Advancing Life

The book of Acts closes out with these words in chapter 28, as the apostle Paul, once again, skillfully and courageously spoke the truth of God:
27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them." '
28 "Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!"
29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.
30 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him,
31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

He was adamant in confronting the refusal of some to receive the Word of God and confident as He shared the gospel with visitors.  He was intent in speaking God's truth boldly, even there were those who did not receive the message. Our message may not be popular, and at times it may be distorted and rejected, but we can be faithful to continue to proclaim what Jesus has done in our lives and follow what He has taught us.

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There is a rather bleak picture that is painted in Hosea chapter 4 regarding the people of Israel and their practices. We can find these words:
1 Hear the word of the Lord, You children of Israel, For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed.

Later in the chapter, we can read:
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

Yesterday on The Meeting House on Faith Radio, I featured a conversation with Penny Nance of Concerned Women for America, in which she highlighted some facts concerning the pro-life movement and some initiatives in which CWA is involved. 

Today, I want to share some survey data that indicates some of the opportunities and challenges for the pro-life movement today. The recently-released Knights of Columbus-Marist poll offers four major talking points concerning the issue of life; here are those points from the survey summary:

Regarding abortion limits, "...66% of Americans support placing legal limits on abortion, and that nearly 6 in 10 support limiting abortions to the first three months of pregnancy.

Concerning pregnancy resource centers, "83% of Americans support pregnancy resource centers, which offer support to mothers both during their pregnancy and after their baby is born."

Plus, on the topic of conscience protections, "...two-thirds of Americans believe healthcare professionals with religious objections to abortions should not be legally required to perform them."

Finally, regarding legal concerns: "86% of respondents believe that laws can protect both the mother and her unborn child."

National Review published a piece by Michael New, a well-known pro-life professor, who brought this information:

This year’s poll contains some good news for pro-lifers. First, it finds that 40 percent of Americans identify as “pro-life.” This marks a gain of one percentage point since last year’s Knights of Columbus poll. This is an important finding. Countless pundits and mainstream media outlets have worked overtime to argue that pro-life position has lost ground in the court of public opinion since the Dobbs decision. However, both the Knights of Columbus poll and Gallup polls have shown slight gains in the percentage of people who identify as “pro-life.”

The poll also finds strong opposition to both abortion on demand and taxpayer funding for abortion. Specifically, it found the only 29 percent of Americans thought that abortion should be legal at any time during pregnancy. The Knights of Columbus poll also found that a majority of American oppose taxpayer funding for abortion and that an impressive 67 percent oppose having taxpayer dollars fund overseas abortions.

This certainly can bring some motivation to countering the media narrative that champions abortion. Again, two-thirds of Americans believe there should be restrictions on abortion. That counters pro-abortion politicians and personalities who believe that abortion should be legal in all nine months of pregnancy and even beyond. While there has been a concerted effort to paint those who believe in the sanctity of human life as being the "extremists," the unabashed support for taking a human life is really the extreme, out-of-step view, as evidenced by the survey data. 

Quite frankly, the majority of the American people, even those who are "pro-choice," do not buy in to this unfettered abortion narrative. We have to be careful to continue to speak truth, to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us, to use us in His process of changing hearts and minds.  I believe there is so much support for abortion restrictions because there is a deep-seated knowledge of truth, an awareness that the taking of life is wrong.  But, people have also been fed this narrative of "reproductive rights."  As guests on my program has stated, through our compassion and Spirit-directed action, the pro-life movement can work to make it more and more plausible for women to choose life for their babies, removing the barriers and increasing the opportunities.