Two women named Lisa, both unmarried and unexpectantly pregnant, faced a choice. These two brave women, who later became my friends, chose life for their unborn daughters. One of them had the full support of her family, no matter what choice she made. She was the lucky one.
The other Lisa had no support whatsoever, but still chose life for her baby in spite of the hardship to herself.
Crisis pregnancy centers exist to help such moms.
Another young woman, the girlfriend of a fellow student of mine, got pregnant. Her parents threatened to kick her out of the home if she kept the baby. Her boyfriend threatened to leave her if she kept the baby. Of course, none of us knew, and this poor young girl saw no way out. She had the abortion, and then her life fell apart.
Crisis pregnancy centers can help such moms, too. However, these moms need more. They need the support of a law that would make it illegal to coerce a woman into having an abortion. And, after the fact, they need love and support as they deal with the sadness of having been forced or betrayed into killing their own babies.
That’s why we marched in Ottawa yesterday.
- To protect unborn babies.
- To support new moms trying to choose life for their children.
- To grieve with the women who are ‘silent no more’ but share how having an abortion destroyed their lives.
- To encourage Canadian lawgivers to protect unborn life. Did you know that Canada, like China and North Korea, allows abortion up until birth? We need a law against that!
We also attended a prayer service before the march to ask God’s forgiveness for our country and his blessing on this work.
Pastor George van Popta reminded us what God actually asks of us:
He has showed you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8.
Tim Challies encouraged us not to give up. He spoke of how William Wilberforce fought tirelessly against slavery, the backbone of his day’s economy. In fact, slavery seemed as basic to society then as abortion is now. Wilberforce saw slavery as such a great evil that he continued to fight it his whole life long, despite intense opposition and repeated failure. So do many prolife workers today. Challies challenged us to encourage pro-life workers, and not to grow weary of supporting them. He pointed out that, perhaps, a hundred years in the future abortion will be as widely rejected as slavery is now.
We were reminded how to talk to those who think abortion is a valid option. Abortion may not be for them, some say, but then they continue that no one can decide this situation for anyone else, especially not in situations of poverty, extreme hardship, or rape.
But, suggested Andre Schutten of ARPA Canada, let’s think carefully about this issue:
- Almost everyone would agree that intentionally killing an innocent human being is always a moral wrong.
- Therefore, if abortion is the intentional killing of an innocent human being,
- then abortion is always a moral wrong.
The only way out for most pro-abortion people is to argue that a preborn child is not human but merely a blob of tissue. Science, however, shows us that a preborn baby is a complete, unique, living human being, just as the Bible says.
What if the people you’re talking to do not want to accept this, and say that abortion (i.e. killing a preborn baby) may be a good option under certain circumstances? How can you answer them? Try this, suggested Schutten: Take the reasons they give, and in place of the words they use (fetus, tissue, parasite, problem) use the word ‘toddler’. That will shock most people into seeing that their arguments are completely untenable, even in extremely difficult situations.
(And, of course, in such cases of poverty, extreme hardship, or rape, crisis pregnancy centers can make a huge difference by supporting, comforting, and helping moms.)
Is the fight against abortion hopeless? No! Remember Wilberforce’s ‘impossible’ life-long struggle against slavery? His fight seemed hopeless, too, but just before his death his goal was accomplished. In fact, pro-life activist Mike Schouten of We Need A Law is optimistic. He says that in the past few years he has seen a groundswell of support for the preborn in Canada, especially among young people.
Even the media is now discussing abortion, something that was not happening a decade ago. For example, commentators on CFRA’s “The Lunch Bunch” pointed out yesterday (May 8, at ~12 minutes in this clip) that, no matter how you phrase the question, the majority of Canadians want restrictions on late term abortions. Then they mentioned that Canada is the only country in the free world without such restrictions.
Obviously, there’s a lot be done, in Canada and throughout the world. So let’s consider how we, individually and collectively, can help to make our countries safe for all, even those who are not yet born.
Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)
May God bless us all as we support life in our families and communities.
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Over the years I have written repeatedly on this topic.
- Some ways to become involved.
- The effects of abortion on the mother, with two links to blog posts by women who have had abortions.
- A list of books that discuss the effects of abortion on women.
- A review of Cradle My Heart: Finding God’s LOVE after Abortion, Kim Ketola’s comforting book for post-abortive women.
- A review of Unplanned, the story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director, who became pro-life after watching an abortion on ultrasound.
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The Reformed prayer service described above takes place every year in Ottawa. If you wish to attend next year, information will be available in late spring at ARPA Canada .
Disclosure: I am not compensated for mentioning any of the people or resources linked in this post.
Thank you for your kind endorsement of Cradle My Heart. I hope all who need to know God’s love will find the encouragment and hope that we have found in Christ.