Life and Legality

The conditions are shaping up for a dramatic U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn the high court's decision almost 50 years ago that resulted in the loss of lives for millions of unborn children. And, the responsibility for the Church is laid out in Proverbs 24:
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?

We can respond by intercession for women and families in crisis pregnancies for the protection of unborn children from death. We can also be praying for our lawmakers and put people in office who are committed to uphold life and contributing to a culture of like. Action is vital: People of faith have been involved on the front lines of protecting life for years, and that work needs to continue and even ramp up as the availability of the treacherous act of abortion is diminished. 

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I came across a passage of Scripture this morning that could have been written today, because it expresses, I believe, the sentiments of Christian believers who are seeing the advance of unrighteousness and its approval from leaders. Psalm 94 states:
17 Unless the Lord had been my help, My soul would soon have settled in silence.
18 If I say, "My foot slips," Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.
19 In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.
20 Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, Have fellowship with You?
21 They gather together against the life of the righteous, And condemn innocent blood.
22 But the Lord has been my defense, And my God the rock of my refuge.

With the imminent release of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs case regarding the state of Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban, which is expected to lead to the high court overturning the dreadful Roe v. Wade decision from almost 50 years ago, we can anticipate a great amount of commentary regarding the topic of abortion in the days to come. 

Before I cover the survey data today, I do want to take a moment to encourage you to pray not only for the justices and their decision, but for the response to the decision, when it is issued.  Gary Bauer of American Values pointed out yesterday that since the draft decision that was leaked a few weeks ago:

• Multiple crisis pregnancy centers have been attacked. (Here, here, and here.)
• Churches have been vandalized and desecrated.
• Pro-life organizations have been firebombed. (Here and here.)
• Death threats have forced law enforcement officials to move pro-life Supreme Court justices to undisclosed locations. Their homes are under armed guard.

And consider that there has been an assassination attempt on the life of one justice. Bauer writes: "Maryland police arrested a California man near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. According to the Washington Post, the man told police he was there to kill Justice Kavanaugh. Other reports say he was armed with a gun and a knife."  And it has been reported that those who are protesting justices' homes are committing felonies and should be arrested and prosecuted because they are attempting to intimidate federal judges to issue a particular decision in a case.

The Department of Homeland Security, as Bauer shares, issued a statement, which says:

Given a high-profile U.S. Supreme Court case about abortion rights, individuals who advocate both for and against abortion have, on public forums, encouraged violence, including against government, religious, and reproductive healthcare personnel and facilities, as well as those with opposing ideologies.

Gary Bauer's response? "I’m sure there is a lot of over-the-top rhetoric on social media around the issue of abortion. But the clear, unambiguous fact is that only one side of the abortion debate has actually committed widespread violence since Justice Alito’s draft opinion was leaked, and it is the pro-death radicals."

Intercessors for America wrote in a recent article:

Intercessors, God hears and answers prayer. Let’s praise and thank Him and persevere in praying for protection for the justices, their clerks, and all of their families. We don’t always know what our prayers are affecting—that there could have been other plans for evil that were stopped due to the power of prayer. We DO know that this plan for harm was very obviously thwarted inexplicably but for a supernatural intervention by God.

We recognize that a powerful force in our culture has been the devotion of professing Christians and other religious people in order to promote and uphold the sanctity of life.  As a recent article from Lifeway Research states: "Not all pro-life Americans are religious, but religious Americans are more likely to be pro-life."

And a significant number of church people apparently want to hear more about the topic.  The article says: 

While increased church attendance correlates with pro-life perspectives, those who attend church say they don’t often hear about abortion on Sunday mornings. Two in 3 Americans who say they attend religious worship services a few times a year or more (66%) say they hear a teacher or clergy person mention the topic of abortion no more than once or twice a year, including 36% who say they never hear it spoken about. Few churchgoers, regardless of their perspective on abortion, want the church to talk about the issue less often. Overall, 46% say the topic is addressed the right amount, 38% want to hear about it more and 16% want less.

This is according to a Lifeway Research study commissioned by the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  

And, with an elevated amount of content about the subject coming on the heels of the Supreme Court decision, it is not time for the Church to reduce its voice or its volume on the issue of the sanctity of life. In the face of multiple voices decrying the Supreme Court's expected action, the Church has a chance to shine the light of Christ in presenting the pro-life perspective and ministering to women and families impacted by a crisis pregnancy.

About a quarter of Americans believe abortion should be legal in "any situation," with just under 1/4 believing it should be legal in most.  But, three-quarters of Americans do not believe that abortion should be legal across the board.  Here are some findings regarding religious people, including evangelical Christians:

Protestants, by a 41 to 31% margin hold to "pro-life views" (meaning they believe abortion should be illegal in all or most situations).  43% of Catholics hold to pro-abortion views, with 47% of "people from other faiths" leaning pro-abortion.  The article goes on to say:

Those with evangelical beliefs are more pro-life than pro-abortion rights (64% vs. 15%), while those without evangelical beliefs are the opposite (22% vs. 53%).

American Christians who attend church weekly are more than twice as likely to be generally pro-life (53% vs. 19%). Those who attend two to four times a month (28% vs. 36%) and those who attend less frequently (30% vs. 46%) are more likely to be pro-abortion rights.

Religious faith is certainly a determining factor regarding respondents' views on the sanctity of life; the article states:

Specifically among the generally pro-life, personal religious faith (58%), views on morality (56%) and views on children’s rights and quality of life (46%) are dominant factors contributing to their perspectives on abortion. Around 1 in 6 pro-life Americans say their views on women’s rights (16%) is one of the strongest factors in how their views on abortion were developed.

For those who are pro-abortion rights, views on women’s rights and freedoms (74%) dominate the other factors.

Another interesting tidbit from the survey - regarding the question of when life begins, over a-third of Americans surveyed said life begins at conception, with another 28% saying it begins at the first heartbeat.  That's a total of 63% - just under 2/3 of Americans - who believe that life begins at or before the first heartbeat, meaning that the multiple heartbeat bills, including the one that has saved an estimated thousands of lives in Texas, are consistent with the views of most Americans.  The article says: "Most Christians who attend church weekly (56%) say life begins at conception, while those who attend less frequently are more evenly split between conception and the first heartbeat."

In summary, there does seem to be an indication that church attendance and pro-life perspective are directly related.  And, Americans in general lean toward identifying an early point in pregnancy when life begins.  It would be accurate to characterize Americans as deeply divided on abortion, but you could also say that there is a minority of our citizens who support unrestricted abortion. 

Christians have believed and spoken out regarding the sanctity of life, and I believe that voice has made a difference, leading us to this point of anticipation that the court ruling legalizing abortion could fall soon.  That also means states will have the opportunity to implement their own laws regarding abortion. I am confident that Christian believers will continue their excellent work in ministering to women and families who perhaps believe that the termination of an unborn child's life is the only answer to a crisis pregnancy situation.  This survey also shows that there is room to grow in the amount of time spent in addressing abortion in our churches.  We can continue to speak boldly for life.