30th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

The American Life League and National Right to Life groups, among others, are hoping a 50,000-strong march and youth concert will show just how much strength they have behind ending the medical procedure that they call murder. They are expecting a morning phone call from President Bush, who is to express his support for the anti-abortion advocates.

The scenes are fairly typical of the past 30 years, marking more than a generation since women have been able to seek abortions without interference.

The all-male Supreme Court ruled 7-2 on Jan. 22, 1973, that a woman's right to choose is based on her constitutional rights to personal liberty, which entails her privacy. The decision overturned state laws banning abortion. Since then, an average of more than 1 million women a year get abortions, among the most common surgical procedures in the United States.

But if the conjectures of late about the future composition of the Supreme Court and recent limits placed on abortion in 34 states are any indication, the Roe decision is facing a crisis in its maturity.

"I would give anything, I mean, I could rest peacefully, I really believe if Roe versus Wade was overturned," said Norma McCorvey, the formerly pro-choice Jane Roe in the landmark case.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,76209,00.html

Originally posted by webmaster:
"I would give anything, I mean, I could rest peacefully, I really believe if Roe versus Wade was overturned," said Norma McCorvey, the formerly pro-choice Jane Roe in the landmark case.

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In my opinion Roe v. Wade was a very poorly reasoned decision based on faulty presuppositions. But overturning the decision will not come close to solving the problem just like making it illegal to own guns will reduce the murder rate...

We have a culture that accepts abortion and does not really respect human life.

What are some ways that we can change the culture of the Western world?

(I'm serious here... I'm not fishing for an argument. Even the few here who are "pro-choice" want to reduce the number of abortions. Please resist the urge to argue against each other.)

[ January 21, 2003, 09:52 PM: Message edited by: Baptist Believer ]

...and the Government needs to step in and affirm that life is life and in America, human beings deserve rights whether they are 1 cell large or 99 years old.

"If women can't control their reproductive lives and the timing and spacing of their children, we are unable to control anything else about our lives we have. We are at the whim of our biology," said Kate Michelman, president of NARAL-Pro Choice America.

Translated:
We're already at the whim of every instict and sexual impulse we have and if someone gets killed over it, oh well, I can't be bothered with that.

Originally posted by AdoptedByGod:
...and the Government needs to step in and affirm that life is life and in America, human beings deserve rights whether they are 1 cell large or 99 years old.

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Certainly... But what can we do to change the culture?

Originally posted by AdoptedByGod:
We're already at the whim of every instict and sexual impulse we have and if someone gets killed over it, oh well, I can't be bothered with that.

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What would be a Christian response to this attitude that would be effective in our culture?

That is a really tough question. For starters, we could deport all pro-choicers. No, wait a minute, that would be illegal, wouldn't it.

I'm sorry for my candor, but I find it hard to be serious without getting really upset over this issue. It really makes me sad.

To think of all of the innocents that weren't even given a chance.

As for me, I will be protesting in my way, with lots of shoe polish on my car windows. I think, being a student at a University, that would be a real eye-opener for other students.

Each semester, for the past few years, our school has Right to Life set up a very large exhibit on the evils of abortion, right in the middle of the campus. God Bless them for trying to change things.

It's one thing to say you are for or against it, but after actually looking at an aborted baby's body, it really sends a shock. I've seen so many people change their views about abortion after seeing this exhibit.

Of course, then there are the sickos who write on the "free speech" board with the display, that they want to kill more babies after seeing it. What monsters!

Anything to curtail abortion is good in my book. I can't wait for the day that God reveals to these people just how heinous these acts of murder are. How repentant will they be then?

God Bless all His little unborn children. Bro. James

Originally posted by Baptist Believer:
What would be a Christian response to this attitude that would be effective in our culture?

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Perhaps a fresh approach is needed instead of battling against the typical wall of semantics pro-choicers crouch behind. Perhaps if we can get them to imagine the possibilities of a human life they would be less proned to destroy it. Perhaps if we start teaching children, teens, and even adults something like this:

Imagine our world if Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers, your significant other and your best friend had all been aborted. I wonder how many friends you and I don't have right now because they were aborted? With 40,000,000+ abortions to date in the US, its a certainty that some of the greatest minds and pioneers and even friends of this age were destroyed before they even had a chance. The next big invention since electricty might have already been "choiced" out of existance. Abortion destroys endless possibilities. Choose Adoption instead.

Originally posted by AdoptedByGod:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Baptist Believer:
What would be a Christian response to this attitude that would be effective in our culture?

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Perhaps a fresh approach is needed instead of battling against the typical wall of semantics pro-choicers crouch behind. Perhaps if we can get them to imagine the possibilities of a human life they would be less proned to destroy it. </font>[/QUOTE]Good... This is the kind of thinking I'm looking for.

In my opinion, one of the most effective pro-life commercials I've ever seen was something I saw a few years ago with a young woman who was aborted... yet survived. She calmly talked about the good things in her life. (I think the DeMoss Foundation sponsored it.)

It made it hard to pretend that the fetus is simply an inanimate lump of tissue.

Let's keep these ideas coming!

Originally posted by Bro. James Reed:
That is a really tough question. For starters, we could deport all pro-choicers. No, wait a minute, that would be illegal, wouldn't it.

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Nope. They would just support aborting children somewhere else.

I'm sorry for my candor, but I find it hard to be serious without getting really upset over this issue. It really makes me sad.

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I understand.

