In my years serving as editor, I have written about the issue of abortion and for protecting unborn life on many occasions. Today, as I write about the same topic, it is amid a new day for the unborn in this country.
We find ourselves, by the grace of God, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the infamous 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Justice Samuel Alito composed the court’s majority opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson case, which effectively overturned Roe and also Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
He said, “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any provision in the Constitution. Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.”
Amen to that. Indeed Roe was wrong from the start, and it unleashed abortion on this country, tragically costing tens of millions of preborn lives and harming untold women in the process.
Oklahoma Baptists’ executive director Todd Fisher, in the hours that followed the historic decision said, “Christians have been praying and working for 50 years to see this day in our nation. I am grateful to God and overjoyed at this historic decision! There is still much work to do among the states and to double our efforts in loving and caring for mothers, fathers and children, but today we humbly rejoice over this decision!”
Dr. Fisher is right. This is a moment to rejoice and thank God. According to credible news reports, some 26 states are poised to radically curtail or altogether eliminate legalized abortion, including right here in Oklahoma. That means the lives of countless unborn boys and girls will be spared. He’s also right that this is a time to re-double our longstanding efforts toward ministry.
Thankfully, Oklahoma Baptists have been a leader in crisis pregnancy support ministry since the 1980s. Through Hope Pregnancy Centers and ministries like them—some 40 evangelical-based ministries across Oklahoma—we are well positioned to continue to serve the unborn and women in need with the love of Christ and the Good News. Moreover, Oklahoma Baptists have also become a leader in the areas of adoption and foster care, which are vital to the continued needs and this conversation.
Jesus said, “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that they may have life and life abundantly” (John 10:10). In this moment after Roe, we recognize that stark juxtaposition of death versus life.
The late, great pastor Adrian Rogers said the blueprint of Satan—to kill the babies—was seen on display many times: in Pharoah’s Egypt; in Herod’s evil order during the time of Christ; and with the abortion industry in modern times. Certainly the thief of legalized abortion has killed and destroyed.
But thanks be to God, Jesus has come to offer life and life abundant!
Today, we rejoice as Roe is no more. Tomorrow, we set about the work of making sure there’s life for all after Roe.
