At 18 weeks of age, little James was nestled warmly in his momma’s womb. He was about the size of a bell pepper; roughly 5 ½ inches long, and growing more every day. There wasn’t anything James enjoyed more than his momma’s voice, and sometimes, almost as a reply, he would give a firm kick back. He hadn’t been held in her arms yet, but he felt secure and loved.
James wasn’t the only one excited; his mom, April, was over the moon to have him on the way. After marrying the love of her life, she couldn’t wait to see their little family start growing. A few years after they were married, April’s dream to become a momma was confirmed with a visit to the doctor’s office. Her life was full of smiles; she could tell exciting things were ahead.
Fast forward a few months. April and her husband found themselves at a specialist, being told something they didn’t want to hear; their little boy had lethal skeletal dysplasia. In his specific case, James had such a narrow rib cage that his lungs wouldn’t be able to develop correctly. This did not affect him in the womb at all, but when he was born, he would have to be put on a ventilator.
Little James felt shaky; his mom was crying many tears. He had no way of knowing that the doctor had recommended his death. April was referred to Planned Parenthood. Within three weeks of his happy 18 week birthday, James started feeling something painful; something was tugging his foot. An abortion specialist was at work; if the doctor was successful, James’ heart would not be beating in less than an hour.
April walked out of the clinic that day assuring herself with the thought “I can’t imagine having given birth and watching my son suffer. I can’t imagine holding him and watching him take his last breath, and knowing that that would be painful for him.”
James did suffer, despite his mother’s hope to spare him. And he did take his last breath painfully, as his tiny body was yanked from her uterus. April may have had the best intentions for her son, but sadly she was deceived by her doctor and Planned Parenthood that her son would have had such a rough life that a quick abortion would be a much better alternative.
This baby boy’s birthday is never celebrated. His death is not one people care about; whenever he comes to his mom’s mind, she reminds herself that she was merciful to him by choosing to end his life. This little one isn’t just an illustration - this baby boy lived twenty-one short weeks before he was murdered.
He was not loved after his diagnosis; he was not wanted after doctors found him to be ”less than perfect.” And he was not named - after all, he was just a fetus. Nothing more than a clump of cells, according to Planned Parenthood.
So I have given him a name today; I have stopped to grieve for him.
Created, not an accident
Did you know that if I had been aborted, you most likely wouldn’t even notice? Have you ever thought about the fact that when you go to the grocery store, there should be more people shopping with you? Our schools have absent students who are not accounted for; churches have empty seats that should be filled with missing people. There’s a pair of shoes for sale at Target right now that would have been sold, but their potential owner hasn’t been seen. There are babies in Rwanda waiting to be adopted, but the young lady God intended to use to rescue from their dangerous circumstances wasn’t ever granted a birth certificate, let alone a visa. Scientists talk about the need to find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, but the individual with the mind to understand an unexplored avenue of neuroscience is missing in action.
Who are all these people, you ask? These are the faces of the fifty-eight million babies murdered in abortion. That’s more lives than the total number of people living in Myanmar!
It is estimated that at a certain abortion clinic in Grand Rapids, near where I live, in forty days 256 lives are taken. If 256 people were killed in your city, the news would be exploding with headlines like “Mass Murder in St. Louis Leaves Town Devastated” or “FBI Investigation of Recent Chicago Killings.”
But no. The media says next to nothing about these brutally murdered kids. The government calls this “a personal choice.” If your sister was killed tomorrow, would you call that the killer’s personal choice? “Well, I mean, if he really thinks my sister would be better off dead, then, yeah, he’s probably right!” I don’t think so.
58 million lives have been taken, but something else has also been lost too. 58 million mothers have been deprived of the beautiful little one God intended for them to have. 58 million dads will never hold their aborted son or daughter in their arms. Countless siblings will never even know the name of a killed baby sister or brother.
