I just came across another AP article on abortion doctors being charged for murder. The story is disturbing, of course, and just one more indication of how the culture of death marches on.

And yet, I was strangely comforted by the outrage in the comments section, particularly from those who still call themselves “pro-choice.” In fact, I’ve been perusing the comments and haven’t found anyone yet who defends the aborting of a viable fetus. It’s only a matter of time before the our society’s revulsion at late-term abortions is pushed back toward the beginning of the pregnancy.

When it comes to abortion, the tide is turning. Take a look at some of these comments.

• 36 weeks? isn’t that almost nine months?
• An abortion at 36 WEEKS??? People, that’s a 9 month pregnancy! Who in their right mind would abort a baby who is at full term to be born?! O.M.G.
• What about the mothers. They should be arrested and charged as they knew what they were doing.
• I agree, both the doctors and the mothers should be held responsible. Most states have made it somewhat easy to drop off a baby at local hospitals, churches, etc…if the child is not wanted.
• While I am pro-choice, even I am appalled and baffled at the thought of aborting a 36 week old fetus. What were the participants thinking? There MUST be a cut-off point; even I think ending the life of an about-to-be-born baby is murder.
• My son who was born into this world at 32 weeks was a mere 4 lbs but is a fighter and made it after a 3 week stint in the ICU. I CANNOT FATHOM someone killing this child at 36 weeks . #$%$ is wrong with people. I am sure these babies would have brought a couple struggling to have children all the joy in the world. I am lucky my son made it and is as happy and silly as any little guy out there…I feel terrible for these poor little guys…
• That’s pretty disgusting… a 36 week old fetus? My son was born at 37 weeks and was a beautiful, pink, 7 pound baby. The thought of aborting him at that gestational time makes me physically sick. And the thought of him being born & having his little spinal cord severed makes me want to vomit. I’m not saying that I’m completely against abortion in all cases, but this story has brought up feelings in me about abortion that I never even knew existed. Completely sickening.
• As a supporter of a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy, I am pro choice. I do NOT condone abortion at 36 weeks… Before the fetus is viable… yes.. After NO. If it took you 36 weeks to figure out you don’t want to have a child too bad.
• Why kill the babies! why not go full term and allow adoption by qualified parents that have not been able to have children of their own. There are thousands of them hoping every day to receive a call that would be a dream come true. These doctors and their patients should all be charged with murder or conspiracy to commit murder. There is just no excuse for their actions.
• I am against abortion personally (When I found myself pregnant for the first time at age 36 & single, I refused to have one even though the father who was 44 and had no kids insisted. Boy was he angry about my decision!). However, I am pro-choice, but late term abortions are just wrong. If the fetus has a chance of survival outside the uterus, I call that murder. This is all about substituting conscience for greed.
• As a Pro-Choice person, I am extremely sickened by the actions of these doctors. There is a line and they have definitely crossed it!
• You can’t have it both ways folks. Either a woman has a right to choose what she can do with her body, or she doesn’t. Make up your mind and pick a side.
• I don’t have the words for this story……

“Has the pro-life cause reached a tipping point?” Patheos.com has brought together a number of Catholics and evangelicals to ponder the state of the pro-life/pro-choice divide in the United States. I contributed an article called “Five Signs the Pro-Life Cause is Winning” in which I elaborated on several reasons we have indeed reached a tipping point:

1. Public Opinion (Twenty years ago, many of those who considered themselves “pro-life” were a little hesitant to say so publicly. Today, the reverse is true.)
2. The Media (Filmmakers and television writers have discovered that fictional abortion not only kills a fetus, but kills a story as well.)
3. Young People (The sea of young faces at this year’s annual “March for Life” in Washington has NARAL president worried.)
4. The Third Wave (Abortion will fall when Black and Hispanic Christians not only join this movement, but lead it.)
5. Abortion Advocates on the Defensive (Legislators in numerous states have begun chipping away at the implications of Roe v. Wade.)

My conclusion:

The tipping point in favor of the pro-life cause is not evident to all. Time magazine recently chose Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards for their 100 Most Influential List (a decision akin to choosing segregationist George Wallace over crusader Martin Luther King, Jr.). There is much work to be done.

The abortion debate will not go away. The fundamental issue at stake is not reproductive freedom but the desire to extend human rights to all — even the smallest and most vulnerable human beings among us. Those who continue to ignore or deny the humanity of the unborn are increasingly on the defensive because new technologies are opening the window into the womb. What we find there are not tissues to be discarded, but human lives worth protecting.

