How to End Abortion

Ever since Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton forced legal abortion on the entire United States, pro-life people have been trying to end it. Not to minimize the efforts of persuading individuals to keep their babies (after all, that's what our billboards are all about), at some point we need a law that bans abortion. Here are some ways to get there.

1. Supreme Court
The most obvious solution is to change the Supreme Court justices until they will overturn the laws and court decisions upholding abortion, and either ban it or allow states to ban it. We've been trying that ever since 1973. We're closer than we've ever been, but with the current administration, any progress looks blocked for several years.

2. Constitutional Amendment
An amendment to the U.S. Constitution either banning abortion or allowing states to ban abortion is another obvious solution. But constitutional amendments require overwhelming popular and legislative support. This cannot happen until a large majority of the people demand an end to abortion.

3. U.S. Congress
If Congress simply bans abortion, the Supreme Court will rule it unconstitutional (see point 1). But Congress could first remove it from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 3, Section 2 of the Constitution, opening the door to either state bans or a federal ban.

Congress could also declare that personhood under the 14th Amendment vests at fertilization, and therefore abortion is banned. This undermines the reasoning of Roe vs. Wade. It is difficult to say what the Supreme Court would do with such a law. But with the current composition, it is likely the majority would find some reason to overturn it.

Both of these questions should be asked of every candidate for U.S. Congress (House or Senate).

4. State Legislatures
The state legislatures can pass a law or constitutional amendment declaring that personhood vests at fertilization, and therefore, abortion is illegal. (Doing it outside the context of abortion, as some current "personhood legislation" does, doesn't really accomplish anything, because it will not be interpreted by the courts to apply to abortion unless the law is explicit.) Just like a federal ban based on the personhood of the unborn, a state law would likely be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Then the state legislatures would have the opportunity to assert their 10th Amendment reserved powers and defy the U.S. Supreme Court and federal government. That would require the legislature and governor being willing to go without federal money for roads, education, unemployment, welfare, and every other kind of federal aid. It might require a willingness to call up the National Guard to resist Federal Marshals ordered to keep abortion facilities open.

Such a move would require a governor and a majority in the legislature with unusual courage. It would require a majority of citizens to stand with their state leaders and deal with the loss of federal funds. I don't think it would require secession--just a state (or a few states) willing to assert their constitutional powers (popularly called "states' rights").

Every candidate for state representative, state senator, or governor, should answer whether he is willing to stand up to the federal government to protect the unborn.

5. Revival
I've listed every plan I'm aware of to make child murder illegal in our country, or even in a single state. All approaches require widespread popular support, which can only come as a result of spiritual renewal, or revival. Revival is not a fifth option I am suggesting. It is necessary for any of the approaches above. So let's get on our knees before God; then go out and arouse our friends, neighbors, and families to a holy hatred of this child slaughter; and pursue not one of these strategies, but all of them.

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Wesley Wilson is the President of Let Her Live, a nonprofit dedicated to saving babies by showing the beauty and value of life to women considering abortion. Please learn more about the Let Her Live pro-life billboard campaign. Donations are tax deductible.

The Life or Health Exception Smokescreen

Sometimes people will object to protecting human life starting at fertilization on the grounds that abortion needs to be available when the mother's life is in danger, the mother's health is in danger, or the baby's health is in danger. Let's look at these in reverse order.

The Baby's Health
Many mothers have been told they need to abort the pregnancy (kill the baby) because the baby has a health problem (Down syndrome, missing a vital organ such as the brain, or even a mild health problem), is at risk for a health problem, or would be placed at risk if the mother received treatment for something like cancer.

If the baby is certain to have a health problem, does it justify taking his or her life? No. Human life is valuable not because of our abilities, but because we are made in the image of God. Humans have intrinsic worth apart from their abilities. Murder is still murder whether the victim is disabled or not. Sometimes a baby with a serious condition will be stillborn. Sometimes the baby dies within hours or weeks of birth. And other times the doctor was wrong (or perhaps he was right, but God healed the baby) and the baby is completely normal.

If the baby is simply at risk for health problems, or the baby would be placed at risk by the mother's treatment (more on this when we look at the mother's life), there is also a chance (sometimes the vast majority of the time, depending on the treatment) that the baby will be fine.

