A Culture of Life:

For longer than most of you who read this have been alive--36 years--Roe v Wade has been the law of our land. There are some technicalities to the law, but essentially--after courts give their very liberal interpretation to "health of the mother"--Roe v Wade provides for abortion on demand at any point in the pregnancy. That is confirmed by observing the opposition by pro-choicers to laws limiting late--as in immediately before birth--term abortions.
I was surprised to read recently, in World Magazine that abortion is not a new issue. The later half of the 19th Century, in America, was marked by a very high rate of abortions. 2,000 years ago the Romans practiced infanticide, leaving newborns out to die. The early Christians rightly opposed that practice and rescued many of these little ones. Today, we Christians ought to act with equal compassion and dedication to what is right.

Unfortunately, in recent decades, something that ought to be a discussion about life has become a point of political strategy. Ted Kennedy, George H. W. Bush, Mitt Romney, and Al Gore, all switched their position on the question of protecting the life of the unborn. The case can be made that all the changes were politically driven, rather than being based on matters of conscience. This is one reason that the church needs to continue to speak to this issue. I intend to do so this Sunday, 1/25.
We ought to speak with such clarity on this matter that no politician would be able to say that answering the question as to when life begins is above her/his pay-grade. There was a time when it would have been politically expedient to dodge answering the question concerning the full humanity of people from Africa. Obviously, to do so now, would show that a person is either a bigot or an idiot, clearly not qualified for public office. Our goal ought to be to change the hearts of people, so that everyone knows that babies are worthy of society's protection, whether born or yet unborn.

Speaking of changed hearts, here is an article about God's power to transform. It is the story of "Roe," as in Roe v Wade.
http://www.hausvater.org/mccorveywonbylove.php