Battle

Because we live in this fallen world, we can recognize that we will come face-to-face with the one whom Jesus said in John 10 comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Destruction is found in human hearts and manifested in seemingly countless ways. 1st Timothy chapter 6 states:
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,
14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing,
15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

We are approaching the two-year anniversary of the landmark Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, and while that action has opened up incredible doors for the advancement of the pro-life cause, there are concerns over injustices against those in the pro-life movement.

The Daily Citizen from Focus on the Family highlighted a recent ruling against a 75-year-old woman, Paula Paulette Harlow, who "was sentenced to 24 months in prison for her role in a protest at a notorious abortion clinic in Washington, D.C."

The article notes that:

Harlow becomes the 10th pro-life supporter sentenced to months – or years – in federal prison by radical, far-left U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

According to the DOJ, Harlow was sentenced “for her role in a conspiracy that created a blockade at a Washington, D.C. reproductive health care clinic to prevent the clinic from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services.”

The ten "activists" at the Washington Surgi-Clinic who staged the protest "...were concerned that the clinic’s abortionist, Cesare Santangelo, was likely violating the Born Alive Infant Protection Act by refusing to provide life-saving care to infants born alive after a failed abortion, and/or the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The remains of several later-term aborted babies were discovered by one of the ten activists, supporting their claims."

The article goes on to say:

Several federal lawmakers have introduced a bill to repeal the “unconstitutional” FACE Act.

They point out that while the DOJ has used the law to go after pro-life supporters, it has ignored the over 400 attacks on Catholic churches and pregnancy resource centers. In response to those attacks, zero FACE Act cases have been opened.

Meanwhile, last fall, The Washington Times reported:

A New York crisis pregnancy organization has sued two pro-choice activists under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, sending a message to the Biden administration over its lopsided record on abortion-related prosecutions.

The lawsuit accuses two women from Buffalo, New York — Hannah E. Kamke and Jennifer L. Page — of separately violating the FACE Act while targeting CompassCare, a pro-life pregnancy service with offices in Albany, Rochester, and the Buffalo suburb of Amherst.

The article went on to say:

CompassCare CEO James Harden said Monday he decided to take legal action out of frustration with the lack of a federal response to the protests and vandalism, which include the June 2022 firebombing that forced the center to close for nearly three months and did $550,000 in damage.

“It is ridiculous that as pro-life citizens we are forced to do the job of both the FBI and DOJ,” Mr. Harden said in a statement to The Washington Times. “The FBI refused to investigate so we hired private investigators. The DOJ refuses to indict, so we brought FACE charges.”

James Harden has been a guest on The Meeting House in the past.  On June 5, the CompassCare Community website stated:

Friday, June 7 marks the two-year anniversary when the pro-abortion Antifa front group, Jane’s Revenge, firebombed one of CompassCare’s pro-life medical offices in Buffalo. The firebombing caused a half-million dollars in damage, injuring two firefighters in an attempt to shut down CompassCare’s services. In this regard they failed totally, CompassCare rebuilding even bigger in a miraculous 52 days. The attack happened ahead of the then expected Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

Antifa and their government allies continued with over 500 attacks on peaceful, pro-life people and organizations, including imprisonment, ahead of another potentially explosive SCOTUS abortion ruling expected any day. This case relates to the legality of the FDA’s approval of the dangerous chemical abortion drug, Mifepristone, representing over 60% of all U.S. abortions.

The article adds, "The current and new attacks against pro-lifers are coming in the form of malicious violence against religious liberty (1st Amendment), and equal protection under the law (14th Amendment)."

The CompassCare piece also notes, "While the domestic terror attacks waxed, pro-abortion politicians and litigators picked up the activist baton. Attorneys General from abortion hub states, including California and New York, filed suit against pro-life pregnancy centers alleging fraud for simply educating and serving women seeking to reverse the effects of chemical abortion. The timing of the lawsuits is suspicious if not obvious political theatre."

What we are looking at is spiritual warfare - life vs. death.  The power of God's Word vs. the ideologies of this world.  Supporting life vs. the destruction of life in the womb.  Certainly, there is a legal system in place, and pro-life individuals and organizations should leverage those resources.  But, ultimately, this battle of good and evil is carried out in the court of Heaven, and Bible-believing Christians should be petitioning the ultimate Judge and release His power through prayer. 

The two-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision on Monday should motivate us to redouble our efforts to preserve life.  And, to help us realize there is much work to be done.  Our message is Biblical, it is righteous, and we can communicate it with conviction, as well as compassion for not only the unborn, but their families, as well...the mothers, and (as you'll hear Matt Hammitt talk about next Monday on The Meeting House), the fathers.  The pro-life movement has not only a life-affirming message, but can help those affected by a crisis pregnancy to explore options in order that the child might live.