into our clinic—we were inviting her to learn more about abortion—this is a quote from this woman, she said "if I believed that abortion was the deliberate ending of a potential human life I could not be pro-choice." I said "it would be best for you not to see a sonogram."
This statement was followed by laughter from the workshop participants.1 When America sees abortion it will reject abortion, not until.
Some will say this is uncomfortable, gruesome and sensational. I would agree. But, if these images are uncomfortable, gruesome and sensational for us, how much more uncomfortable, gruesome and sensational was it for the little ones in those images?
Yes, in a Constitutional Republic we must debate on theological, philosophical and legal bases to arrive at Just Laws. But to do so without The Thing Itself in view is to abandon a crucial component of the argument. Losing that, as we debate, we risk the injustice we currently have in America’s abortion tragedy.
And there is not only negative consequence for the child, after 35 years of legal abortion in America, evidence is mounting that abortion hurts women too. Look at the stories found on the Silent No More Awareness Campaign web site. These women had the idea drummed into them that abortion would solve their problem. To their horror the consequence was, months and sometimes years later, that they began to experience depression, despair, guilt and suicidal thoughts caused by the killing of their child. There is also mounting evidence that abortion is a cause of breast cancer.
The abortion idea has real consequences for real persons, child & mother.
So, in light of these consequences, what do we do about the abortion tragedy? The answer can only be that we fight it, on every front, with every means at our disposal.
We care for the mothers in unplanned pregnancies, we support the fathers, we disseminate pertinent information, we counsel outside abortion facilities, we volunteer at Crisis Pregnancy Centers, we pray for and befriend abortionists, we show and talk about The Thing Itself and we vote for the political candidates that will work to abolish this greatest injustice in our land. And that has consequences for all of us because a government that won’t protect a defenseless, unborn human being won’t protect you either.
To turn a blind eye to this injustice, even when supporting other good and just causes, invites the greatest of negative consequences to our country.
Here are some resources if you want to get involved in a more hands-on way:
http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org For those who are experiencing the consequences of your own abortion—you are not alone. Healing and grace is available here.
http://www.heartbeatinternational.org A non-political, Christian association of life-affirming education and pregnancy service providers with clinics around the world.
http://www.guysforlife.org A ministry whose mission is to support and mentor fathers in the midst of an unplanned pregnancy.
http://www.priestsforlife.org A Catholic site with comprehensive resources for all believers.
http://learninc.org The largest African-American Evangelical Pro-Life Ministry in the US. They have great articles here: http://learninc.org/page/articles.php And, here is an especially insightful L.EA.R.N. article on abortion and civil rights in the African-American Community (many compelling stats too): http://www.abortionfacts.com/learn/blacks_and_abortion.asp
Some of the phrases used in this post are courtesy of Father Frank Pavone. I produce his Evangelical radio program Life on the Line, and am indebted to him for helping shape many of the arguments cited here.
1From the audio CD "Fire & Ice" produced by Life Dynamics at http://www.lifedynamics.com.
2 replies to "The Thing Itself – Consequences of the Abortion Debate"
Without commenting on abortion itself , as it is a fact that those on both sides of the issue are fixed in their positions ; I’d like to point out the scientific downside of graphic pictures. There are pathological phenomena in gynecology called ‘ovarian cysts’ or hermatididiform moles’ . They are abnormal growths that can reach significant size , but the interesting thing about them is the fact that because they arise from germinal cells , they can have tufts of hair , or fingernails , toes , etc.
I just wanted anyone’s opinion on if I was in the wrong here, and what any of you guys would have done in this situation. So my wife is quite liberal and I’m more on the conservative side, and she’s about 3 months pregnant. She can’t work right now, so I’ve been forced to support her as of late. The thing is that about a week ago she started asking me if she could borrow $400, and being pretty secretive about the reason why. I soon found out that $400 was the average cost of a back alley abortion, which is ridiculous considering that she knows how vehemently pro-life I am. After refusing to give her the money and the countless hours of arguing that ensued, I ended up making a comment about how if she wanted to do something liberal with $400, she should take advantage of Obummer’s satellite internet recovery act” so that “instead of murdering our kid, he can have satellite internet at a smashing price!” (I linked it so you can actually see it’s about $400 in taxpayer money that our President chose to waste on this crap, aren’t I so funny hah). The messed up part is that she went and told her dad, who happens to be just as liberal as her, and who also happens to own the house that we’re renting. To make a long story short, my tenancy has been “suspended” from his house (I’m now staying at my buddy’s place until this thing blows over) and he gave her the money to get the abortion. I haven’t talked to her in almost a week, so it’s pretty safe to say that she has already gone through with it. So my question is, do you think I was being inappropriate for mocking my wife and father in law’s political ideologies, or do you think I’m being unfairly persecuted because of my relative conservatism, and the Obummer joke I made has little to nothing to do with this? I’m thinking the latter.