Are Pro-Lifers Safe?

Is pro-life a dangerous belief to hold? James Pouillion, who was fatally shot on September 11^th this year, would say "yes." Unfortunately, his right to protest and voice his opinion was cut short as he sat in a wheelchair in front of Owosso, Michigan's Owosso High School pleading for the rights of the unborn.

Pouillion is not the first abortion protester to encounter physical and verbal resistance to their message of life and hope. KBJR-TV in the Iron Range of Minnesota reported that another abortion protester was assaulted when she pleaded with a woman who was going into a Duluth abortion clinic. She told the woman, "Please don't take the life of your little unborn baby. We care about what happens to them." It was then that the woman going into the abortion clinic allegedly brandished a knife which she held to another abortion protester's throat as she demanded the protesters to be quiet. After the altercation the woman went into the clinic where she was later found by the police carrying the knife she allegedly assaulted the protester with.

In a Life News article dated June 5, 2009, Keith Olbermann reportedly named a pro-life nurse who discovered the practice of live birth abortions the "Worst Person in the World." Her brave actions to prevent the murder of a partial birth child incited many people to action and hatred for her bravery. A subsequent law was enacted to prevent this heinous practice, yet it seems to have created a deeper chasm for the pro-choice advocates to climb out of. It seems that the media endorsement of pro-choice ideas is reflected in the words and actions of those who choose to terminate the life of the unborn child as the cases cited above portray.

The debate over what constitutes "life" is an ever changing "line in the sand" for the pro-choice advocates as they adjust the standard to suit their needs at any given time. As a pro-life voice in the ongoing debate I believe that the "churches" which support abortion should take a deeper look into the history of the issue and how the Church has related to it since the time of Rome. The Didache (c. 120 A.D.) is one of the earliest manuscripts which reflect the thoughts of the Early Church on the issue of abortion. Contrary to common understanding, the abortion issue is as old as the Church herself. The Didache clearly states, "Thou shall not murder a child by abortion." 2:2 "The Way of Death is filled with people who are... murderers of children and abortionists of God's creatures" 5:1-2.

Looking further into the mists of history we listen to Clement of Alexandra as he elucidates on the debate of his day in late-100 A.D. In his Paedagogus he states, "Our whole life can go on in observation of the laws of nature, if we gain dominion over our desires from the beginning and if we do not kill, by various means of a perverse art, the human offspring, born according to the designs of divine providence; for these women who, in order hide their immorality, use abortive drugs which expel the child completely dead, abort at the same time their own human feelings."

There are a myriad of other quotes from the Early Church which clearly teach against such practices, yet the evidence would suggest that this has been a plague for over two millennia that has only now been commonly accepted as a practice of a "woman's right." As secularism rises amongst church-goers and non-church goers alike, the debate has become a murky bog which seems to weigh down its participants in a never-ending battleground of words and action.

In my mind the debate has been over for a long time but for those who hold a middle ground between black and white the debate is full of misconceptions and misinformation that seems to muddle both sides' attempts at reaching the pregnant women who are actively searching for a solution to an unexpected or unwanted pregnancy. Even clergymen like me are not immune from retaliation for being pro-life in a pro-choice environment. Churches are effectively turning on their own brethren due to the rejection of apostolic authority and polity in favor of progressive ideals that change almost as fast as the tides within the oceans.

Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director, was finally able to observe an abortion after having been part of the clinic for some time. During the procedure she witnessed the "fetus" actively avoiding the instrument which would murder "it." Mrs. Johnson, after the procedure had ended, could not reconcile her Christian faith with participating in such a grisly "procedure." She subsequently left the Planned Parenthood clinic and sought solace in her church community. The church community, however, was less than receiving of her after her choice to end her employment at the abortion clinic. She began to feel estranged from that community despite her love for the people and the church. Her church's official stance embraces the idea of abortion as a woman's choice.

Is it dangerous to hold pro-life beliefs in a society that embraces progressive concepts? Do we, who stand on the moral high ground, stand in the crosshairs of those inside the bunkers? Time will only tell. Either humanity will embrace the value of unborn life or simply devalue it and murder countless millions on the altar to progressive ideals.