For most people, aborting because of the baby's health is about the inconvenience to the parents of having a disabled baby. How many really say, my child would be better off dead than living with the condition that the doctor believes he has or might have? Probably not many.

The Mother's Health
Allowing abortion to protect the mother's health is a smokescreen for permitting nearly all abortions, because health can be defined to include mental health, which can include stress--and what baby doesn't increase stress?

But using a narrower definition of health, abortion is still unacceptable. How can you justify killing one person to prevent possible health problems to another? You simply can't.

The Mother's Life
If a mother's life is endangered by carrying a baby to term, is abortion justified? Let's look at some examples.

1. In an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, the baby attaches outside the uterus, typically to the fallopian tubes. Without intervention, both the mother and baby will die. There is no competing interest between the mother and baby. The baby will die. The baby must be removed to save the mother's life. This is not a standard abortion procedure. Many would not consider it abortion.

2. Some mothers have been diagnosed with cancer while pregnant. Many (especially in early stages of pregnancy) are told they need to abort. Why? Not because the pregnancy endangers the mother, but that the treatments could endanger the baby. So kill the baby to prevent possibly harming or killing the baby. That only makes sense to someone more concerned about liability and lawsuits than their patients.

Doctors cause two tragedies when they tell a woman if she takes a treatment, she needs to abort her baby. First, some women will kill the baby, when both mother and baby could be fine. Second, some women refuse lifesaving treatment, when both mother and baby could have been fine.

3. Eclampsia usually occurs after viability, so delivering the baby (usually by C-section) is a good option.
Christina Dunigan documents that even pro-abortion doctors, as well as other groups of gynecologists, find no need for abortion to save the mother's life:

Planned Parenthood Medical Director Mary Calderone wrote "[M]edically speaking, that is, from the point of view of diseases of the various systems, cardiac, genitourinary, and so on, it is hardly ever necessary today to consider the life of a mother as threatened by a pregnancy." Dr. Alan Guttmacher, another former leader of Planned Parenthood, said in 1967, "Today it is possible for almost any patient to be brought through pregnancy alive, unless she suffers from a fatal illness such as cancer or leukemia, and if so, abortion would be unlikely to prolong, much less save life."

Again, quoting from the U.K.-based Society for the Protection of Unborn Children:

In 1992, a group of Ireland's top gynaecologists wrote: "We affirm that there are no medical circumstances justifying direct abortion, that is, no circumstances in which the life of a mother may only be saved by directly terminating the life of her unborn child." (John Bonner, Eamon O'Dwyer, David Jenkins, Kieran O'Driscoll, Julia Vaughan, 'Statement by Obstetricians', The Irish Times 1 April 1992)

When Dublin's National Maternity Hospital (where 10% of all births in Ireland occurred) investigated the 21 deaths of pregnant women there between 1970-1979, they found that not a single one of those deaths could have been avoided by abortion. (Irish Medical Journal 1982 vol. 75, pp. 304-306)

What if there were ever a situation where one life was weighed against another--where either the mother or baby could live, but not both? Such a situation does not appear to exist. Some have argued that the mother could view killing her baby as self-defense, and therefore justifiable homicide. But that isn't a debate we need to have until we find a case it could apply to.

To reiterate, treating the mother is morally acceptable, even if harm occurs to the baby as a result. And removing an ectopic baby whose life cannot be saved, in order to save the one life that can be saved (the mother's), is perfectly ethical. Once again, the SPUC says it well:

Direct abortion is the deliberate killing of an unborn child. Treatment to save the life of the mother that results in the death of the child as an expected but not intended side effect is not a direct abortion, e.g. in the case of an ectopic pregnancy. In this situation, the baby begins to develop in the woman's fallopian tube and has to be removed or the tube will rupture and cause the death of the woman. This involves the unavoidable death of the unborn baby but the aim of the operation is to save the mother not to kill the baby.

Let's not get pulled into the trap of making exceptions where we excuse the deliberate killing of the baby.