Others have also weighed in on the debate. Of particular interest is an article called “Turning the Tide in the Abortion Struggle.” Author Timothy Dalrymple discerns two main reasons why younger Americans are more pro-life today: technology and truth. Of technology, he writes:

Ignorance on “the difficult question of when life begins” is an even tougher sell now. Today’s younger generations have grown up with breathtaking images and videos of babies developing and maneuvering within the womb, media that are spread around the world and accessible to anyone with an internet connection. It’s all but impossible to watch an ultrasound video of an abortion and not concede that it takes a life, and the more honest supporters of abortion “rights” will admit as much.

He then shows technology leading people to recognize the reality of what is going on in the womb.:

What characterizes the imaging, video, and communications technologies that are turning the tide in the abortion debate is that they merely capture and disseminate the truth. Pro-abortion rhetoric is crashing against the shoals of reality. The womb is no longer a black box. The only way to countenance abortion is to shut our eyes to the very real miracle of life inside the womb. The more that open minds are exposed to the truth, the more they are prepared to defend life.

What do you think? Have we reached a tipping point in the abortion debate?

Orphan care is more than just adoption. At the heart of orphan care is grace – grace that flows from Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, that reconciles us to God, that we extend through the care of orphans and others. Joining me today is pastor and professor, Tony Merida, co-author of the new book Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care (New Hope, 2011). 

Trevin Wax: In the past decade, it seems like evangelicals have suddenly woken up to the orphan crisis around the world and have begun taking steps toward adoption, improving orphanages, and opening homes to foster care. One of the interesting points you bring out in Orphanology however is that orphan care is not new to evangelicalism. In fact, it’s a thread we see running way back. What does our history look like in this area?

Tony Merida: Wow! Where to begin? We could actually go way back. Paul tells us of God’s sovereign plan saying,

“He [God] predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.” (Eph. 1:5).

Before the world, God already had adoption in his redemptive plan! That’s why I laugh when people ask, “What’s up with this new adoption emphasis?” I like to respond with, “New? You call before the foundation of the world new? Taco Bell is new.”

Related to our care for the fatherless, I would actually go back to the doctrine of imago dei in Genesis. Our view of human beings affects how we view them and care for them. If we believe that all people are created in God’s image, then they are worthy of dignity, value and love.

As the story of Scripture unfolds, we see how God has a particular concern for the fatherless, the widow and the sojourner, and commands his people to show this concern as well. In fact, it is interesting that God refers to himself as “father to the fatherless.” (Ps. 68:5). Think about that. What is God like? One of the features of our God is that he is a father to the fatherless.

Later in the NT, we see James urging us to practice true religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father by visiting orphans in their affliction (1:27). This word “visit” is the same root word from which we get our word “pastor” from. James says that we should shepherd the orphan.

Trevin Wax: So you’re saying, we can trace this emphasis back to the Scriptures. But in the book, you also show that orphan care is a big part of evangelical church history as well.

Tony Merida: Yes. We have documented accounts from people like Aristitides who says that believers were known for (among other things) looking after the orphan. Others tell us that Christians were known for taking unwanted children which were often left in trash heaps. In a day where human life was not valued (like ours), it was the believers who were known for caring for the little ones.

Fast forward to the Great Awakenings and you see guys like George Whitefield raising money to build an orphanage in Georgia. Later, the mighty Spurgeon builds in orphanage, and some of these children later attended the pastor’s college. Then there is George Mueller, living by faith, displaying Christ’s love to hundreds of orphans. These are just a few samplings in history of people who proclaimed the Gospel in word and practiced good deeds of mercy to the fatherless.

Trevin Wax: That brings us to today. Why do you think we’ve seen a resurgence of orphan care in the past few years? Obviously, this issue goes back to the Bible and has been prominent throughout evangelical history (as you’ve pointed out), but the current resurgence seems to be a response to many years of little attention given to this issue. Any thoughts as to why we’re seeing so many people involve themselves in this movement today?

Tony Merida: First, I would point to what seems to be a resurgence of interest in theology in general among the rising generation. For example, my friend David just taught from 6:00pm-midnight on soteriology to thousands of people at Secret Church. There he covered doctrines like propitiation, substitution, adoption, and many more.