Once a lady from church came up to my mom while she was expecting my triplet siblings and asked her, “Wouldn’t it just be easier if you lost one of your babies?” My mom was shocked! She already knew these three little babies so well even though they hadn’t even been born yet, and although she knew it was going to be hard to go from having 1 child (me) to having 4 kiddos, she loved each of us. She was going to do everything she could to protect her little ones.
My mom was asked that question nearly fourteen years ago, and I highly doubt that lady would ask such a question if she could have looked each of my three siblings in the eyes and seen how each of them are made in God’s image and have an important place in the body of Christ.
Often, those of us who have been attending church for all our lives think we’re doing fine as long as we mentally agree that abortion is wrong, but I completely disagree. As A.W. Tozer has said, “You have not done anything about truth until you have acted on it.”
Why are you pro-life? It shouldn’t be simply because your pastor said he’s pro-life or because it seems like the more moral choice; we are standing for life because this is on our Jesus’s heart. He has called us to be a voice for the voiceless. Check out what His Word has to say:
- “Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy” (Psalm 82:3 KJV).
- “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27 ESV).
- “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling” (Psalm 68:5 NIV).
- “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday” (Isaiah 58:6-10 ESV).
- “‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me’” (Matthew 25:45b ESV).
Standing for life on a day to day basis
How can we practically be speaking out on behalf of these little ones and help save these lives?
- Volunteer at a Christian crisis pregnancy center
One way you can be a voice to these little ones is by volunteering at a local Christian crisis pregnancy center. Often there are opportunities at these centers that can involve any age. For example, you might be able to sort baby clothes, help with cleaning and organizational projects, shovel the center’s driveway, take a shift as a receptionist, or help counsel women. Try searching Google for a center near you.
- Be willing to speak
Don’t be afraid to boldly & graciously speak up. You can use social media, art, writing, and so much more to speak out. When your friends, family, or even random strangers start talking about abortion, ask them some thought provoking questions. For example:
- Do you believe that life starts at conception?
- Did you know that babies can feel pain starting as early as 8 weeks along?
- Have you ever wondered why our country punishes violations of the fetal homicide law, but doesn’t seem too worried about abortion?
- Can I tell you a story about ____[name of abortion survivor, etc]?
- Did you know that God designed every strand of DNA in your body? It’s so cool! And your entire genetic makeup is complete at conception!
- Did you know that the reason I’m pro-life is simply because God is the giver of life?
- Make a donation
You can financially support a number of organizations that keep Jesus Christ at the center of their pro-life ministry. By giving financial resources, you can help an organization to reach even further in their ministry to at-risk moms & families. Check out: Life Matters World Wide, The Drop Box, and Alpha Family Center.
- Watch an edifying pro-life movie with some friends
Having a few friends over and turning on an edifying movie can be a great way to influence friends, and it can also strike up some great conversations! I have been personally convicted and encouraged by:
- Amazing Grace - The story of William Wilberforce who fought for the end of slavery in England
- The Dropbox - A documentary style film about a pastor from South Korea who installed a large drop box in the front of his house where moms could bring their babies if they did not feel able to raise them.
- The Hiding Place - The movie made from Corrie ten Boom’s autobiography about rescuing Jews from the Nazis'.
This is in no way meant to be an exhaustive list of ways to stand for life; these are just a few ways you could get started.
As we each live our daily lives, may we never forget “James” and the countless other lives which have been brutally taken for gain. Planned Parenthood has an agenda; their goal is to have every high school girl coming through their doors for 3-5 abortions before they get their diplomas. [1] Let’s see to it that each of us personally reaches out to the single moms and young pregnant girls in our lives in Christ’s love. Be willing to speak the truth in love, and find practical ways you can serve them.
We will each answer to God for how we are responding to our death culture. Are we obeying His leading and standing in the gap for these children and vulnerable mothers?
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[1] http://lastresistance.com/planned-parenthood-sex-ed-classes-aimed-produce-3-5-abortions-per-student/
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