The January 14th dition of TIME magazine featured a startling admission.
Did you see it? Here’s the image:
The writer of the feature, Kate Pickert, suggests that abortion is losing ground in America because pro-life legislation has made it less accessible. I believe she’s partly correct. After years and years of toiling away at the task of defending the sanctity of life, the remarkable and heroic efforts of dedicated pro-lifers are bearing fruit each and every day throughout this country.
The other part of the story is the wonderful and loving efforts of the 2,500 pregnancy resource centers across the nation which minister to women on a one-on-one basis. In both these arenas, the legislative and on-the-ground ministry, the untold and unsung heroes of the pro-life movement are making the difference between the life and death of innocent children and the emotional, spiritual, and even physical well-being of their mothers.
One of the challenges associated with our ongoing efforts is that it’s difficult to fully appreciate something you don’t see. What do I mean by that? When an abortion-minded woman has her heart changed and decides to carry her baby to term, we don’t usually find out about it. As we all know, abortions continue at gut-wrenching rates, but I believe those rates would be significantly higher if not for the tireless work of these champions of life.
Saturday’s New York Times featured a front-page story heralding the growing influence of pregnancy centers across America. Such centers serve as the practical and life-affirming alternative to Planned Parenthood clinics, offering counseling, parenting classes and ultrasound exams, among other helpful service and caring support. Focus on the Family has been promoting the use of ultrasound technology at pregnancy resource centers for years because we know that when abortion-minded women see an image of their baby they’re far less likely to have an abortion.
As quoted in Saturday’s article:
One pregnant woman, Nasya Dotie, 21, single, worried about finishing college and disappointing her parents, said she was “almost positive I was going to have an abortion."
A friend at her Christian university suggested visiting Care Net of Central Texas. She met with a counselor, went home and considered her options. She returned for an ultrasound, and though planning not to look at the screen, when a clinician offered, she agreed. Then, “I was like, ‘That’s my baby. I can’t not have him.’”
The story went on to quote Care Net's chief executive, Deborah McGregor, who said that 94 percent of women receiving ultrasounds in their clinics decide against abortion. “It goes from a baby to my baby,” she told the reporter.
Yes, it’s true that abortion has been legal in the United States since 1973, but I also believe that more Americans are agreeing with us that, simply put, life is the better choice. Even more importantly, there seems to be a growing sense of appreciation that life is God’s gift to us and that we’re all made in His image.
The Lord is on the side of life. Pro-lifers are on the side of the Lord. Technology is on the side of life. And now I think we can seize the opportunity to begin to further prove that life is the better choice and, at some point, I pray, the only choice.
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