This sort of interest in biblical theology and God’s grace in salvation has led to an understanding of mercy ministry. As important as the doctrine of creation is as a motivator for mercy is, the doctrine of redemption is greater. Once people begin to realize that they have received from Jesus the opposite of what they have deserved, they will then begin to show grace and compassion to anyone in need. So, I think the better our understanding of grace and gospel, the greater our level of concern will be for those in need.

Once people see that “they themselves” were the orphan until God adopted them, they were the sojourner until God welcomed them, they were the widow until Christ became their bridegroom – once they see this, their lives are impacted.

Trevin Wax: Do you think that another reason might be the ease of communication and travel?

Tony Merida: Absolutely. Globalization and the internet have opened our eyes to the need. Even though people still do not understand the vastness of the orphan crisis, at least there is some measure of accessibility to news about this reality.

Further, people in my generation view the world as their neighbor. Traveling to Africa isn’t as big a deal today as it used to be. There have been times that I have been talking to students about the orphan crisis and I’ll notice they are already looking up prices for plane tickets on their iPhones!

Likewise, the internet has made possible a new wave of theological and missional development through podcasts and online teaching. People in years past may have rarely heard any preacher other than the one in their home church. And if he never mentioned orphan care, then they could have spent their whole lives never dealing with it. Today, however, people generally listen to more preachers/teachers than before. So, if you visit John Piper’s website, for example, you will find over 40 pages about adoption and orphan care. Or, if you listen to Rick Warren for any period of time, you will hear him talking about it as well.

Trevin Wax: What about the snowball effect? I know dozens of people who have adopted children or who have been involved in the orphan crisis at a personal level. How does personal example persuade people to get involved?

Tony Merida: Once people actually see children adopted, see pastors coming to church with their ex-orphans, go over to visit their friends who just got back from Uganda with a new little one, then it hits them emotionally. They see that the orphans are not a cause; they are people. And once they hold an ex-orphan, play catch with an ex-orphan, it rocks their world.

The old adage of “success breeds success” seems to be happening right now. Even though I wouldn’t call what we’ve done as “successful” (we still have 130,000 in U.S. foster systems ready to be adopted!), we have seen a growing movement, which has in turn created more movement. The more “successful” examples people see, the more adoptions we will see.

Trevin Wax: One of things I like about Orphanology is that you deal holistically with the orphan crisis. This book is not just about adoption, though adoption certainly plays a key role. You also address the institutional side of orphanages, the foster home situation, and the need for transitional assistance for orphans who read adulthood. Why is it important for us to see the big picture when we think about orphan care?

Tony Merida: Because the orphan crisis doesn’t have one simple solution. We like simple solutions. But this is a complex matter.

For instance, adoption isn’t the only solution for solving the orphan crisis (though we need to adopt more kids!) for the simple reason that many orphans are not available for adoption because of the country in which they live. In this case, we need to learn how to care for the fatherless through mission trips, partnerships, and ministries that help kids when they transition out of the orphanage.

Just today, I talked with a church member who has started a non-profit ministry designed to help kids work in a business once they transition out of the orphanage. Those are the types of things we need to learn how to do well. The future for un-adopted orphans is not bright. The majority of them, in many countries, end up in a life of crime and prostitution.

So, we want to say, “do something.” What can you do?

• Are you a business man? Help these kids in the Dominican Republic start and maintain a business.
• Are you wealthy? Help these parents financially adopt these children.
• Are you not in a position to adopt? Then will you consider being a foster parent?

Ministry to the fatherless involves a variety of activities that we can do as the diverse body of Christ.

Trevin Wax: How we keep the orphan care movement from running out of steam? There’s so much to do that many Christians might get overburdened by the need.

Tony Merida: I think we must keep telling people that ultimately everything we do is for the glory of God, not the immediate, observable impact that we see.

I remember hearing Alistair Begg tell a story about his early days as an assistant minister before he came to the States. On one particular occasion, he and the senior minister were visiting a senior care facility. Begg asked him about why they should make these visits since most of the people were unable to mentally engage due to their age and physical situation. The senior minister said that he was missing the point. Ultimately, they were making these visits and doing these Bible studies as unto Christ Himself, not for those in the facility – for as often as we have done it unto the least of these, we have done it unto Christ.

I remember that story had a great impact on me as Begg shared it so transparently and eloquently. I could see how someone may look at the orphan crisis and say, “What’s the use? The problem is too big.” Or, “Who am I? What can I do?”