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Wesley Wilson is the President of Let Her Live, a nonprofit dedicated to saving babies by showing the beauty and value of life to women considering abortion. Please learn more about the Let Her Live pro-life billboard campaign. Donations are tax deductible.

Now Who Wants to Put Mothers in Jail?

You don't have to be in the pro-life movement long before people start trying to make you look mean-spirited and cruel. "You think abortion should be illegal? So you want to put women in jail just for having an abortion?"

This time it isn't a pro-life activist saying women should go to jail for something that half the population believes should be legal. It's Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in her version of the Obama health care bill.

Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

(Read the full press release here.)

The bill makes refusal to pay a felony in some cases.

And let's not forget that part of those premiums include money for abortions, as detailed here.

So some people of conscience will refuse to pay for abortions, and therefore will refuse to buy the insurance, becoming felons, which means they go to jail and can no longer vote in most states or own guns. Maybe that's the real Pelosi plan?

Whether Pelosi has seen that outcome of her policy or not, this is certainly one of the bills that will be remembered as destroying individual freedom. If it passes. Let's pray that it does not. And if you have a Congressman who might even think about voting for it, call him or her immediately.

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Wesley Wilson is the President of Let Her Live, a nonprofit dedicated to saving babies by showing the beauty and value of life to women considering abortion. Please learn more about the Let Her Live pro-life billboard campaign. Donations are tax deductible.

The Church Impotent

Theologians refer to the Church on earth as the Church Militant, and believers who have gone to heaven as the Church Triumphant. Too many American Christians are neither militant nor triumphant. I can only think to call them either the Church Impotent or the Church Complacent.

Why do we lack power with God and man? Is it that we, like the hypocrites of Christ's day, have replaced obedience to God with our church programs and religious observances--or worse yet, have we replaced obedience with worldly pursuits?

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Matthew 23:23

Jesus did not criticize their carefulness to observe the smallest religious details (paying tithes of even their spices), but He condemned their gross neglect of what is truly important--justice, mercy, and faith.

Justice. When was the last time you heard a sermon on seeking justice? I spoke with a pastor a few months ago about the response of Christians to abortion, and I said that we need to fight evil. He said it isn't the job of the Church to fight evil. Perhaps he was making a distinction between the church as a corporate body and individual Christians. But Jesus said we need to do justice. God hates the shedding of innocent blood, and so should His people. Father, deliver us from our silence about injustice.

Mercy. We think of mercy as the opposite of justice. Biblical mercy is not. When the Bible speaks of mercy, we could usually substitute the word compassion. A good example is found after the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) where Jesus asks the lawyer which of the three passersby was a neighbor to the injured man. The lawyer correctly responded, "He that showed mercy." So when Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy," He wasn't telling us to feel bad when criminals are justly punished. He wants us to demonstrate compassion toward those in need. The criteria for judgment of the "sheep" and the "goats" in Matthew 25:31-46 is primarily about how we have demonstrated mercy to the "least of these."

Faith. How much do we really believe God? Do we believe that all authority in heaven and earth belongs to Jesus, or not? Do we believe that He wants to give us good gifts? If we know God's will about evil (He hates it), why don't we pray that it would cease? We have not because we ask not, or we waste our time asking for nice things for ourselves, rather than for the triumph of God's kingdom. The promises on prayer in Scripture are astounding. Why don't we dare to test them? Because we lack the faith.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief.

If we would be obedient to our Lord and have the power we need to advance His kingdom and bring glory to His name, let us pursue justice for the evildoers, show compassion to those in need, and pray to God for all things with confidence in Christ.

Applying justice to abortion, let us seek to end the legality of abortion, drive abortionists out of business, dissuade those who seek abortions (or pressure others into abortions), and make abortion unthinkable to our society.

Mercy compels us to show compassion to the babies whose lives are at risk, to the mothers who are contemplating abortion, and to the women who have been wounded by abortion. Let's not fail to show compassion to the abortionists either as we pray for their conversion and that they may turn from their killing and find God's forgiveness before they stand before Him in the judgment.

Finally, let us resolve to seek God in prayer. Let's pray for justice. Let's pray with compassion. But above all, let us pray with an unwavering faith in Jesus Christ.

