A couple of weeks ago, I shared a few thoughts about how we should act in response to abortion. Today I would like to address something that has concerned me as we have shared with more and more people about the abortion issue. I hope you were able to see in my previous words that our goal is to show love to all people and to care about them no matter what their stance or role is. Fortunately, love-talk is quite popular. It jives with society’s enthusiasm for tolerance and coexist bumper stickers. It also works for Christians, because “God is love,” the top two commandments according to Jesus are to love God and love others, and “love covers a multitude of sins.” Unfortunately, the love and tolerance rule is almost universally not applied to one people group: unborn babies. They are labeled clumps of tissue, contents of the uterus, and even parasites by pro-abortionists. But what concerns me even more is the response we have seen and heard from many pro-life Christians. Because they don’t want to join the picketers yelling, “baby killers!” (which is understandable), they run to the opposite side and caution us to “focus on the women.”
The main reason these friends choose to emphasize the woman is love. They don’t want to heap guilt on her by being vocal about the very thing she did, and this is admirable!
At first.
Until we realize that we are ignoring upwards of three thousand babies who are dying every day, only to avoid making someone feel badly. And until we see the incredible secrecy surrounding abortion that encourages women to continue doing it and society to continue voting for it. And until we understand that by remaining silent along with the children instead of speaking for them, we condemn more to the same fate.
Now, please allow me to take a moment to assure you that we spend the majority of our time focusing on the women. As much as we would like to, we cannot buy coffee for a fetus and sit down and chat. We cannot ask the unborn baby what his needs are or how we can best encourage her in this trying time. The problem is not with caring for women; the problem is the dichotomy that has been created. Our ministry is two-fold: we care for women who are being deceived and for children who are being wrongfully killed. We do no one justice by ignoring the one to placate the other. This is what proponents for the killing of children are trying to do. By creating an either/or mentality, they demonize those who would speak for the child. If we choose the woman over the child, we join them in dehumanizing the demographic of the unborn, but if we choose the woman with the child, we rescue both.
We must not forget, my friends, about the one who is being wronged. We must not forget to speak for the one who cannot speak for himself. As difficult and unpopular as it may be, we NEED to defend the child in this situation. This is not done in anger or with malicious intent toward the woman. This is done in such a way that it frees both woman and child from the effects of an unspeakable wrong. Serving women is both effective and necessary, but we are missing an important part of the picture in the name of avoiding hot water.
Speak.
In love.
It is a good thing to care for a woman. But how much more wonderful is it, friends, to rescue both baby and mother in the same breath?
eli joshua project 