Let’s not miss the point, everything we do in the name of Jesus, on behalf of Jesus, because of Jesus – matters. We must keep driving this point home. This will keep us from losing hope, growing discouraged, and living man-centered, results-driven lives. In other words, we can keep the movement going by staying true to the Scriptures and keeping our motivation Christ-centered.

Beyond this, we need to keep telling the story of life-change, keep writing books, keep preaching on the doctrine of adoption and orphan care, keep starting new ministries, and keep influencing influencers – and all of this in a spirit of prayer for God’s help.

Trevin Wax: You are one of the people who is doing that well, Tony. Thank you for your book and for joining me in this conversation!

We are not able in ourselves to win this battle.

We are not able to change hearts or minds.

We are not able to change worldviews and transform culture and save 1.37 million children.

We are not able to reform the judiciary or embolden the legislature or mobilize the slumbering population.

We are not able to heal the endless wounds of godless ideologies and their bloody deeds.

But, O God, you are able!

And we turn from reliance on ourselves to you.

And we cry out to you and plead that for the sake of your name, and for the sake of your glory, and for the advancement of your saving purpose in the world, and for the demonstration of your wisdom and your power and your authority over all things, and for the sway of your Truth and the relief of the poor and the helpless, act, O God. This much we hunger for the revelation of your power.

With all our thinking and all our writing and all our doing, we pray and we fast. Come. Manifest your glory.

- John Piper, quoted by Justin Taylor in Don’t Call It a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day (189-90)

Those of us who believe unborn children deserve human rights can be encouraged. Though we still have many hurdles to overcome before we arrive at the place where all human life is legally protected in the United States, we can be optimistic about the end result. Here are 10 reasons why:

10. Recent Polls

A majority of Americans surveyed in a Rasmussen national poll say they believe abortion is morally wrong, a number that includes a large percentage of people who call themselves “pro-choice”. Last year, for the third consecutive time, Gallup found that more Americans accept the pro-life label, a result which led the polling firm to declare “a real change in public opinion.”

9. Abortion’s Treatment on Television and in Movies

In the “Fetal Position” episode of House, Dr. House operates on a fetus in utero. During the operation, the baby’s hand emerges weakly and grasps House’s index finger. (This scene was based on an actual occurrence.) After the operation, House calls the child a “baby” instead of a “fetus”. (See clip.)

In a 2009 episode of Law and Order (“Dignity”), a female attorney seeking justice for a murdered abortion doctor is shaken by a description of partial-birth abortion. She says, “I grew up thinking Roe v. Wade was gospel. Now… I don’t know where my freedom ends and the dignity of another being begins.”

In the recent MTV documentary on teen abortion, though clearly in favor of the pro-choice view, the producers did not mask the conflicted feelings of the teenagers. Before the young mother chooses to abort her child, she gets visibly frustrated with a Planned Parenthood counselor who tells her to not think of the fetus as a baby. “Call that thing a baby. Alright, exactly what it is. A thing…A thing can turn out like that [pointing to their first, living child]….nothing but a bunch of cells can turn out to be her.”

8. The Revulsion to Sex-Selection Abortion

The rise of sex selection abortions and the media coverage of such abortions in other parts of the world provide a stark reminder of the laxity of abortion restrictions in the United States. Sex selection abortion is not a Chinese or Indian debate. It is happening here! People all over the world were repulsed by the actions of an Australian couple who aborted twin boys because they felt entitled to replace the baby girl they lost.

Sex-selection abortion puts pro-choice advocates in a difficult position. They must defend such insanity (or only faintly protest it) if they wish to maintain their conviction that abortion can and should be provided for any cause at any time.

7. The Exposing of Planned Parenthood’s Corruption

LiveAction has video footage from five different Planned Parenthood clinics that show people posing as sex traffickers being aided in their attempts to gain medical treatment for young girls. Armed with this kind of evidence of corruption, the House voted to defund Planned Parenthood. The fact that no Planned Parenthood advocate will go head to head on television with LiveAction president Lila Rose indicates that this organization cannot and will not respond directly to the allegations of corruption.

