At a Loss
I don't follow the news much, so when I posted last, I wasn't yet aware of New York's "progressive" and jubilant march toward continued evil a few days before. And it's nothing less than that.
And I don't have time (we're moving my mom-in-law and Dude into a new home nearby) or, quite honestly, the words to address anything right now.
I don't know if I ever will on here because, in my life, internet interaction rarely beats the real thing, especially when discussing volatile topics. I've only used my blog once to write about abortion, and this blog continues to serve its purpose as family photo album, memory minder, and frippery-bucket. It doesn't seem right to pour more frippery into the internet right now, though, so I'm going to hold off.
Edited to add link: https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/02/statement-on-the-new-york-state-abortion-law-of-2019
10 comments :
I live in NY and am very saddened by this but not shocked. I am pro life all the way. I got pregnant out of wedlock at 18. Hubby and I got married before the baby was born. We are happily married almost 26 years later. My oldest daughter is one of the greatest gifts. God knew what he was doing and I had faith in him. It was not always easy but we always had love and that got us through.
That fact that this doesn't shock us is a sign of the dire state of our (culture's collective) view on life. It SHOULD be shocking, right? Abortion at any time should shock, but we've become inured to it.
I am thankful you and your husband chose life; may God give continued blessing to you and your family!
I am shocked that they can kill innocent babies but they took away the death penalty for murders. Makes no sense to me.
When I found out I was pregnant my 2 choices were have her and keep her or have her and put her up for adoption. There was never any other choice to me. I always wanted lots of kids but when I was in labor with my third and youngest, I almost died. I never got pregnant after that. I took that as I was only to have 3 kids. So I started watching kids. I watched a little boy from 2 weeks until he went to kindergarten. Then I watched my niece from 6 weeks until she was old enough to not need any one to watch her. I know so many people that would love to adopt. I pray that any young, unwed girl listens to her heart and not her fears.
I was talking to Rebecca on Sunday, and she mentioned getting a bumper sticker that says, "We'll adopt your baby!" with their phone number included. I was hit by the truth that this is where we need to be as those who oppose abortion. Outspokenly willing to step in for these babies when their mothers cannot or will not. So many opponents of life cite the apathy of "pro-lifers" when it comes to the needy baby and mama AFTER birth, as if all that matters is preventing the death of the baby, when, in fact, there are many loving people willing to adopt those babies and love those mamas! With the obstacles to adoption in the U.S., though, it's hard to know how to accomplish this.
I've been thinking, too, about places like this. Donating to homes like these is another way to help.
Thanks so much for your interaction here.
I was speaking with some women at church last week and the NY abortion laws came up. I posed the question whether Christians are attempting to outsource their own responsibility by passing government laws. If abortion were banned, would Christians call it a "job well done" and feel free to forget about women in crisis? It gives one pause to think. However evil a law might be, does it in fact provide more awareness for the necessity of ministry?
One woman had two or three high school friends that got abortions. The reason, they said, was because Planned Parenthood was there when no one else was. This was back in the 1970's. Since that time, faith-based crisis pregnancy centers have sprung up all over the country. I believe there are far more Christian pregnancy centers than abortion clinics in our country today. Would this have happened without the legalization of abortion?
The problem with banning something is that it doesn't go away--it simply goes underground where it is conveniently "out of sight, out of mind" and Christians can feel comfortably absolved of responsibility. I would love to see a world where all abortion clinics shut down--not because of government regulations and bans, but because they went bankrupt from lack of use.
I agree that some good has come out of wickedness, while also agreeing that it is not, of course, a reason to cease praying and working toward utterly abolishing that wickedness.
The only reason that any good has come out of such vileness is that God, in His great mercy, brings good from evil-- fruit from barren ground. The blood of these small ones shakes us from complacency, yes, but I believe that if He didn't use wicked laws to open our eyes, God would use another means to do so, as He is faithful to His people, stirring us toward good even when our own laziness and apathy tightly bind us.
So while I agree that these laws have shed light on an evil that used to lurk in dark alleys, I also believe it opened the floodgates for countless more murders to occur that would not have had abortion remained illegal. I hesitate to look at the "good" the laws have provided, as it detracts from the glaring issue at the core, which is the legalization of murder.
