Restrictions

There is a passage in the book of Job that underscores the value of life, as created by Almighty God.  Job, in chapter 31, reflects:
13 "If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me,
14 What then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?
15 Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

This can be helpful as we reflect on our fellow human beings and how we treat them.  And, it is especially poignant in this season in which one state legislature has voted to allow abortion at any time during pregnancy, and perhaps after a baby is born.  Another state legislative committee has tabled a similar bill.  Our consideration of life is a key component of a civilized society, and a country that does not revere the sanctify of life as created by God is collectively in a spiritual danger zone - we need to pray for our nation and its leaders.

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In Proverbs 24, we find a sobering reminder that speaks to our responsibility to speak up for the unborn and of God's judgment about those who take the life of another:
11 Deliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, "Surely we did not know this," Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?

While the outrage continues over the New York law allowing abortion up until the time of birth, another state has considering similar legislation - this time, in Virginia.  The Daily Caller reports that:

Democratic Delegate Kathy Tran introduced HB2491, or the Repeal Act, which seeks to repeal the state’s current restrictions on late-term abortions. If passed, the measure will do away with the state’s requirement that second and third-trimester abortions be performed only to preserve the health or life of the woman. A woman seeking to abort would no longer need to obtain an ultrasound before having an abortion, under the proposed law.

This is not some outlier proposal, either: the article reports that the governor and a number of Democratic lawmakers support the bill.

A tweet from reporter Ryan Saavedra of the DailyWire, included in the article featured this exchange:

Todd Gilbert (R): Where it’s obvious a woman is about to give birth...would that be a point at which she could still request an abortion?

Kathy Tran (D): My bill would allow that, yes

Stunning and very sad.

Fortunately, the subcommittee considering the bill voted 5-3 against advancing it, according to CBS News.  But damage has already been done, and Virginia's governor, Ralph Northam, is facing criticism for comments regarding children born in the third-trimester.  He said:

"And it's done in cases where there amy be severe deformities, there may be a fetus that's non-viable. So in this particular example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother. So I think this was really blown out of proportion."

The President criticized the comments saying, according to CBS, in an interview with the Daily Caller: "This is going to lift up the whole pro-life movement like maybe it's never been lifted up before."

The article refers to a recent Marist poll on the subject of abortion; it states:

Seventy-five percent of Americans support significant abortion restrictions and say abortion should not be legal after a woman is three months pregnant, according to a Jan. 15 Marist poll. Nearly 60 percent of Americans support banning abortion after 20 weeks except to save the life of the mother, according to the poll.

Contrast that with the Virginia bill, or what New York passed.  The Daily Caller story referred to that New York law "removing abortion from the state’s criminal code and allowing women to have abortions after 24 weeks in cases where 'there is an absence of fetal viability, or at any time when necessary to protect a patient’s life or health,' according to the legislation."

Let's dig into that Marist poll a little deeper.  Live Action News reported:

The poll shocked some, revealing that Americans have similar views on abortion across the political spectrums, even while a majority of those polled — 55 percent — identified as “pro-choice.” The number of those identifying as “pro-life” was the lowest it has been in years, coming in at 38 percent. Despite the labels, an overwhelming majority of Americans want to limit and restrict abortion and enact protection for children.

But, there is at least some sensibility among those self-identifying as "pro-choice."  The story says:

61 percent of those who identified as “pro-choice” stated they wanted abortion allowed only in the first three months of pregnancy — at most. A significant percentage of this group believed abortion should restricted even further, as a plurality of 48 percent agreed that abortion should only be allowed in cases of rape, incest, to save the life of the mother, or not at all.

The Live Action News report also referred to a PR Newswire release stating:

By a double-digit margin, a majority of all Americans oppose any taxpayer funding of abortion (54 percent to 39 percent). …

The survey also found that by more than 20 points, a majority of Americans believe that “scientifically” a fetus is “a unique life” (56 percent), while only about a third (35 percent) believe it is “part of a woman’s body.” A plurality of Americans say that life begins at conception (42 percent), while only about one in 10 say life begins at birth (13 percent).

And, the article refers to a National Review story, in which it states: "For the first time in the history of the poll, Marist asked respondents what they would like to see the Supreme Court do, if and when it reconsiders its decision in Roe v. Wade. Almost two-thirds of respondents said the Court should rule either to allow restrictions as decided by each state (49 percent) or to outlaw abortion entirely (16 percent)."

It also says, "Less than one-third of Americans said they’d like the Court to rule to allow unrestricted abortion. This means that more than 60 percent of Americans disagree with the central holdings of Roe, including nearly half of those who call themselves pro-choice and more than 40 percent of Democrats."

So, in summary, here's a generalization: pro-life people want to see abortion eliminated, and a majority of pro-choice people want to see it restricted.

We also recognize that life begins at conception: that's the Biblical view, and as the Live Action News article points out, it is a "scientifically factually viewpoint."

Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for objectionable activities, such as abortion.  The government is exceeding its God-given authority when it takes such action.

Biblically, we can uphold the sanctity of life; each human being is a unique creation of God.

As Sam Rohrer of the American Pastors Network said in a press release:

The support of life and the opposition to death is a fundamental distinguishing factor in individuals, societies and nations. Nations whose laws are built on the principles of Judeo-Christian thought will protect life and punish those who murder. Nations who are guided by the ideologies of atheism, Islam, globalism and post-Christian ideologies will destroy lives of those with whom they disagree and value lives of those who agree with them. We see the world running full-steam-ahead into the embracing of equating the value of life with agreement with government or usefulness to society, as made popular by Karl Marx and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. So it is important to know why life is important and why we must view life as God views it...

Perhaps those who would want to reduce abortion, the taking of life, to just one of a potpourri of social issues, should reconsider.  John Stonestreet, in a commentary on The Point, said:

Progressive Christians often criticize the pro-life movement for only caring about babies before they’re born, and not enough about “social justice” issues after they’re born. They don’t spend enough time or energy on so-called “whole life” issues like poverty and racism and climate change.

He echoes the words of Scott Klusendorf when he says, "a movement can only do so much." He also states, "So many who are vocal on after-birth issues are silent about nothing less than the taking of innocent, pre-born human lives." Stonestreet quotes blogger Samuel Sey from Twitter: “One of the biggest indictments against the social justice movement within evangelicalism today is that it hasn’t produced a greater passion against the biggest human rights violation of our time—abortion. In fact, it’s producing more apathy and support for abortion.”  

There is also a move in the evangelical community to call into question the concept of the single-issue voter; that single issue being abortion. 

Tomorrow on The Meeting House, Jennifer Hartline of The Stream joins me to discuss developments from New York and Virginia.