{quote]What would be a Christian response to this attitude that would be effective in our culture?[/quote]

I hear and welcome your question. If our church's are serious about confronting the culture on this issue, there are a number of effective ways of dealing with it. Here are a few that come to mind:

1. I recall a sermon by Tony Evans where he outlined how if each of the 400,000 evangelical churches in the US would adopt a single family on welfare (to teach, train, and assist in finding long term employment), the welfare problem in the US would evaporate in less than 10 years.

Using the same approach, if each church would "adopt" between 3-4 abortion cases (care for the mother, assist in dealing with her problems, and assist in the placement of the "unwanted" unborn child) each year, nearly all of the current abortions go away. Of course, this tactic would force some of us to take a more compassionate (and a way more active role) in this issue.

2. Specifically educate our young to engage the culture (rather than hiding from it). Specifically, teach them how to deal with the arguments from the culture in a wise and loving way that will draw men and women to Christ rather than merely giving them anti-cultural ammo that they can only parrot.

I have a pewter pin that I always wear on my jacket when I go shopping etc. It is two little baby feet the exact size of a 10 week unborn child. People are always asking me what that is and when I tell them, most of them are amazed at the size. I think it makes them do a double take on what is being aborted. I think we need to find a way to make these people realize that these babies are not just blobs and also to realize the sanctity of life.

They've heard all the rhetoric and it hasn't phased them. I sure wish I had a plan.

The youth in our church made 1,000 white crosses, each cross to represent 420 babies. They are placed on the lawn next to our church. We are praying that people driving by will see the enormity of what has happened.

Sue

What can we do to change our culture regarding the issue of abortion?

First, we can vote Pro-Life. As a pastor, I've had to bite my lip upon hearing Christians and Church members talk about whom they would vote for, knowing the canidates mentioned were Pro-Abortion.

Second, we can be an example to the world. When we show others that we love and respect babies, children and the elderly, the world might take us more seriously.

Third, we can write editorials to newspapers and magazines stating the post-problems of abortion, as well educating people on the biological issues of fetal development.

Fourth, we can preach against abortion from the pulpit and we can pray for God's Spirit to change the hearts and minds of people.

May God forgive us for standing idly by while millions of innocents are slaughtered.

Rufus

First, we can vote Pro-Life. As a pastor, I've had to bite my lip upon hearing Christians and Church members talk about whom they would vote for, knowing the canidates mentioned were Pro-Abortion.

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On Chris Matthews HARDBALL (MSNBC) last night - top 6 Democratic contenders slated to speak at NARAL (pro-abort group). The Democratic platform openly embraces a woman's right to "choose" murder of the unborn. ANYTHING for votes.

I wonder just how much innocent BLOOD drips from the hands of our politicians and Supreme Court?

All shall go in front of the judgement seat. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes!

How bout the Presby.,United Methodist, and Lutheran they are ambigous or outright pro abortion. Heard the argument yesterday on FOCUS ON THE FAMILY. Their mission statements on their websites and the lobbying that is done on their behalf is pro abortion.

May God Bless

Jon

In 2000, researchers at the Alan Guttmacher Institute say, there were 1,819 physicians performing abortions, down from 2,000 four years earlier. The new survey, released on the eve of today's 30th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, also found that 87 percent of the counties in the United States do not have a single abortion provider.

That sounds good, but unfortunately, most abortion providers are in big metro cities. So, in effect, the wouldn't be in most counties.

This whole issue is very sad. I believe this country will never get back on the right path after God until it realizes just how sinful these actions are.

some thoughts occurred to me as I read this thread:

1. "at the mercy of our biology" -- excuse me, but that means that some women are telling others they do not have the ability to rise above their 'animal instincts' and say 'no'? I fully and entirely resent that insult to women, being one of them myself!

2. abortions are down, and significantly. That does need to be mentioned. Inroads are being made. Some actresses are even coming out and saying 'stop!' They are describing the horrid effects their own abortions had on them. This is a very, very good bit of progress.

3. there are times now, in courts, where someone who causes an accident (auto) where a pregnant woman loses her child are being prosecuted for the murder or manslaughter of the fetus. This double-talk cannot last for long. People know that is a person -- a little baby -- growing inside mama.

4. I honestly am not that concerned with what other women do with their own bodies. I have a Mom that has smoked and drunk herself to 81 years old and spends the majority of her time talking about herself. Some women engage in extreme sports and kill themselves. Some women play marriage-go-round. It's not what they do to their own bodies that bothers me, really.

It's what they do to that little body growing inside of them....

Originally posted by webmaster:
In 2000, researchers at the Alan Guttmacher Institute say, there were 1,819 physicians performing abortions, down from 2,000 four years earlier. The new survey, released on the eve of today's 30th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, also found that 87 percent of the counties in the United States do not have a single abortion provider.

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If abortions are in fact decreasing and we are winning the battle, we should still be all the more vigilant.

I agree with others here who have said that we must change the culture, not just the symptoms of the culture. We must find ways to eliminate the root cause of the problem, otherwise it will mutate and reinvent itself in another form.
RU-486 (no I'm against it) is an example of this.

We must develop effective ways to teach others that all life is sacred and wanted. Selfishness is another big factor in abortion. We must show others that abortion is selfish. We must teach people to take responsibility for their actions, not just getting rid of the problem. The more I think about it - Abortion is an extremely childish reaction to a problem. Hey that would make a good slogan..

"Abortion - One child killing another"

[ January 23, 2003, 11:43 AM: Message edited by: AdoptedByGod ]