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Wesley Wilson is the President of Let Her Live, a nonprofit dedicated to saving babies by showing the beauty and value of life to women considering abortion. Please learn more about the Let Her Live pro-life billboard campaign. Donations are tax deductible.

Florida Abortion Clinic Owner Kills Baby After Premature Birth

They're calling it a botched abortion. In reality the abortion had not really begun. The young mother, Sycloria Williams, went into labor at the abortion clinic before the abortion doctor arrived, and gave birth to her 23-week baby. That's when, according to Williams, one of the abortion clinic owners, Belkis Gonzalez, murdered her baby. From the news story:

She says Gonzalez knocked the baby off the recliner chair where she had given birth, onto the floor. The baby's umbilical cord was not clamped, allowing her to bleed out. Gonzalez scooped the baby, placenta and afterbirth into a red plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.

Is anyone really shocked? The result was the same as every other day at this abortion clinic--a dead baby went in the trash. That is what they do. The only difference is that Williams saw her baby alive outside the womb first. If Williams had been sedated, there would be no lawsuit, no news story. Just another day at the abortion clinic.

What is the moral or ethical difference between this murder and any other abortion? The only ethical difference anyone can argue is the mother's desire. In fact, depending on the wording of Florida law, that could be the only legal difference. Killing a baby (even in the womb) is illegal in many states, unless the mother wants to kill it by abortion.

Our laws place the life and death of one individual in the hands of another, and that is immoral.

As a side note, some pro-life people think laws to protect survivors of abortion are at best a waste of time. This case shows otherwise. The law would protect this infant's life, or if ignored, it provides a way to put the murderer, Belkis Gonzalez, behind bars.

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Wesley Wilson is the President of Let Her Live, a nonprofit dedicated to saving babies by showing the beauty and value of life to women considering abortion. Please learn more about the Let Her Live pro-life billboard campaign. Donations are tax deductible.

What FOCA REALLY Means

When he was running for president, Barack Obama promised that one of the first bills he would sign into law would be FOCA. What do those innocuous sounding letters stand for? Proponents tell us that it means Freedom of Choice Act. Of course, choice does not refer to freedom in choosing education, health care, or unions. It means only the freedom to abort unborn children.

What FOCA really means is Fill Our Coffers Again. This is payback to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers for all of their donations to the Democrat Party over the years. State laws protecting youngsters from being taken across state lines by non-guardians or requiring parental consent, laws authorizing women to have the medical facts about abortion risks or the baby’s development have decreased the profits for those who pay for their Porsches by performing abortions. FOCA will increase their incomes. At least, that is what they hope.

FOCA also means Fool Our Children to Abort. Even with state laws intact, Planned Parenthood in several states is being investigated, charged, or tried for concealing abortions on young people who have undergone statutory rape or incest by older men. Lifting the laws that protect these children will help business for the aborters., who will profit from the pain, fear, and rape of girls who have to get parental permission to have their ears pierced or borrow an aspirin from a friend at school. Parents who have no idea what has happened to their daughters will have to try to pick up the pieces of their daughters’ shattered lives.

FOCA could also mean Force Our Citizens to Abort. This could open up the use of your tax dollars and mine to pay for abortions for poor women. We’ve fought it for years. What it could also mean is pressure on women on Medicaid to abort whether they want to or not. One of the dirty little secrets is that most abortions are committed on minorities. How painfully ironic if Barack Obama becomes the King of the Abortion Promoters!

One thing that FOCA will surely do is Fragment Our Culture over Abortion. Though abortion has been a stressor in our society for over thirty years now, FOCA will remove the safeguards. Freedom of speech and the promise that peaceful political changes would save lives of the unborn have been a safety valve. Both sides could influence the culture. FOCA undermines thirty years of work and the opinions of the people worked out in their own states. When the chance for peaceful change is taken away by the elitists in Washington who know better than we little people what is good for us, what remains?

If FOCA passes, citizens in two years need to remember to Fire Our Congressional Abortucrats, those congressmen and senators who keep their positions by voting as the party or the big abortion proponents tell them. Until President Obama’s honeymoon is over, congressmen and senators will be pressured to rubberstamp what he wants. Moderates in the Democrat Party will feel extra strong pressure, but even conservatives will be pressured to vote for FOCA. If you oppose the elitists stepping in and undermining years of safeguards, contact your representative and senators now. If we ask them to hold the line against the liberal media’s assaults, we need to let them and the media know that we stand for life with them and that we hold them accountable.

