By James Wilson
Despite
massive propaganda to depict on-demand abortion as a rising tide, the momentum
is in the other direction. Science sides
with the pro-life cause. Chile banned
elective abortions in 1989. The MELISA
Institute has just published a massive study of the fruit of the ban. Maternal deaths in Chile have dropped from
41.3 per 100,000 of population to 12.7 – a decrease of 69%. Legal abortion is not safe, and never has
been. Fewer abortions lead to a lot
fewer maternal deaths from all causes; they always have.
Women
seeking abortions in Chile have decreased by 2% yearly since 2001, creating a
cumulative decrease of about 30%. Dr.
Elard Koch, author and co-leader of the study found 70% of the women seeking
abortions cited fear and coercion as their primary motivation. Koch adds that introduction of education and
support services leads to change in these attitudes between 69% and 94% of the
time – depending on the risk group being assessed.
Chile,
Malta, and Ireland prohibit abortion; all three have a lower maternal mortality
rate than does the most developed nation on earth – America. 56% of worldwide maternal deaths occur in
Africa, where the nations place high restrictions on access to abortion. Yet these deaths per 100,000 occur at less
than half the rate prevailing in the United States. Abortion is deadly for more than just the
pre-born; always has been. But the
pro-life majority in our country is above 80% for 99% of all abortions performed
i. e. abortions for the sake of convenience.
A mere 11% of Americans want unlimited access to abortion throughout the
pregnancy according to polls done by CNN and others as recently as 2013. Yet few Americans seem to have the stomach to
engage the debate. Enter 40 Days for
Life.
Founded
in 2004 this ministry of volunteers conducts semi-annual campaigns of prayer and blessing outside abortion clinics.
They now serve in more than six hundred
cities worldwide, mostly in the US. They
do nothing but bless, pray, and worship, engaging in conversation with those
who approach them. They have accounted
for ninety-seven hundred saved unborn lives – and double that number of parents
finding a new lease on life. Sixty
clinics have closed due to their activities; funding or clients or both
decreasing below the level of bankruptcy.
More than one hundred workers have resigned; appointments drop by 50-75%
when volunteers are on duty. It is
ministries of compassion like this – and pregnancy support centers like Carenet
and LifeLight – that account for the change in American attitudes more than
revelation of the experience of Chile and other nations, and certainly more
than debate.
Of
course there is very little actual debate any more. Planned Parenthood and their surrogates have
been very successful at cutting that off.
When I testified before the California Commission on the Status of Women
regarding the traumatic effects of abortion on the women who have them the Chairperson
asked if I was willing to hear the other side of the question – as though it is
pro-lifers who seek to stifle conversation.
I answered that I would be glad to engage, adding that I had been
listening to the other side for thirty years and was still awaiting my own turn
to speak in such conversations. Glancing
to my right I could see the Planned Parenthood representatives already
scuttling out of the room. When I
encountered their leader the next day in the same building I tried to give her
my card and was curtly informed, “I don’t want to talk to you.”
These
are the same people who indict pro-life witnesses like the 40 Days folks under
anti-racketeering statutes. They seek to
accuse these prayer warriors of clinic bombings and – God knows – there have
been a few such incidents perpetrated by a very few lunatic hangers-on. But the record is clear that violence and
intimidation against life-supporting people dramatically surpasses incidents
against abortion supporters and providers.
It is equally clear the efforts to suppress conversation are all on one
side.
Jesus
says He is the Way and the Truth and the Life – for all; He is just as much in
love with those who defy Him as those who serve Him. He weeps for the former and rejoices in the
latter. He says He came to bring life –
and that abundantly – for all and He specifically includes in His written
record the reality that He knows us in our humanity from within the womb and
onward. The Spring 2015 40 Days for Life
campaign begins February 18. Information
and the opportunity to participate is available at www.40daysforlife.org – and in your own
heart.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living
As Ambassadors of Relationships and The
Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by
e-mailing him at
praynorthstate@charter.net
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