The Supreme Court and a Culture of Life

Although none of the Supreme Court's decisions this session directly impact abortion, I believe some of these cases relate directly to our culture's respect for life.

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the court overturned the D.C. gun ban--a victory for life. It makes little sense, indeed, to say a person has a right to life, but lacks the right to protect that life. The right to self-defense flows from the inherent worth of the individual created in the image of God.

As William Blackstone explained in his Commentaries on the Laws of England, "Both the life and limbs of a man are of such high value, in the estimation of the law of England, that it pardons even homicide if committed ... in order to preserve them." Blackstone also wrote that the right of "having arms for their defense" is an auxiliary to "the natural right of resistance and self-preservation, when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression."

Of course the Bible, upon which much of England's common law was based, encourages self-defense. As one example of many, Nehemiah instructed the people of God, "Be not ye afraid of them: remember the LORD, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses." (Nehemiah 4:14)

The Supreme Court's recognition of the right of self-defense, and the corollary right to own handguns as a means of self-defense, is a welcome affirmation of the value of life. Life is, and always will be, worth fighting for.

The court's decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana, overturning death penalty laws in six states for the crime of child rape, is a blow to the culture of life. If our society truly valued its children, would we not apply the death penalty to those who commit the most heinous crime against them? The "cruel and unusual punishment" phrase used to justify the ruling must be understood by its original intent. What did James Madison and his contemporaries mean by it? Did not their states allow the death penalty for rape--and how much more in a case where the victim was a child?

To defend the sanctity and worth of every life, we cannot allow perverts to violate children. It makes no sense to protect children's lives but fail to protect them from the worst kind of assault. What penalty other than death could fit the crime of child rape? It seems to be a self-evident law of nature that child rapists have forfeited their right to live. The Kennedy ruling devalues life. All of our lives just became that much cheaper.

The constitutional balance of power between the branches of government is out of kilter when the most important job of a president is to appoint judges. But these cases show us once again that the course of our nation depends on electing a president who will appoint judges who respect the Constitution. Someday, we must limit the judiciary to its constitutional authority. Until then we celebrate the victories, grieve the defeats, and elect presidents and legislators who will give us good kings--I mean, judges.

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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.

Saving Babies One by One

"Will I go to hell if I have an abortion?" the young woman sitting across from my wife asked. This was the woman's first question, and it was obvious she was leaning toward abortion. But she had some doubts, and she knew it wasn't right.

My wife shared the facts of fetal development with her and explained the abortion procedures along with their risks using the crisis pregnancy center's medically-accurate literature. At the end of the discussion, the young woman decided to make an appointment later in the week for an ultrasound. By the time she returned for the ultrasound, she had decided to keep the baby.

My wife and I are thrilled that she had a part in saving this precious child's life and guiding the mother away from the devastating decision to kill her child. But these life-giving decisions happen every day at crisis pregnancy centers across the country.

Legislative changes are crucial, but as we work for those changes, remember that minds are changed, hearts are won, and lives are saved one by one.

Wesley Wilson

Wesley Wilson is the President of Let Her Live, a tax exempt 501(c)(3) SC nonprofit corporation dedicated to saving babies by showing the beauty and value of life to women considering abortion. Please learn more about the Let Her Live targeted pro-life billboard campaign. Donations are tax deductible.

The Value of Human Life Comes from Its Source

My wife and I recently had the privilege of attending the National Right to Life Convention in Kansas City. Wesley J. Smith explained some of the common lies and deceptions used to support embryonic experimentation, including embryonic stem cell research. (Read his blog to stay informed on these issues.)

Smith said that whenever pro-life people debate life issues, we always reach an irreconcilable difference with our opponents over the core question of what makes a human life valuable.

Does a human life have the same worth while a blastocyst (young embryo) as it does during later stages of development or in childhood? Does that human life deserve the same protection in a test tube or incubator as in its mother's womb. Is human life as precious when an injury prevents swallowing, requiring the person to be fed through a feeding tube?

In short, what is valuable about human life?

Although there may be pro-life atheists, the pro-life movement bases its view of human worth and dignity on the Bible's account of creation. God made humans as a unique creation, distinct from animals. He later gave commandments concerning the importance of human life--anyone who takes another's life forfeits his own. From the biblical perspective, all human life is sacred and worthy of protection from the moment of fertilization until natural death. This foundation unites Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and Muslims on the issue of life.

The anti-life crowd has no such standard. Life is worth protecting if it meets a certain level of "quality." The minimal quality of life is, of course, never defined, which suits moral relativists fine. To some, human worth depends on physical ability. A person who is substantially disabled consumes more than he produces, so he is expendable.

To others the quality of a person's life depends on his reasoning ability. Smart people are more valuable than dumb ones, and those below a certain IQ should be discarded.

To those who deny God, there is nothing better about human life than animal life. In a written debate on this subject, the person I debated wrote:

It is perfectly fine to terminate the life of a being without self-awareness. If the being had self-awareness beforehand, and is likely to attain it again then it is most ethical to keep the body alive until the self-awareness is reattained.

After further questioning he wrote:

I'm not versed enough in cognitive science or developmental science to determine at what point a human's mind is turned on.

So the value of a life depends on its mental abilities, whether human or animal. We've seen where this arbitrary valuation of life leads in the state-sponsored eugenic horrors of the twentieth century. But for centuries disabled and retarded people faced neglect and cruel abuse until Christians took them in and cared for them. Not surprisingly, the same people often took in abandoned infants.

We will never agree with our opponents on what makes life valuable. We have a consistent unwavering position. Theirs is subjective.

In the debate on the value of life, let's not get pulled into debating quality of life. If we abandon the sanctity of life and fight on their terms, we lose, because our arguments are not based on absolute truth.

Let's never be ashamed to declare that the value of human life comes from its Creator.

Wesley Wilson

The Work of His Hands

The secularists love to lower human life to the level of animal life. Their unshakable faith in evolutionary theories and their love affair with abortion accompany the debasement of human life. To them, humans are the most advanced animal, but still just an animal.

The Bible records, however, that after God had created everything else by speaking, He "formed man of the dust of the ground." We picture Him carefully shaping the clay with His hands, and then leaning close over the lifeless sculpture. Then God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Later God removed one of that man's ribs and formed it into the first woman. More than any other of God's creatures, we humans are the work of His hands.

When Jesus was on earth He spoke about the worth of that living soul. He said, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

Those were no idle words, for Jesus had come to give His life to pay the sin-debt for every human.

The psalmist wondered at God's interest in mankind: "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"

The author of Hebrews quoted from this Psalm when he wrote about the incarnation, explaining that humans are unique in that God, literally, "does not take hold of angels." "For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham." (NASB) That is, Jesus did not suffer and die for angels, but for us.

So Jesus spread His arms on the cross, allowing Roman soldiers to pound spikes through His hands. The nail-pierced hands of Jesus remind us of the great finished work of redemption. He gave His life as a perfect sacrifice once for all of us--for me and for you.

Those who have accepted Christ's pardon for sins by turning from sin to God are doubly the work of His hands. The apostle Paul wrote: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Human life is sacred. It will continue forever after death in either the bliss of heaven or the pain of hell.

Let's give God thanks this Good Friday that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.