Debbie W. Wilson

Debbie W. Wilson is a human rights advocate, speaker, and author of Christy Award-winning thriller Tiger in the Shadows. Her weekly prayer list for the persecuted church can be found on the home page of Bound Together Ministries.

The Post-Election Road to Pro-Life Victory

The recent election is a significant setback for the legislative efforts of the pro-life movement. We have the most pro-abortion president ever, one of the most pro-abortion Congresses ever, and a defeat for several ballot initiatives that would have protected life. But the pro-life movement is not conquered.

The pro-life movement is still strong, and we need to focus on continuing to lay the groundwork for the ultimate triumph of life. We fight this war on four fronts primarily: Political, cultural, personal, and spiritual. I believe the path forward in each area is clear.

Political

The loss of power by the Republican party is a rejection of a party that failed to carry through on its promises of smaller government and fiscal responsibility. It is also the rejection of a party that happened to control the presidency during an economic downturn. It is not a rejection of conservatism or the pro-life agenda. Abortion was simply not a major issue in this election, compared to the economy and world turmoil. So those involved in a political party need to push it to embrace and promote a pro-life agenda.

That agenda at the state level needs to include both incrementalism and aiming for our ultimate goal. We need to fire a barrage of regulations and limitations at the abortion industry. We also need to work for a Personhood Amendment in every state where it is remotely possible. If you favor the incremental approach, fine, but be supportive of the efforts of the purists. And if you favor an all-or-nothing approach, that's fine, but don't sabotage the incrementalists.

The "pro-life purists" who opposed the South Dakota abortion ban this year because it had an exception for rape and incest have blood on their hands. May they repent of this evil. What would you think of a lifeguard who refused to save nine drowning men because he couldn't save all ten?

At the federal level, we need to mount a vigorous defense. Even strongly pro-abortion congressmen want to get re-elected. We must inundate Congress with our voices of opposition to pro-abortion legislation, such as the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).

Cultural

The successful education campaign about partial-birth abortion and the resulting ban which was upheld by the US Supreme Court may have saved relatively few lives, but that effort showed Americans that abortion can be horribly cruel and ghastly. The vast majority of Americans oppose it because of that campaign. Now we have to show the country that other types of abortion are also cruel and ghastly, until we build a consensus that all abortion must be stopped.

Winning the hearts and minds of the country is not just about the horrors of abortion. It is also about the beauty of God's gift of life. Personally, I think showing ads of a 14-week ultrasound with a clearly visible skeleton, arms and legs waving, and obvious heartbeat, would do much more than showing the gruesome results of abortion. That's the approach that Let Her Live takes with our pro-life billboards in the immediate vicinity of abortion clinics.

We cannot achieve lasting victory in the political arena without building the cultural support for it.

Personal

The crisis pregnancy centers that help pregnant girls and women in difficult situations save thousands of babies every year. They deserve our full support in both money and time as volunteers. If you are in the medical profession and can help a crisis pregnancy center move to the medical model, where it can offer ultrasounds under the authority of a medical doctor and qualified nurses, please do so. So many women become attached to their babies when they see it on ultrasound.

We will never achieve cultural support for life without continuing to offer loving care to women in need.

Spiritual

If we want power, we must have prayer. God's people must humble themselves before him and seek his face. I'm talking about brokenness over our sin and over our callous disregard for our fellowman. There is no room for harboring pet sins. God must have total rule in our lives.

We can be as active as we want, but we will never defeat the forces of evil in our own strength. Until the hand of God moves, we will gain as much ground as if we are running on a treadmill. I think that's how some people feel about the pro-life movement. I'm not talking about spending ten minutes in prayer every day and spending one or two sentences asking God to save babies and end abortion. We must earnestly plead with God to see His will accomplished in the fulfillment of His Word.