6. Planned Parenthood’s Recent Talking Points

Planned Parenthood’s advocates have sought to redirect the discussion on abortion by pointing to all the other health care services their clinics provide for low-income women. Implicit in Planned Parenthood’s downplaying of abortion and emphasizing of other services is a stunning admission: abortion is a problem. The advocates of Planned Parenthood are seeking to cast their clinics as much more than “abortion providers.” These talking points indicate that fewer and fewer Americans can stomach the idea of “abortion as health care.”

5. Abortion as a “Tragic Choice”

On a recent episode of The View, Whoopi Goldberg explained her reason for being pro-choice: the low-income woman who already has too many children. When confronted about women who simply get abortions out of convenience, she called them “idiots.” Why does Whoopi have such a visceral reaction to abortion-for-convenience? Because she’s an inconsistent advocate of abortion rights: she recognizes that the fetus is a human being and that abortion snuffs out this life. The fact that she and others like her see abortion as a “tragic choice” implicitly speaks to the immorality of the procedure.

4. Young People

16-year-old singing sensation, Justin Bieber, was recently asked his opinion on a variety of issues. Though seeking to take a non-judgmental stance on abortion, he told Rolling Stone, “I really don’t believe in abortion… it’s like killing a baby.” Bieber is not alone. The annual “March for Life” in Washington is a sea of young faces, prompting NARAL president Nancy Keenan to worry: “There are so many of them, and they are so young.” Ironically, Bieber was castigated by Barbara Walters for answering questions inappropriate for someone of his age – even though young girls can actually receive abortions at ages younger than 16.

3. Ultrasound Technology and Pregnancy Support Centers

Ultrasound technology continues to prove what embryology textbooks and Scripture have told us all along – the unborn child is a human being. In a Washington Post editorial, Frances Kissling recently advised abortion-rights advocates to shift strategies: “We can no longer pretend the fetus is invisible,” she wrote. Meanwhile, pro-life advocates are active at the grassroots level, making sure that women make informed choices and have ample financial and emotional support during their pregnancy. Pregnancy support centers are on the front lines in the battle against abortion.

2. The Third Wave

John Ensor: “In the first wave, Catholics took the lead is declaring the inherent evil of abortion.  Evangelicals then flooded in to help advance the pregnancy help movement.  The Third Wave points to the victory of our movement and the downfall of abortion as a business, when Black and Hispanic Christians not only join this movement, but lead it.”

Billboards like the one above (which has subsequently been taken down) are causing controversy, but at the very least, they are prompting conversation about the racial component to abortion. YouTube videos demonstrating the racist agenda of Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger, are also making the rounds – causing pro-choice advocates to reconsider their assumptions.

1. God Hears

Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed. Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and the needy. (Prov. 31:8-9)
For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. (Deut. 10:5)

Suffering in this world is terrible and limited, but suffering in the next world is terrible and eternal. And love sees it that way. Love does not shut its eyes to this world or that world. Love reckons with the reality of suffering here, and the worse reality of suffering there.

And what I see all around us today in the Christian church is the tendency to care only about the one or the other. There are these two camps:

1. I’m an activist for the cause of justice and life and wholeness and shalom and flourishing!
2. I’m not going to be distracted by all that. I’m going to rescue people from hell!

Here’s what I want. I want all of us at Bethlehem to say, “We will not make that choice!” We will say this sentence and mean it: “We care about all suffering now, especially eternal suffering later.”

That’s the sentence I want to leave ringing in your ears. I want you to feel whether you can embrace both of those. My guess is that there are people in this room very resistant to the first half and others who are very resistant to the second half.

I don’t want us to be among the sophisticated Christians who cannot take hell on their lips, let alone fire, or outer darkness, or gnashing of teeth, or torment. Oh no, we’re too sophisticated for that! I don’t give a rip about sophistication! I want truth! I want to know, God: Are these people that I hobnob with day after day on their way to destruction? If so, then I know what love requires.

And, there are others so jealous to guard that truth, that they’re afraid to death to fight any evil in this world. It’s going to look like liberalism, for goodness sakes! Let it look like whatever you want to call it. It’s just what [Jesus] says we should do.

Let’s be like Jesus. In every social issue from abortion to alcoholism, from AIDS to unemployment, from hunger to homelessness, let’s give the help that we would like to receive if it were us. And at every moment in that love, let us feel an even greater urgency to pray and speak and work to rescue people from everlasting suffering through the gospel of Jesus.

