Mischaracterized

We can rejoice in who God has made us to be - formed in His image, created for His glory, and
anointed for His purposes. Exodus 4 states:
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."
11 So the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?
12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."

Our lives have been ordained by the giver of life, the Lord God Almighty, and we as humans do not have the right to determine who lives or dies.  We also are created in a certain way, made to be male or female, and it is not up to us to try to alter or manipulate the gender that He has assigned us; not a doctor, not a parent, but God Himself.  When we accept the decisions of God, we can experience peace and satisfaction, knowing that He has a glorious purpose for us.

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I want to share some verses from Deuteronomy chapter 30, which can teach us that our decisions
should be based on God's Word and affirm life. We can read:
14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
15 "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil,
16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

These words, spoken to the children of Israel, continue in verse 19, as God addresses His people:
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live...

Since the remarkable events of last Tuesday and Wednesday regarding the life issue, there has been plenty of mischaracterization to go around - including the false accusations that pro-lifers do not care about the women who bear children because they may no longer have access to abortion, which, of course, is a "woman's right."  You have those who try to paint pro-life people as being "pro-birth," who do not care about the women or their child after they are born.  And, then there are those who believe the bill was extreme because of its lack of a rape or incest exception - that was necessary to 1) confirm the personhood of the unborn child, regardless of the circumstances of the child's conception and 2) to directly confront the language of Roe v. Wade, which essentially stated that the product of pregnancy was not a child, a contention that science and technology have refuted.

I want to deal with two areas of mischaracterization: the charges of lack of compassion for women in crisis pregnancies who do not have abortions and the lack of compassion for rape victims in this legislation.

A piece on the Human Life International website says:

As “Hanoi Jane” Fonda once fumed, “The whole issue of choice has nothing to do with the fetus. Have you ever asked yourself why [pro-life people] have so much concern for the egg while it’s growing inside a woman, but so little concern for the child once it’s born? For anti-abortion activists, it seems life begins at conception and ends at birth.”...

This was at a Utahns for Choice dinner in 2000.  The article continues:

This, of course, is a complete inversion of reality. Try to imagine a pregnant young unmarried girl whose parents have kicked her out of their home. She calls an abortion clinic (any abortion clinic!) and asks if they can help her with housing, baby clothes and formula, and other needs. At worst, the abortion mill staff will laugh at her; at best, they will quickly refer her to local social service agencies. Now imagine the same pregnant girl calling her local crisis pregnancy center. She will usually find all the help she needs.

So the next time somebody follows the lead of “Hanoi Jane” and criticizes pro-lifers for not caring for women or their children after birth, ask them to perform this mind exercise — or better yet, make the calls themselves.

I want to revisit an article that I cited a few months ago from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, which documents the incredible work of pro-life people in pregnancy resource centers.  Consider the evidence:

Over 2700 locations.

Almost 2 million people receiving free services, saving communities $161 million a year.
295,000 mothers and fathers taking parenting classes.

Plus, as the article notes, "24,100 after-abortion support clients were seen in 2017 (services include support, counseling, and referral to professional help when appropriate for both women and men)."

Pregnancy centers are also involved in "community-based sexual risk avoidance education presentations," with one million students attending in 2017.

Of the over 67,000 volunteers at CPC's, some 7,500 are medical professionals.

Not caring about the women?  Far from it.  The Church, through its support of these centers, is uniquely positioned to minister to women, men, and their children.

Now, let's move on to the rape exception, that seems to be a sticking point for some.  Again, this was not included in the Human Life Protection Act because of a belief that a child's life in the womb should not be terminated because of the circumstances of its conception; and from a legal standpoint, it would cause contradiction if it were included.

Family Research Council relates the story of Rebecca Kiessling.  Her mother was a rape victim.  The FRC website states:

Back in 2012, Kiessling had a chance to sit down with Texas pro-life Governor Rick Perry and explain to him, “When you make that rape exception, it’s like you’re saying to me that I deserved the death penalty for the crimes of my father. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, my father didn’t even deserve the death penalty. The Supreme Court has said there is no death penalty for rapists. But you say that I, as the innocent child of rape, deserved the death penalty?” He never fought for a rape exception again.

And, the story goes on:

Just last week, Ryan Bomberger – who’s never met his birth mother – made a moving video on his birthday, May 5, dedicated to his mom. “On this day, many years ago, I was born. Some say I should’ve been aborted. I was adopted & loved instead.”

The article concludes with this powerful statement: "We should all be grateful that Alabama understands what the rest of the Left does not: every life has potential."

These developments can remind us of several concepts.  First of all: the unborn child is a person, not a blob of tissue or some sort of "pre-human."  I believe that is a Biblical fact that is backed up by science.

As a person, a human being, the child deserves rights.  And, that personhood does not depend on the circumstances of his or her conception.  The child is a separate individual, while dependent on his or her mother in the womb, yet possessing his or her own characteristics.

Finally, the education process continues.  The Human Life Protection Act was written to protect life and to present a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, which does not affirm the humanity of an unborn child, opening the door to the lives of millions of children being taken - under the guise of a so-called "women's right to choose," a right that is inconsistent with not only Biblical truth, but the writings of our founders in the Declaration of Independence, which declares the right to...life.