Infanticide has always existed. The cultured Greeks threw their unwanted outside the gates. Desperate women drank dark brews to expel their own without (the hope was) poisoning themselves in the process. Before contraception became the norm and abortion was legalized, babies were still killed. The legalization of abortion, however, increased that number by throwing the door to murder wide open and breaking down the social stigma that existed previously, a stigma that in the absence of a strong moral code still prevented some women from choosing abortion. Banning something won't make it go away, but banning something will certainly decrease the incidence of what is banned, and when that Something is the slaughter of innocents, we should be doing all we can to shut it down.
You're right, too, that if abortion were again illegal, it would still occur (though almost certainly in greater numbers than before abortion was legalized) and those babies and mamas would need support, love, and long-term help just as they do now. I have been thinking long and deep lately on where my place should be in this, as some of those I most admire who work against abortion do so in the trenches with real women and real babies, where a dedicated commitment of love is required.
And AMEN to your last sentence. In God's mercy, may it someday be so.
p.s. It's getting on to a BI-YEARLY phone call. I totally dropped the ball on that one, but I will make it up to you by talking for 6 hours instead of 3. You lucky duck. :)
I don't want to excuse laws that allow evil to go unpunished, but if we as Christians forfeited our post by leaving unwed mothers to fend for themselves, then we also are not be excused, for in some ways we helped (by the sin of omission) to usher those laws in. When Christians do not provide hope, the State steps in with secular "solutions".
The heyday of abortions was in the 1970's. Since then abortion numbers have steadily dropped and finally last year marked the lowest number of abortions since Roe v Wade was passed. Meanwhile, unwanted births have not gone up. In fact, teen pregnancies are at a 70-year historical low. While there's obviously still a lot more work to do, this is very encouraging news. Polls are showing that more people (particularly young people) are pro-life now than they've been in decades, although the number of people wanting stricter abortion *laws* has not risen. That says to me that our culture may be shifting toward an attitude of, "We want the freedom to make this choice, but we choose not to exercise that freedom."
So while secular laws may allow people to do evil without legal consequence, that doesn't mean evil must prevail.
Amen to that last sentence!
Jesus is King over the little kings, which is our bulwark. There is no circumstance in which evil will ultimately prevail.
We just got off a crazy few weeks and are trying to find normal again. I plan to call you soon! Blog-talk is better than no-talk, but still...
It's likely too late for this comment to have any bearing on the discussion above, but I'll add my two cents simply because I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut! It feels better to just let it out even if no one is the wiser.
The abortion 'heyday' peaked in the 90's and that is even excluding some stats from states like CA. So legalizing abortion seemed to increase the amount. I would suggest that any decreases in abortions shown more recently have more to do with available contraceptive measures and nothing whatsoever to do with any state or federal laws on the subject.
I wonder if the most recent ostentatious displays from the radical pro-choicers and blatent, unapologetic discussions of third-trimester abortions, etc. may reveal some truth to teetering pro-choicers on the culture of death and how repugnant it is. So changes of hearts and minds may be coming.
But we cannot attribute any lowering abortion states to laws allowing abortions. That would be illogical.
I'm glad to hear your voice, always. :)
I haven't talked to Nan yet, and internet comments are usually easy to misunderstand, but it sounds like you're responding mostly to her comments. I'm in complete agreement with your comments (obviously, from my first response!). :) I'm not sure if I misinterpreted anything in her first comment, but I initially replied because I think it's important for Christians to firmly and irrevocably repudiate the evil of abortions and ANY LAW allowing such, even while recognizing that God is using evil laws to shake us from lazy slumber.
According to available data, the number of legal, documented abortions is certainly less now than in the 1980's, but I'm also certain that current abortions are greatly increased from any other time in America's history, due to the fact that it became legal. Those who performed abortions prior to legalization had to operate in relative secrecy, and women who sought their services had to do the same. The social obstructions surrounding abortion in the past did just that-- they obstructed abortions. One would not even have been able to find enough willing practitioners to reach the numbers we're currently at. The last century's change in social mores has been drastic, particularly regarding abortion, and the reasons for that are, I'm sure, more complicated than one root cause, but abortion becoming common practice has contributed greatly to a casual view of life.
And now I'VE added my 2,222 cents because I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. :)
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