- John Piper, “Abortion and the Narrow Way that Leads to Life” (1.23.11)

Yesterday, my friend Jared Wilson wrote on the need for churches and Christians to focus not just on changing laws regarding abortion, but also to focus on changing hearts. I agree with Jared that we need a both/and approach, not an either/or (a point he makes explicitly).

I do worry, however, that some people might hear Jared’s point as saying something to the effect: “It’s more important to change hearts; therefore, let’s not busy ourselves with seeking to enact legislation.” Within the cultural climate I mentioned yesterday (where young evangelicals are less inclined to seek cultural change through the political process), I fear that we may be backing away from seeking legislative victories when they are right within our grasp.

Not long ago, I saw a clip from The View in which the hosts were discussing a new Oklahoma law that requires women to see an ultrasound before choosing abortion. Elisabeth Hasselback defended the law, but then acted as if it were misguided to seek this sort of abortion legislation. She said something like: “Change a law or change a heart? I’d rather change a heart.”

Put me on record saying, I’d like to change both. The moment we dichotomize changing laws and changing hearts is the moment we postpone the day abortion is illegal.

So, even though I agree that changing laws doesn’t ultimately solve the problem (yes, yes, yes – on all of Jared’s points), I want to make sure that we do not in any way downplay, denigrate, or discourage Christians who are actually seeking to change laws. All over the country we’ve seen a decline in the number of abortions where legislation has been enacted. Whether it’s in the form of parental notification, 24-hour waiting periods, banning late-term abortions, etc., we’ve made significant progress in pushing back the murderous rage of the Evil One against the children.

It’s one thing to say, as Jared does, that we would happily line up to cast a vote ending Roe v. Wade. It’s another thing entirely to be on the front lines of creating and passing legislation that does indeed decrease abortion. If all we say is, “I’ll vote to end it when it’s on the ballot,” the ballot will never arrive because no one will think it’s productive or effective to work at ending abortion from the legal angle.

Let’s imagine a different scenario. Pretend you live in the Deep South in the 1960′s, and you say, “I’d like to see civil rights enacted, and if I had the chance, I’d vote for it. But we need to be more concerned with individual hearts than with enacting legislation.” If we had taken that approach in the 60′s, then the Civil Rights Act would have never gone into effect. Even today, we wouldn’t have civil rights, as there are still racists out there whose hearts have yet to be changed.

Likewise, if we sought to change hearts before passing laws against human trafficking, the evil of the sex slave business would only increase. Don’t get me wrong. I believe the gospel is powerful enough to regenerate the pimp and his prostitute, the businessman with a double life and the woman who has been forced into subjugation. But it’s irresponsible for us to downplay the good work – even the legislative work – being done by Christians who want to make it harder for this kind of evil to flourish.

In the same way, there is more than one front in the battle against abortion.

So, I urge my missional pastor friends: by all means, preach the gospel of forgiveness. Preach against moralism and legalism. Offer the balm of the gospel to those who have had abortions. Let’s tirelessly seek to change the hearts of people who would snatch a baby’s right to life.

But let us never place a barrier between changing laws and changing hearts. We need to do both. And while it may not be every Christian’s responsibility to work to change the law, we must be thankful for those who are on the front-lines of the legal battle. Their work in squashing opportunities for the Evil One to snatch away more children is a crucial part of the fight for life.

I recently came across the initial reporting from Baptist Press on the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. Reading these documents made me so grateful for the Conservative Resurgence in the SBC.

The attorney who filed the initial lawsuit in Roe v. Wade was a Southern Baptist and member of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas. (BP interviewed her for a Jan. 29 story, see below.)

The lead paragraph of a Jan. 31 news analysis about Roe says the decision “advanced the cause of religious liberty, human equality and justice.” The story also says the court was a “strict constructionist” court and not a “liberal” court. It also says there “is no official Southern Baptist position on abortion.” (See below.)

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January 29, 1973
Abortion Court Decision Interpreted by Attorney
By Robert 0′ Brien

A Southern Baptist attorney who activated the legal machinery resulting in the Supreme Court decision overturning abortion statutes in some 30 states said here the “Supreme Court decision does not absolve anyone of individual moral or religious responsibility.” Linda N. Coffee, a 30-year-old brunette sat in her Dallas law office and pondered the contrasting complexities of her stance on abortion – legal vs. personal.

It’s a stance which would legally allow more constitutional freedom for others than she would exercise as an individual, she said in an interview. She expressed fear “the emotional reaction to the ruling will result in failure to distinguish between the legal principle of the decision and the moral implications now left to the doctor patient relationship.”

