http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-defends-roe-v-wade-way-our-daughters-have-same-chance-sons-fulfill-their-dreams
From the article:
President Barack Obama says the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade is the chance to recognize the “fundamental constitutional right” to abortion and to “continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.”
The 1974 U.S. Supreme Court nationalized abortion law, prohibiting states from deciding on the matter. In his written statement, Obama acknowledged that abortion has been a divisive political issue.
Obama, while serving in the Illinois State Legislature and as president of the United States, has taken a hard line on abortion rights.
In his statement on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling, Obama said it reflects the broader principles of America.
“As we mark the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we must remember that this Supreme Court decision not only protects a woman’s health and reproductive freedom, but also affirms a broader principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters,” Obama said. “I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose and this fundamental constitutional right.
“While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue -- no matter what our views, we must stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant woman and mothers, reduce the need for abortion, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption,” Obama said.
“And as we remember this historic anniversary, we must also continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.”
SHUDDER! Please wake me up from this nightmare.
Yesterday, we observed Sanctity of Life Sunday at our church. It is important for many to understand why we do this. I think anyone who was old enough to remember the day our nation was dealt a horrific attack in New York City on September 11, 2001 would say with clarity, "I will never forget that day." They might go on to describe where they were and what they were doing when all the events took place. One might even relive the emotions felt that day as those memories are recalled.
We won't forget that over 3,000 people died from that terrible event. Every year we see the memorials take place in New York City, Washington D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. We hear the bells rung for each life extinguished on that day. We won't diminish each and every one of those creations of God's. There was even an unborn baby lost. Wait a minute....there was an unborn baby who died as a result of that terrorist attack? We recognize that baby was worth mentioning.....because that life was precious even though that baby never got to experience life outside of the womb.
[Little sidenote here: it is quite frustrating to know that the press and court system will sometimes recognize unborn lives but at other times will completely ignore unborn lives like in the Fort Hood terrorist attack. The death toll number is usually reported as 13 when it is actually 14. One of the soldiers was pregnant and on her way home to Chicago. In fact, a witness said that she was screaming, "My baby! My baby!" when the attack took place. The heartbeat of her baby ended that day the minute his or her mother died at the hands of Major Nidal Malik Hasan. Nidal Hasan, at this point in time, has not been charged with the murder of Pvt. Francheska Velez's unborn baby.]
Yet, we forget that on September 11, 2001, across the nation, even more unborn babies were lost that day in a very violent way than died in the attacks on the east coast. No bells are rung for these little victims and we lose over 3,000 babies every day in the United States of America. No, I don't forget the babies who are killed globally either.
Many of us were small children or maybe not even born when Roe vs. Wade was handed down in 1973. Many of us cannot have the same feelings of horror, anger and grief that untold numbers of people felt on January 22, 1973. We weren't either there or very aware of the impact of that day. Just like the children who were very young or born after the World Trade Center attacks. They'll hear about it and be saddened when they understand but it won't have the same impact as having experienced it firsthand. Those on the frontlines and were there have a different experience altogether.
Yet, it doesn't have to be that way. The older I get, the understanding grows and the feelings grow stronger. A great while back, someone put a video called "Choosing Life" in my husband's work mailbox. It was distributed by the American Center for Law and Justice (
http://www.aclj.org/). I watched that video and it "knocked my socks off". It was a historical documentary showing the early years of the pro-life movement. I encourage everyone to order a copy (it's free) for viewing. DO IT TODAY! ;)
If you go to this link, you can see a clip of it
http://aclj.org/pro-life/choosing-life-719 Just watching the two minute clip evoked strong emotions. I was a young parent in the 1990's when much of this activism was going on and I had pretty much no idea this was taking place. In fact, in those early years, my views were still "pro-choice". Gratefulness is a lightweight word to describe what I feel for those pro-life warriors. I would have to watch this film again to remember everything but I give warning, especially to young people watching it. Even though parts of it (if I remember right) are pixelated, some of the pro-abortion people took pride in their nudity as a protest tool.
Yesterday, our church had a table set up with pro-life materials AND two sets of baby models. The first set showed babies at the gestational stages of 7 weeks through 12 weeks. The second set showed babies at gestational stages of 12 weeks through 30 weeks.
The babies were received well! Children and adults alike were fascinated by them. There were a lot of good questions and discussion points. The babies also went on a "field trip" to Sunday school classes for the older youths. The subject of personhood was presented as there are now Personhood groups working in all 50 states now. I heard a lot of people share of their family members or friends who were preemies as babies. They would point to one of the babies and say, "He (or she) was around this age and size when born". Many wanted to hold the babies in their palms or arms.
Many know the Roe vs. Wade title of the court decision. Many of us don't want to manuever through all the legalese to understand all of its impact. All we know is that it's about abortion and sometimes the term "a woman's right to choose" is mentioned (although I never heard anyone refer to it in support by that phrase yesterday). The opponents want us to be ignorant because it's easier to strip the freedoms of an ignorant people. Their strategy is to sell the rope to the people that will eventually hang them.
