What If America Began to See Abortion as We Came to See Slavery?

This time of the year, there’s increased attention given in the media to the landmark Roe v. Wade (1973) decision, where the SCOTUS found a constitutional right to abortion could be existed in the 14^th Amendment’s due process clause.  Similarly, SCOTUS also found in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) a right to own slaves could be contrived from the 5^th Amendment’s due process clause.  Justin Dyer (see attached link below) and others have written on the relationship between slavery and abortion.  The more I ponder this connection between slavery and abortion in Dyer’s and others’ writings, the more I am in touch with why I personally abhor abortion and the more I understand why it still persists in the greatest country on earth.

Look at the similarities between slavery and abortion:

·         They have been perpetuated through badly reasoned decisions of SCOTUS that rationalized evil practices partially on the basis of a right to privacy, when neither is a private matter; 

·         Because SCOTUS removed them from the normal political process, they perpetuated their existence;

·         They have been divisive issues in our nation’s history;

·         They treat persons as property, violating a basic tenant that “…all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”;

·         Both deny basic human dignity; and

·         They elevate one group’s economic well-being above another’s basic rights.

Few American’s today would condone slavery, yet 150 years ago it was the law of the land.  I pray for the day when America would not take abortion lightly but embrace the lives of the unborn as precious.  That precious rendering would find itself in reduced numbers of abortions, increased adoptions, and more responsible sexual behavior.  The cost of the Civil War was staggering in terms of the 620,000 lives lost and as many lives shattered, but abortion since 1973 has taken 55 million lives and emotionally shattered many more.

So how do I help do something restorative to help reduce the need for abortion?  One small thing I’ve done to help is that I have been a supporter of Compass Care in Rochester, an organization that aims to reduce the need for abortion by providing assistance to mothers.  This way, women who are faced with a crisis pregnancy have a caring and knowledgeable place to turn for help.

Since I’ve begun to consider that abortion is a lot like slavery, I’ve had a renewed sense of clarity and purpose that’s firmed up my own beliefs on abortion, and that’s motivated me to take a stand with groups like Compass Care that seek to minister God’s love to those women and their babies who are in great need.     

 http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/12/11683/