For most of our history as a nation there has been an incontrovertible truth honored in the Declaration of Independence and settled in the established laws of our land-life is sacred and precious. Stories of mass murder, graves with thousands of bodies and systematic elimination of those deemed undesirable for political, socioeconomic and prejudicial reasons have not been a part of our history.
The story line changed in 1973 when the Supreme Court declared that life was no longer sacred and precious for the unborn. Since that time unborn children have been systematically torn from their mothers’ wombs and cast away as biomedical waste. Their only “crime” was being conceived. The single difference in them and us is time-time for maturation.
The approaches to abortion have become more and more unthinkable. In polite company, one would not describe the horrific procedures practiced to destroy human life through abortion. When pro-life advocates produced pictures of mutilated bodies of aborted fetuses, they were dismissed as crazies by death doctors, feminists and liberal politicians who favored death rather than life. But those pictures exposed the truth.
Among the most unbelievable practices was the partial-birth abortion. A baby capable of live birth would be partially delivered. Before the head emerged from the womb the doctor would insert an instrument to collapse the head, thus killing the baby.
In a 5-4 decision, the Roberts court has issued a judgment that allows states to stop partial-birth abortion. For the first time since 1973, the sanctity of human life has been restored for at least a few unborn children. They will no longer face death at the hands of “medical professionals” (death doctors) who have failed to fulfill their oath, which states “first do no harm.” Finally, our government has turned back toward holding life as precious.
In the same week Gov. Henry vetoed a bill that would eliminate state funding for abortions. The veto language and that of those who supported the veto sounded strangely familiar. Life is precious except when it involves a poor person who wants an abortion. Babies in the womb are sacred unless they are perceived to have flaws. Children deserve to live unless conceived in the wrong circumstance. These old and tired arguments have been used since 1973 to support the destruction of innocent life.
Until recent years, Oklahoma has lagged behind in the protection of the unborn. Powerful politicians have stopped the passage of any bills that gave the unborn the right to life. The tide has changed. The senate and house both approved the bill that was rejected by the governor. I am hopeful his veto will be overridden and our state will take one step further toward giving every child the right to life.
Each day as I pray for my children I rejoice that they survived the pro-death crowd and the abortionist. I cannot imagine a law that would have forced me through my taxes to pay for their biological mothers to kill them. Bless the Lord, their biological mothers chose the inconvenience and stress of carrying a child to term.
Abortion kills a baby. Never forget that truth.
