Nearly 1 Million babies will be aborted in America this year!!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

REPUBLICANS ARE PRO-LIFE!

by Steve Fair

     The U.S. Constitution provides for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every American- except the unborn.  Since the Roe Vs. Wade ruling in 1973, the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that advocates on issues of sexual and reproductive health, calculates 54 million babies have been aborted in America.  The current population in the U.S. is 320 million, so America has aborted 17% of our population in the past half century.  Based on data from the Center for Disease Control, an estimated 977,000 abortions took place in 2014.  The CDC says that unmarried women account for 85.3% of all abortions. 

     The Guttmacher Institute found black women are five times more likely to have an abortion than white women.  According to blackgenocide.org, 15.5 million black babies have been aborted since Roe v Wade became the law of the land. The founder of the web site, Rev. Clenard Childress Jr. says, “Minority women constitute only about 13% of the female population (age 15-44) in the United States, but they underwent approximately 36% of the abortions. On average, 1,876 black babies are aborted every day in the United States.” 

     Both the Democrat and Republican Parties have strong language about abortion in their platforms.  The 2012 Democrat platform says: The Democrat Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy, including a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay. The 2012 Republican Party platform says: We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed.  Four observations about the life debate:

     First, life begins at conception.  For years that was a heavily debated issue, but even the liberals now, for the most part, concede life has a beginning and it is at conception.  Dr. Alfred M. Bongioanni, professor of pediatrics and obstetrics at the University of Pennsylvania, said at a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing: “I have learned from my earliest medical education that human life begins at the time of conception…. I submit that human life is present throughout this entire sequence from conception to adulthood and that any interruption at any point throughout this time constitutes a termination of human life.”  When an abortion is performed it terminates life.

     Second, God gives life.  While it is a women’s body and it can be debated if another person has a right to tell her what to do with it, clearly God does have that right.  He is the Creator and as such can dictate to his creatures.  Exodus 21, Psalms 139, and Jeremiah 1 are just some of the passages where the sanctity of life in the womb is addressed.  If Americans think God will bless our nation as we continue to kill those in the womb, they have little knowledge of who their Creator is.

     Third, politicians haven’t moved the needle much on this issue.  For decades, politicians on both sides of this issue passionately campaign on one side of the issue or the other, yet little has changed.  One side will gain a victory in legislation or in a court ruling and then the other side will win one.  But steadily each year nearly 1 million children die in America before they are given the chance to live.  More or better legislation may help, but as President Lincoln said about legislation:  "No law can give me the right to do what is wrong."  The real key to stopping abortion is reaching the women who are carrying the child and convincing them to choose life for the child.  Options such as adoption instead of abortion should be promoted and discussed. 

     Fourth, there is a clear difference in the two Parties on this issue.  Granted there are some Democrats who are pro-life, but why?  If your Party is wrong on this important issue, then why are you still aligned with that Party.  If you are a pro-choice Republican, why are you an R?  Align with the Party that agrees with you on the issues.  Where a person stands on when life begins is fundamental to defining them.  Party affiliation can be changed by visiting the Oklahoma State Election Board website and accessing the registration form or you can email hopecsut@gmail.com.