I believe there will come a day, from an historical
perspective, when people will look upon the pro-choice movement with the
same disdain as history looks upon the south for their mistreatment,
and killing, of those human beings who had black skin. For 100 years
after our American Civil War, a person with black skin could often still
be killed by a white person without any consequence in the south because
of lingering rationalizations from before the war. Those excuses included
they were protecting States Rights (and an owner's rights during slavery),
or that a "negro" was less than a real human being, something inferior
(previously just a part of someone's property). The similarity to today's
pro-choice arguments regarding the killing of babies (abortion) is so
striking, it should make anyone cringe who has heard the admonition:
Those who ignore history are destined to repeat its
mistakes.
I have been watching the pro-abortion ads on TV.
They are very well crafted to play to a person's emotions, not their
common sense. Focusing on things like rape, and government interference
into someone's life, are always good tactics to distract people from
the central, most basic questions. These were often used in the south
for similar purposes.
It is not about who wins. It is about finding the
Truth.
I am a co-founder of the Teaching & Sharing Centers
non-profit in Grand Ledge. The letterhead of the Teaching & Sharing
Centers has the words "seeking wisdom" on it. I have often used the
above statement about winning versus finding the Truth. For almost 45
years, I have not allowed any political signs on the Center's property,
or my home property. About a week ago, I allowed a "vote no on proposal
3" sign to be placed at the edge of the property. Allow me to share with
you why.
This is being written before the outcome of the November
8, 2022 election, where the citizens of the State of Michigan will vote
whether to make abortion a protected right in the state constitution.
Although it has been highly politicized, I do not believe this to be
a political issue. This is a critical cultural issue. People have lectured
me that I should not be voting based on a single issue, but I do not
see abortion as just one issue among many. It might just be the paramount
issue in our culture. When we show disrespect for human life right from
the start, and tell people anyone should be allowed to choose who is
going to live, and who is going to die, we set the stage for disaster
all across the span of life, and the breadth of our country.
Ads often exploit our weaknesses, emotions, and vulnerabilities.
However, you indeed have a choice to make. You can
teach that killing another person (in this case a baby) is a right you
want provided for, and protected by the Michigan constitution. Or, you
can vote no, and teach that every human life matters, is valued, and
is worth protecting. Because, if we teach that killing is just a choice
we are entitled to make, why do we then act surprised when someone walks
into a public place, and starts killing other people?
Of course pro-abortion (and pro-choice) people will
argue that the baby is not really a person yet, just a part of the mother's
body, like a finger, or a cancerous growth. A pastor recently explained
the Jewish perspective to me, based on Genesis, that the baby is not
a person until it takes its first breath. But, that is just one religious
perspective among many. Science tells us a different story. Every part
of a person's body has the same basic DNA. The baby, from its moment
of conception, has its own distinct DNA. It may be currently dependent
on the mother's body. Attached inside to her body. Her body, in most
cases, contributed half the DNA to its own unique personhood. None of
that makes it just an ordinary part of her body, as if it were
some random organ, or appendage completely comprised of her DNA. The
baby is not going to morph into something it did not start out as. The
baby starts out as a real person with its own DNA, because it is a real
person.
Another big question in this constant debate is "when?"
I have a grandson who is a toddler. The doctor's removed him from his
mother's womb three months prior to the due date because his life was
in danger. I have read of similar cases where the doctors successfully
saved a baby's life as early as six months prior to the due date.
Why would any civilized person want it written
into our state constitution
that in Michigan you have a right to kill a baby?
That is the central, most basic question. All of
the other questions can be addressed by those in our state legislature.
We vote them into office to represent us. Preferably, to also show wisdom,
and to seek the Truth (the one with a capital T, not all of our own
little truths we like to argue about).