The 2021 Life Chain defends the defenseless
This was written by CCFL member Scott Tibbs.
As usual, the Life Chain brought out some visceral reactions, with lots of middle fingers and shouted F bombs. This can be ignored, as people screaming obscenities and insults are not interested in an intellectually coherent discussion of the issues surrounding abortion. The same can be said of Reddit trolls. One argument that should be addressed is the claim in the Herald-Times that pro-lifers are "unsympathetic."
But first things first: No one was "marching down Third Street." Street captains with bags of signs and orange vests went to their designated street corners to hold signs and provide signs for anyone who wanted to join them at our respective locations. The Life Chain has been held for years, and the format has always been the same. That factual error should have been edited before publication.
Now to the "sympathy" argument. If we were unsympathetic, we would not be there, especially knowing the risk of a hard rain. (Which we did get, and a lot of people got soaked.) Abortion is the termination of an innocent human life. We have had over 60 million babies butchered in our abortion "clinics" since 1973, and that only counts surgical abortions. Chemical abortions have killed many more.
We could get into the weeds on homeless population and poverty, but the question is not whether someone is poor. The question is where you draw the line after which a person cannot be killed. Some would draw the line at birth. Princeton "ethics" professor Peter Singer argued for the right to kill a newborn up to a month after he or she is born. Others would draw the line in the third trimester. But at some point, everyone agrees that the being in the womb should be protected.
Are we unsympathetic for opposing abortion in Bloomington? No, the pro-life message is especially important in Bloomington, where the number of abortions every year has drastically increased - even at a time when abortions across the entire state were decreasing.
No, we do not want women performing abortions on themselves. The consequences of that would be horrific, not only for the baby but for the mothers also. But the fact that some women would mutilate themselves if abortion were made illegal does not mean we should allow the rampant slaughter of unborn babies. Every law ever written has been and is broken, from littering to murder. Surrendering to the negative consequences of lawbreaking is the road to anarchy.
It does not matter whether or not the fetus can feel pain. If we give anesthesia to a five year old, can we kill him by dismemberment? The point is not that whether the murder of an innocent is painful. The point is that an innocent person is being violently deprived of his right to life.
The guest columnist claims that abortion is "saving the life of someone who does not want to or cannot safely have a child at that time." Casting every abortion is a life-saving measure is highly dishonest. The fact is that abortion to save the mother's life is incredibly rare and with modern medical technology it is more rare than it used to be. It is insensitive and insulting to women who genuinely have severe medical issues with pregnancy to cast all abortions as "life saving."
Yes, there are other issues, as the columnist mentions. But there is no reason a society as large and wealthy as the United States (not to mention thousands of local communities) cannot address all of these other issues while also protecting the unborn. Ultimately, however, these other issues are meant to distract from abortion. There is no issue more pressing. The death toll is staggering, many times the number killed in the Nazi Holocaust. Abortion is a national moral emergency and has been for nearly 50 years, and that is where our efforts should be if we are truly "sympathetic" to innocent victims of medical violence.
We do live in a broken world, and no one denies that is the case. There are many things that need to be fixed, starting with repenting of the sins that have caused all of these problems and turning to faith in Jesus Christ. But the answer to all of the problems we face cannot be to exterminate millions of unborn babies every year through surgical and chemical abortions, and encourage poor third world nations to do the same. Killing innocents is never the answer.
As usual, the Life Chain brought out some visceral reactions, with lots of middle fingers and shouted F bombs. This can be ignored, as people screaming obscenities and insults are not interested in an intellectually coherent discussion of the issues surrounding abortion. The same can be said of Reddit trolls. One argument that should be addressed is the claim in the Herald-Times that pro-lifers are "unsympathetic."
But first things first: No one was "marching down Third Street." Street captains with bags of signs and orange vests went to their designated street corners to hold signs and provide signs for anyone who wanted to join them at our respective locations. The Life Chain has been held for years, and the format has always been the same. That factual error should have been edited before publication.
Now to the "sympathy" argument. If we were unsympathetic, we would not be there, especially knowing the risk of a hard rain. (Which we did get, and a lot of people got soaked.) Abortion is the termination of an innocent human life. We have had over 60 million babies butchered in our abortion "clinics" since 1973, and that only counts surgical abortions. Chemical abortions have killed many more.
We could get into the weeds on homeless population and poverty, but the question is not whether someone is poor. The question is where you draw the line after which a person cannot be killed. Some would draw the line at birth. Princeton "ethics" professor Peter Singer argued for the right to kill a newborn up to a month after he or she is born. Others would draw the line in the third trimester. But at some point, everyone agrees that the being in the womb should be protected.
Are we unsympathetic for opposing abortion in Bloomington? No, the pro-life message is especially important in Bloomington, where the number of abortions every year has drastically increased - even at a time when abortions across the entire state were decreasing.
No, we do not want women performing abortions on themselves. The consequences of that would be horrific, not only for the baby but for the mothers also. But the fact that some women would mutilate themselves if abortion were made illegal does not mean we should allow the rampant slaughter of unborn babies. Every law ever written has been and is broken, from littering to murder. Surrendering to the negative consequences of lawbreaking is the road to anarchy.
It does not matter whether or not the fetus can feel pain. If we give anesthesia to a five year old, can we kill him by dismemberment? The point is not that whether the murder of an innocent is painful. The point is that an innocent person is being violently deprived of his right to life.
The guest columnist claims that abortion is "saving the life of someone who does not want to or cannot safely have a child at that time." Casting every abortion is a life-saving measure is highly dishonest. The fact is that abortion to save the mother's life is incredibly rare and with modern medical technology it is more rare than it used to be. It is insensitive and insulting to women who genuinely have severe medical issues with pregnancy to cast all abortions as "life saving."
Yes, there are other issues, as the columnist mentions. But there is no reason a society as large and wealthy as the United States (not to mention thousands of local communities) cannot address all of these other issues while also protecting the unborn. Ultimately, however, these other issues are meant to distract from abortion. There is no issue more pressing. The death toll is staggering, many times the number killed in the Nazi Holocaust. Abortion is a national moral emergency and has been for nearly 50 years, and that is where our efforts should be if we are truly "sympathetic" to innocent victims of medical violence.
We do live in a broken world, and no one denies that is the case. There are many things that need to be fixed, starting with repenting of the sins that have caused all of these problems and turning to faith in Jesus Christ. But the answer to all of the problems we face cannot be to exterminate millions of unborn babies every year through surgical and chemical abortions, and encourage poor third world nations to do the same. Killing innocents is never the answer.