The 40 Days for Life campaign is doing good, but we must not pray during those 40 days only. We need to make it a habit of our lives to seek the face of God. For many, picking one day every week to fast and spend extra time in prayer would be in order.

Achieving Victory

I've addressed the fronts of this war from the top down, but victory comes from the bottom up. Spiritual renewal leads to touching the lives of individuals with the love of Christ, which leads to a culture that grows to respect life and eventually demands laws that reflect their values. Whatever front you are fighting on, do not give up. And make sure that you do not neglect the spiritual arena, for it is the key to victory on every front.

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Wesley Wilson is the President of Let Her Live, a nonprofit dedicated to saving babies by showing the beauty and value of life to women considering abortion. Please learn more about the Let Her Live pro-life billboard campaign. Donations are tax deductible.

McCain and Obama Statements on Abortion (from Baptist Press)

Michael Foust, assistant editor of Baptist Press, has compiled statements from Senators McCain and Obama relating to various issues including abortion here.

BARACK OBAMA

-- What Obama thinks about Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion (taken from his website): "Barack Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case" (BarackObama.com).

-- What Obama thought about the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the federal ban on partial-birth abortion: "I strongly disagree with today's Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women. As Justice Ginsburg emphasized in her dissenting opinion, this ruling signals an alarming willingness on the part of the conservative majority to disregard its prior rulings respecting a woman's medical concerns and the very personal decisions between a doctor and patient. I am extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman's right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women" (Obama campaign statement, April 18, 2007).

-- Obama answering at what point “does a baby get human rights?”: "I think that whether you're looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade. But let me just speak more generally about the issue of abortion, because this is something obviously the country wrestles with. One thing that I'm absolutely convinced of is that there is a moral and ethical element to this issue. And so I think anybody who tries to deny the moral difficulties and gravity of the abortion issue, I think, is not paying attention" (Saddleback presidential forum, Aug. 16, 2008).

-- What Obama says about how his administration would approach the abortion issue: "I've made it ... clear that I will never back down from making sure that women have their reproductive rights here in this country. That's what's at stake in this election" (New York fundraiser, July 10, 2008). "The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act (a bill that would overturn abortion restrictions and guarantee that abortion remains legal, even if Roe is overturned)" (Speech to Planned Parenthood, July 17, 2007).

-- What Obama thinks about John McCain's views on abortion: "Sen. McCain has made it abundantly clear that he wants to appoint justices like [Supreme Court Justices John] Roberts and [Samuel] Alito and that he hopes to see Roe overturned. I was proud to get Planned Parenthood's endorsement [this summer], but I have to say that when you look who's got a 100 percent rating from Planned Parenthood, and you've got another candidate [McCain] with a zero percent rating from Planned Parenthood, then it's not really a nail-biter [in deciding whom to support]. I stand by my votes against confirming Justices [John] Roberts and [Samuel] Alito" (Speech, July 10, 2008).

JOHN MCCAIN

-- What McCain thinks about Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion (taken from his website): "John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench. Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat" (JohnMcCain.com).

-- What McCain thought about the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a federal ban on partial-birth abortion: "Today's Supreme Court ruling is a victory for those who cherish the sanctity of life and integrity of the judiciary. The ruling ensures that an unacceptable and unjustifiable practice will not be carried out on our innocent children. It also clearly speaks to the importance of nominating and confirming strict constructionist judges who interpret the law as it is written, and do not usurp the authority of Congress and state legislatures. As we move forward, it is critically important that our party continues to stand on the side of life" (McCain campaign statement, April 18, 2008).

-- McCain answering at what point “does a baby get human rights?”: "At the moment of conception." (Saddleback presidential forum, Aug. 16, 2008).

-- What McCain says about how his administration would approach the abortion issue: "I have a 25-year pro-life record in the Congress [and] in the Senate. And as president of the United States, I will be a pro-life president. And this presidency will have pro-life policies.... That's my commitment to you" (Saddleback presidential forum, Aug. 16, 2008).

