To vote pro-life, or not.

I may be in the minority here, but this primary election left a seriously bad taste in mouth. I really struggled with the issue of who to vote for and the only candidate I was really impressed with, based on his voting record, interviews and what I read in the paper, was not pro-life. It was the very first time in my life I entertained the idea of voting for this man in spite of his abortion stance. Before you all freak, please know, that thought only lasted a millisecond, and I had to dismiss it. But I was quite irritated that the only person I supported was someone I could not morally vote for. Maybe I'm the only one who has ever had this dilemma, I suppose it's not popular in the "evangelical" world to admit such a slip in mental clarity, but alas, I admit it.

So with this festering in my mind, I came across this timely interview with Mark Driscoll and Randy Alcron that really addressed my dilemma and gave voice to why I could not vote for this man. It is an articulate and true perspective on why voting for those who value the life of unborn infants is so important. It is highly unfortunate that this issue has become divided across party lines as I do believe there are plenty of thinking, intelligent individuals with various party affiliations that have strong convictions on this issue and unfortunately the parties have staked their claim on one position and forced their candidates to be molded into a stereotypical, cookie-cutter ideology that looks good on a billboard and will garner the most special-interest money (or votes…whatever is most needed at the time) But I have digresses…here is the interview. (Aren't you glad I don't often talk about politics?)

Click here to see this short, yet insightful interview.

The Raw Truth

The following is an excerpt from the most compelling article about abortion I've ever read. I first read it on 1516 (another blog I love!) and was so moved that I had to direct you to it as well.

"Hern and Harris chose to stay in the abortion business; one of the first doctors to change his allegiance was Paul Jarrett, who quit after only 23 abortions. His turning point came in 1974, when he performed an abortion on a fetus at 14 weeks' gestation: "As I brought out the rib cage, I looked and saw a tiny, beating heart," he would recall. "And when I found the head of the baby, I looked squarely in the face of another human being—a human being that I just killed."

"Kathy Sparks is another convert formerly responsible for disposing of fetal remains, this time at an Illinois abortion clinic. Her account of the experience that led her to exit the abortion industry (taken from the Pro-Life Action League website in 2004) reads in part: The baby's bones were far too developed to rip them up with [the doctor's] curette, so he had to pull the baby out with forceps. He brought out three or four major pieces. .  .  . I took the baby to the clean up room, I set him down and I began weeping uncontrollably. .  .  . I cried and cried. This little face was perfectly formed."

"Other converts were driven into the pro-life movement by advances in ultrasound technology. The most recent example is Abby Johnson, the former director of Dallas-area Planned Parenthood. After watching, via ultrasound, an embryo "crumple" as it was suctioned out of its mother's womb, Johnson reported a "conversion in my heart." Likewise, Joan Appleton was the head nurse at a large abortion facility in Falls Church, Virginia, and a NOW activist. Appleton performed thousands of abortions with aplomb until a single ultrasound-assisted abortion rattled her. As Appleton remembers, "I was watching the screen. I saw the baby pull away. I saw the baby open his mouth. .  .  . After the procedure I was shaking, literally."

To read the entire article (…which I strongly encourage you to do…) click here.

A powerful testimony from a humble, broken woman

Sanctity of Life Sunday is January 24th. As a woman who is pro-life, I am deeply convicted that we should embrace, forgive and love those women who have had abortions and are dealing with the gravity, guilt, and horror of what they have done. They need a Christian community to forgive and help them. This video is beautiful testimony of why abortion is a travesty against women and the unborn children. It also speaks strongly to the affect a harsh, judgmental word can have on a woman who is alone, pregnant, and struggling for direction. I pray we have compassion on anyone who is in this situation and can show them the love of Christ when they desperately need it unlike the protestor she describes who screamed she was a “baby killer.” I pray the Christian community will reflect Christ to a lost world by compassionately, and practically helping these women in there time of desperation.

Rhetorical Recklessness?

I read an editorial written by Tim Rutten of the Los Angeles Times entitled “The choice on abortion: rhetorical recklessness or civil expression.” In it, Mr. Rutten tries to convince his readers that proclaiming abortion to be murder is “verbal extremism” and “has consequences.” In the article, he attempts to place the blame for Dr. Tiller’s murder on the influence of “inflammatory rhetoric.” He claims this may have encouraged America’s “socially marginal and unstable,” who were attracted to the movements “verbal absolutism,” to commit murder.

I am alarmed that the truth about abortion is now viewed by some as “verbal extremism.” While I do not condone the murder of Dr. Tiller, the constitution still protects the right to say that abortion is murder and that Tiller's practice was morally wrong. Every cause has extremists who do not represent the ideology of the majority, but Mr. Rutten has used this glaring generality to insinuate that the rhetoric of the pro-life movement has caused the death of Tiller simply because they revealed the truth of what he did behind closed doors. The truth is upsetting and is not always welcomed, but it cannot be blamed for the murder of Dr. Tiller. The responsibility for the murder of Dr. Tiller falls upon the shoulders of the midguided individual who committed this crime, not the entire pro-life movement.

Click here to read his editorial.