I think it's time we give equal weight to Doe vs. Bolton too. Whenever Roe gets mentioned, we really need to mention with as much time and emphasis to Doe. Doe vs. Bolton was decided on the same exact day as Roe (with as much legislation from the bench as Roe. Maybe even moreso since "Doe"-Sandra Cano never was seeking an abortion in the first place). It allowed for abortion in all 9 months for any reason. It was said that emotional and mental health was added as a reason for a woman to obtain an abortion. This was a major loophole for unlimited, abortion-on-demand.
That's why I love that "Choosing Life" video. It shows a group of ardent lovers of life saying, "WE are NOT going to take this lying down!" Over 39 years now, we have had so many people fight back and some of that has shown up as limits. They have fought tooth and nail to this day to staunch the flow of evil. There's a big debate on how different groups go about stopping or limiting abortion. Here's the standard that we are reaching for....ZERO abortions. NO children killed. Are we going to reach that? I would say yes, we will....when we have the New Jerusalem. Can we obtain that before then? We live in a fallen, dark world. It's not defeatism to say that, it's just we know the evil that is out there. Of course, nothing is impossible without God! :)
Here's the standard once again. ZERO abortions is the goal. We don't want to reduce or limit or make it rare. We want it abolished. All nine months of protection is what our babies deserve. We can't pray, ask or fight for anything less. Our judicial branch, our legislative branch or executive branch, our medical systems and our education system is majorly wracked by sinful influences. Satan does not want the family to thrive. He wants them as his own. He uses people who choose to be used to implement his plans.
We see a president who glorifies the decision to abort babies. We see a president who voted (when he was senator) four times against giving care to babies who survived abortion. We see senators and congressmen who vote against measures to protect babies and women. We see court judges and lawyers who ignore the existence of babies and the plight of women (as in judges and lawyers who are partial to Planned Parenthood). We see doctors and nurses either in the abortion mills. We see doctors who are fearful of litigation so they suggest aborting babies with correctable maladies. Over 90% of babies with Down syndrome are aborted. We see schools encouraging sexual promiscuity. We hear about nurses driving girls to abortion clinics during school hours unbeknownst to their parents.
In many states, the limit is 24 weeks. In other states, it may be less but abortionists are treated pretty much above the law. I am glad to see Gosnell, Brigham and Riley facing murder charges but that is a rarity. Time will tell to see whether they will be permanently put out of business thanks to a lengthy prison sentence. We will all be watching these cases closely (of course, not on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC or PBS...maybe not even Fox News). We DO know that babies are killed everyday that are past the 24 week limit. Again, though our standard is protection for all 9 months.
It's a touchy subject to say we aren't thankful for limits. I want all children saved. A baby that is spared abortion because a law was enforced is a good thing. Let me add that many pro-life laws in this land protect some but not the babies conceived of rape or incest. You'll hear the "exception law" and many legislators will vote for a pro-life law that has the phrase, "except for rape, incest or life of the mother (or even "health" of the mother). So while I am thankful for the well-meaning pro-life legislator who votes for the well-meaning pro-life legislation, I still cannot be content with law that says "except for rape, incest and life of the mother" ( life of the mother is another subject for another day). This is not the standard of equal protection for ALL in ALL 9 months. There are NO exceptions.
I will say that many gains have been reached in the past year or two as far as opening the eyes of the public. Defunding Planned Parenthood has been something that many pro-lifers thought they would never see. It's great to see a Planned Parenthood close its doors for lack of money. We are excited when we hear former Planned Parenthood abortionists or employees have a change of heart and leave the abortion business. It's good to see a wave of pro-life movies and documentaries. I love it when youths come up to me and say, "How can I help? I want to get involved!" Young people are way more pro-life than their parents and/or grandparents. I really do have hope and am not a negative Nellie! There's just no resting on our laurels. As Dave Ramsay likes to say when he's bartering for a better deal, "That's just not good enough".
I may get comments about incrementalism. It's sad that pro-lifers have to crawl painful millimeter-by-painful-millimeter what must feel like across broken glass to have any limits on abortion. We could say, "it's not fair" but as my husband counters to that phrase "A fair is where you get your pies judged".
Yes, it's not fair that it seems the pro-aborts' side is winning, has more money, gets to write the history books, gets the royalty treatment from the press and Hollywood glorifies their gruesome practice. In reality though, they have already lost and they are scared, they are desperate. They know deep down they have lost and I am going to keep on going so I can say "neener, neener, neener!" (Okay, okay, I am really not going to do that).
Incrementalism or not, the war's already won. Jesus conquered the grave. We know that the Enemy is just doing everything he can to do as much damage before his gig is up. We just need to keep sharing the Gospel, do good and flee from evil. James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do
it, to him it is sin.
One final point to add also. My husband taught the youth last night about God's heart on abortion. He read many Scriptures to them (Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:13-16 among many of them).
This is definitely worth noting: Exodus 20:1-5
1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives
any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.
3 I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given
some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name.
4 And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, 5 then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.
We can't hide our eyes anymore!!!
Exodus 1:17
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them,
So here are some marching orders:
Fear and please God, not men.
Keep your eyes on Jesus
Seek wisdom
