Honoring God’s View of Life

Extending Hope for the Preborn

By Holly Meade Rupert

Sanctity of life. Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines sanctity as “the quality of state of being holy or sacred.” Therefore, human life – whether during conception or near death –should be considered as God views it…sacred. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (ESV)

Though you certainly may have grieved for those involved in recent tragedies like the Boston bombing and the Waco explosion, consider what is happening daily to those who cannot speak for themselves: the preborn.

This year marked the 40^th anniversary of the Roe versus Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in all fifty states. Since then, there have been more than 55 million abortions. This means there are more than 3,300 daily and 137 per hour every hour in the United States. In fact, an unborn child is killed almost every 30 seconds in America.

A Barna study explored Americans’ views on abortion by asking if they believe “abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases, or illegal in all cases.” The results revealed that 49 percent prefer keeping it legal in all or most cases versus 42 percent who would like to make it illegal in all or most instances.

Among evangelical Christians, 78 percent believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases versus 72 percent of atheists and agnostics who support keeping the practice legal. Regarding other self-identified believers, 55 percent of

non-evangelical born-again Christians, 60 percent of active churchgoers and 58 percent of non-mainline Protestants favor making abortion illegal.

President Obama recently said, “As long as we’ve got to fight to make sure women have access to quality, affordable health care, and as long as we’ve got to fight to protect a woman’s right to make her own choices about her own health, I want you to know that you’ve also got a president who’s going to be right there with you, fighting every step of the way. Thank you, Planned Parenthood. God bless you.”

Planned Parenthood’s recent annual report reveals record revenues in 2012 and more abortions than ever in their history as the industry

leader. Last year, they performed 333,964 abortions which represents an income of at least $150.6 million.

Abortion is also becoming more accessible. WORLD magazine reports that the Food and Drug Administration recently said the so-called "morning-after" pill will now be available over-the-counter without a prescription to girls as young as 15. The drug is marketed as a method of “emergency” contraception and prevents implantation of a fertilized egg or causes an early abortion. According to the FDA ruling, drug stores can stock the drug on store shelves just like condoms and buyers will have to prove their age at the cash register.

Abortion also affects women physically and emotionally. After the procedure, a woman can become subject to many physical complications such as blood loss, infection and damage to internal organs. Deaths from abortions are usually due to heavy bleeding from complications with anesthesia. Women who have abortions increase their risk of breast cancer by fifty percent, according to a new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Future pregnancy failure is increased by forty-five percent with just one previous procedure. There is an increased risk of other complications such as premature births, tubal pregnancy, sterility and damage to the cervix.

There are also many emotional side effects. Among these are depression, long-term grief reactions, anger, sexual dysfunction, guilt, flashbacks, memory repression, suicidal ideas, and difficulty keeping close relationships. Post-abortion researcher David Reardon found that 28 percent of women who had abortions later attempted suicide and over half did so more than once. Drug and alcohol abuse increased four times compared to those who carried their pregnancy to term. Twenty percent of post-abortive women reported a nervous breakdown and ten percent were hospitalized for psychiatric care.

Isaiah 49:16 says, ^“Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” If you or someone you love has experienced the pain of abortion, know that God offers love and forgiveness and not condemnation.

Consider how you can extend God’s hope through your prayers, words and actions for this nation to overwhelmingly value and uphold life as sacred. Also pray that godly leaders will be a positive voice as they represent preborn children in policy decisions.

Holly Meade Rupert is a communications specialist/writer/speaker/teacher with a master’s degree in mass communication.  She has extensive experience in creating content and producing for radio, television and the Internet.

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Your Comments

The following expressions and comments are from our members and do not necessarily
represent or reflect the biblical or world views or opinions of the Presidential Prayer Team.
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1. Constant Serrette says:

   May 18, 2013 at 7:42 AM

   This is a wonderful thing you have offered to the public in order to get this nation on the right foot, but it does seem to be one-sided and short sighted. It seems to favor a conservative point of view about what’s going on in America. Remember God sees and knows all. He knows your heart when you are not aware of what you harbor in your heart. From what I’ve read thus far in your prayer requests, like always,the conservative view is phony and misrepresents what God truly stands for. You can’t stand for some things that are right and not stand aganist all things that are unrighteous. Your points of view must all line up with the true word of God. You can’t pick and choose. Abortion certainly is not of God, but so is racism,lack of brotherly love, believeing that you pretending you love everyone, believing that one race of people are suppose to be in charge of the world and and keep others at bay having hardly anything is also wrong. When are we going to address these concerns as much as we call ourselves christians and not give all of this equal attention. It must be done now or God will never listen to our concerns. Remember you can’t legislate morallity. Everyone has a right to chosse what he wants to do with his body and God will render the conseqence.
2. Lori Bevard says:

   May 20, 2013 at 9:39 PM

   Lori Bevard says:
   May 19, 2013 at 9:29 PM
   How many tears must fall in heaven before we hear that too many children have died? How can we so casually wipe out the life of the unborn child, never allowing them to be born, to have a face on each them and let them become the person God created them to be. I know this does not tie in with this poll, but when I read about the four who died in Benghazi and why did we not take action, and my first thought was, why would a nation who allows millions of abortions a year willingly act on behalf of four far away, and do nothing here at home? Wake up people, we are so far off course we don’t even see the wrongs anymore. What is more vulnerable and in need of our help than a tiny infant child? Yet we keep insisting we should fight for the rights of women to choose to have the child they carry or not, wasn’t it their choice to engage in sex knowing it could cause pregnancy? So we say oops, sorry baby it isn’t convenient right now and flush them down a toilet. if that disgusts you, then you are beginning to see how I feel about abortion, no that pill should not be available and neither should abortions. Suffer the little children come unto me, I am sure The Lord is grieved over the loss of all these children that have never been allowed to be born. Shame on us..

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