-- What McCain thinks about Barack Obama's views on abortion: "In 2002, Congress unanimously passed a federal law to require medical care for babies who survive abortions -- living, breathing babies whom Sen. Obama described as, quote, 'previable.' This merciful law was called the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. Illinois had a version of the same law, and Barack Obama voted against it. At Saddleback, he assured a reporter that he'd have voted 'yes' on that bill if it had contained language similar to the federal version of the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. Even though the language of both the state and federal bills was identical, Senator Obama said people were, quote, 'lying' about his record. When that record was later produced, he dropped the subject but didn't withdraw the slander. And now even Senator Obama's campaign has conceded that his claims and accusations were false.... His extreme advocacy in favor of partial birth abortion and his refusal to provide medical care for babies surviving abortion should be of grave concern to reasonable people of goodwill on both sides of this issue" (John McCain weekly radio address, Aug. 23, 2008).

Abortion and God's Forgiveness

"Will God forgive me if I have an abortion?" It's a question many women have. I didn't realize how common a question it is until I wrote about this subject last time. Perhaps you are thinking about an abortion or already had one and are wondering about this. If so, please keep reading, and I think you'll find your answer.

If you are asking this question, you already know that God views abortion as a sin--as murder in fact. So the question is, what is God's criteria for forgiveness of a sin? Or more simply: What do I need to do to be forgiven?

In a word, Repent. To repent is to change your mind about your actions so completely that you change your actions. Part of that is being sorry for what you've done. Not just sorry for the circumstances that you feel forced you into doing it, but sorry that you did it, regardless of the circumstances.

Some people will think about a sin (abortion or something else), decide that they will repent the next day, and go ahead and do it. Perhaps the next day they tell God, "I shouldn't have done that. Please forgive me." And they think every time they want to commit that sin they can do it, and then just smooth things over with God. That isn't repentance. And God does not forgive someone who hasn't truly repented.

So if you are thinking about having an abortion, you will either come to deeply regret it, or you will never be forgiven. That mixture of relief and guilt you may feel is not repentance. You have not repented until you come to the place where, if you were in the same situation, you would not commit the sin that you did.

If you already had an abortion and you are sorry that you ever did it, and you wish you could undo it, and you have committed that you will never do it again--in other words, if you have repented of the sin--you are ready to find God's forgiveness and healing.

But when you come to God for forgiveness, you can't come to have one sin removed and hold on to the rest. With God it is all or nothing. You only come to God through Jesus. He paid for your sins when He died on the cross for you. To receive the forgiveness He died to provide, you must trust in Jesus. That means you depend on what He did to pay for your sins. It also means you believe what He said about being God--you trust Him enough to obey Him. You don't come to the bargaining table with God. You have to surrender everything.

Imagine God as a king with subjects. Someone has led an insurrection against him, and he is going to punish the rebels. If a rebel comes to him and says, "I'm sorry about one crime I committed, but I'm not sorry about all of the rest," the king won't have much mercy on him. But perhaps the rebel comes to him and says, "I'm ashamed of everything I did. I can't make it up to you. I have nothing to give you to repay the damages. But I submit to you now, and I'll do anything you tell me now." Then the king forgives him, and adopts him as his own child, and gives him an inheritance in his kingdom.

God wants complete repentance and a complete submission to Him. In return, He forgives completely. He never brings your rebellion up to you again. He chooses to forget it, and treats you as if you had never rebelled. He gives you peace instead of guilt. He heals your broken heart. He assures you of His love for you. He gives you help to do what you ought to do when you feel like giving up. He promises that He will never leave you. He adopts you as His child and gives you a supportive family of His other children. He guarantees that no power or circumstance, including death itself, can ever rob you of your relationship as His child.

Some people try to prove their repentance by punishing themselves. They think that if they cause enough pain to themselves, God will be more likely to forgive them. They may cut themselves or develop an eating disorder. That's trying to pay for our own sin and satisfy God on our terms. Rather than submitting to God and accepting His free forgiveness, that's telling God you don't need Him. It's a sign of continued rebellion.

Whatever your situation, depend on what that Jesus did for you, submit to God and obey Him. Enjoy His forgiveness, and allow Him to heal you.


Wesley Wilson is the President of Let Her Live, a nonprofit dedicated to saving babies by showing the beauty and value of life to women considering abortion. Please learn more about the Let Her Live pro-life billboard campaign. Donations are tax deductible.