"Abortion is...not an act of selfishness"?

Last week while participating in the 40 Days For Life Fort Lauderdale prayer vigil, I watched as abortionist Dr. Theodor Lehrer measured the base of the large blue and white ALL WOMENS CENTER (954) 772 HELP sign with a tape measure. I figured he was planning something - now I know what he had in mind.

Arriving at the center today (day 26) 

I saw the new bright red, white lettered sign that had been erected since last week -

VOTE WOMENS LIVES, HEALTH AND JUSTICE.

"In a perfect world, every pregnancy should be an invited guest in the woman’s body and a wanted potential addition to her family. Unfortunately, our world - and practically everything we can think of - is far from perfect...

The ultimate decision to get an abortion is a personal matter and not an act of selfishness. It can be an act of caring about yourself and about others."

You will find these words on the All Womens Center's (AWC) website under the "counseling" section.

There is a mixed message here. I agree that our world is not "perfect."

For years now, I have been pointing out that over 50% of women who have abortions feel they have no choice. Therefore, those of us who oppose abortion should not trivialize the circumstances many women are facing in an unplanned pregnancy. Instead it should lead to a compassionate and practical response by the Church.

Frederica Mathewes-Green identifies some of the reasons (difficult circumstances) why women have abortions:

forced by their mother
father opposed (keeping the child)
persuaded by husband or boyfriend 
no other option given
loss of family support
would have been kicked out
persuaded by the clinic
(Real Choices)

This is a complex issue for many women. AWC is right. It's not a "perfect" world. But to then conclude that abortion is "not an act of selfishness" but "can be an act of caring about yourself and about others," is an oxymoron.

EVERY abortion unjustly takes the life of another human being. AWC comes close to admitting that: "...every pregnancy should be an invited guest in the woman’s body and a wanted potential addition to her family." (emphasis mine) The words "invited" and "wanted" expose the deception upon which the pro-abortion argument is based. Since Roe v. Wade, "choice" has given a mother license to kill her unborn child.

You cannot extend to a woman the right (choice) to kill her unborn child, as the Court has done, without at the same time, denying her child the right to live. As Randy Alcorn has written,

"To be prochoice about someone's right to kill is to be anti choice about someone else's right to life....The prochoice position always overlooks the victim's right to choose...And the babies don't choose abortion."  (Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments)

Where is the "VOTE...JUSTICE" for the unborn in abortion?

The glaring inconsistency of the new bright red sign, once again confirms the deception inherent in abortion. Jesus exposed the devil's character and strategy when he said,

"He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."  (John 8:44 NIV)

The fire department does not fight fires from the fire station. Doctors don't perform life saving surgery from their homes. Police don't prevent crime sitting around police headquarters.

Abortion is a gospel issue. 40 Days for Life, is an opportunity for the Church to proclaim life saving truth and grace as it engages the spiritual forces behind abortion where the child killing takes place, for, "...where sin increased, grace abounded all the more."

James' challenge finds no better application than here.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27 NIV)

There are no greater orphans than the unborn abandoned by their mother and father at an abortion clinic and for the reasons noted above, many mothers having abortions are functionally widows. 

Earlier in that same chapter James wrote,

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." (James 1:22 NIV)

You can find further information or register to join the prayer vigil, by going to

www.40daysforlife.com/fortlauderdale.