Spiritual Wars, Spiritual Weapons

  The Supreme Court will be hearing this month two cases dealing with the most crucial social issues in American life. One considers whether a partial-birth abortion ban is constitutional; the other will decide whether the Boy Scouts will be forced to hire homosexual men as scoutmasters. These cases will be heard April 25th and 26th, and because of the critical importance of the issues I'm asking BreakPoint listeners to fast and pray, and to let their voices be heard. At issue in the first case, Stenberg v. Carhart, is a Nebraska law that forbids killing a child in the process of birth. The law prohibits the grisly procedure in which an abortionist induces a breech delivery and then punctures the living baby's neck and suctions out the brain, thus crushing the skull and killing the child. This barbaric act is never medically necessary. But some courts have ruled that partial-birth abortion is constitutionally protected, while others have concluded that even Roe v. Wade can't be stretched far enough to authorize this brutal procedure. And that's what brings this case to the Supreme Court. The abortion industry and its supporters are asking the justices to expand the tragic Roe v. Wadedecision of 1973. Supporters want the Court to legalize what amounts to infanticide. Ironically, it may turn out that the words of Roe's principal architect, Justice Harry Blackmun, may work against the abortion lobby this time. Blackmun disingenuously proclaimed that no one could say with any confidence when life begins. Abortion was permitted because science was still unclear; but that is no longer the case. This argument doesn't wash, especially with partial-birth abortion. No one can deny that the baby is a living child when it is pulled from the mother's womb with its tiny feet kicking, and its tiny hands flailing in anticipation of birth. No, this is not just a "blob of tissue." It's a living human child. And that's why Stenberg v. Carhart is so important. Pro-abortion judges can no longer hide behind feigned ignorance. To strike down laws against partial-birth abortion, the justices will have to declare a constitutional right, not just to "terminate pregnancy," but to kill a living child. As Christians, we cannot stand by silently. Fortunately, the Supreme Court does not decide cases like this in a vacuum. They listen to public opinion, and effective protests can sometimes alter the decisions. When disabled people demonstrated outside the Court three years ago, about a case involving doctor-assisted suicide, the justices backed down and refused to make the practice legal. So on April 25th, the Court needs to understand that "We the People" are not prepared to take babies, fully alive and just inches from birth, and murder them. We cannot turn a blind eye to infanticide. Will you join in a fast and prayer about this issue? Will you pray for the members of the Court? And will you also let your voice be heard? Letters to the editor and congressmen can create a public debate that does make a difference. We need to raise a groundswell of protest that will sweep across this country and will be felt right here—in the court chambers of Washington, D.C..

04/5/00