“The abortion decision could be as widely misinterpreted as the Supreme Court’s prayer decision, but I hope not,” said Miss Coffee, daughter of Nellene Coffee, a secretary in the Texas Baptist Christian Education Commission. ”From my personal perspective as a Christian,” she said, “It would tear me up to have to make a decision on abortion except in the early stages. And I would have to have a compelling reason even then,” she emphasized, speaking as a person.

But, as lawyer, Miss Coffee authored a series of legal proceedings which led to the 7-2 Supreme Court decision. Crux of the pleadings, drafted originally by Miss Coffee for argument before a three-judge federal court in Dallas, centered on whether the state has a right to interfere in a doctor-patient decision.

The eventual decision, she explained, declared the state may not interfere with the decision to terminate a pregnancy until the fetus becomes “viable” sometime between the beginning of sixth and seventh months of pregnancy. ”But the decision does not say any doctor has to perform any abortion–or that any patient has to have one, Miss Coffee said.

She observed that the decision also denied the fetus status as a legal person under the due process clause of the 14th amendment. ”But the ruling does not relieve each individual of standing firmly behind his or her moral or religious viewpoint about what a person is or when life begins, she emphasized. Illegal personhood is separate entirely from a moral or religious view of personhood, added Miss Coffee, a member of Park Cities Baptist Church, Dallas.

Although “troubled” that few laws now exist throughout the country on abortion in the aftermath of the decision, Miss Coffee hasn’t decided “what laws, if any, should be drawn to cover the final three months of pregnancy. I tend to feel the state should be neutral on abortion because it should never appear either to sanction an abortion or to interfere improperly with a doctor-patient relationship.

“But I would have little personal sympathy for use of abortion as a contraceptive or to avoid personal responsibility,” she emphasized. Miss Coffee was originally retained to handle the case of a young, unmarried women in Dallas, who was denied an abortion because Texas law allowed it only in cases where the prospective mother might die. In early 1970 she agreed to represent “Jane Roe, ” who revealed her identity as Norma McCorvey in another Baptist Press interview.

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January 31, 1973
High Court Holds Abortion To Be ‘A right of Privacy’
By W. Barry Garrett

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision that overturned a Texas law which denied a woman the right of abortion except to save her life, has advanced the cause of religious liberty, human equality and justice. At the same time ‘the court struck down a Georgia law that imposed unconstitutional procedures, in getting medical approval for an abortion…

The two decisions raise numerous other questions which Baptists and others should seek to understand. Among them:

Question: Was this a Warren type or “liberal” Supreme Court that rendered the decision?

Answer: No. This was a “strict constructionist” court, most of whose members have been appointed by President Nixon.

Question: Did the Supreme Court violate religious propriety by its abortion decision?

Answer: The Roman Catholic hierarchy insists that the Supreme Court blundered by making an immoral, anti-religious and unjustified decision. It has vowed to continue the fight against relaxed abortion laws.

However, most other religious bodies and leaders, who have expressed themselves, approve the decision. Social, welfare and civil rights workers hailed the decision with enthusiasm.

The Supreme Court itself recognized “the sensitive and emotional nature of the abortion controversy. It said, however, that “we need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus,” the court continued, “the judiciary at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.

Thus, it appears to be the view of the court that it decided a constitutional question without attempting answers to the medical, philosophical or theological problems in abortion.

Question: What is the Southern Baptist position on abortion?

Answer: There is no official Southern Baptist position on abortion, or any other such question. Among 12 million Southern Baptists, there are probably 12 million different opinions.

Question: Does the Supreme Court decision on abortion intrude on the religious life of the people?

Answer: No. Religious bodies and religious persons can continue to teach their own particular views to their constituents with all the vigor they desire. People whose conscience forbids abortion are not compelled by law to have abortions. They are free to practice their religion according to the tenets of their personal or corporate faith.

The reverse is also now true since the Supreme Court decision. Those whose conscience or religious convictions are not violated by abortion may not now be forbidden by a religious law to obtain an abortion it they so choose.

In short, if the state laws are now made to conform to the Supreme Court ruling, the decision to obtain an abortion or to bring pregnancy to full term can now be a matter of conscience and deliberate choice rather than one compelled by law.

Religious liberty, human equality and justice are advanced by the Supreme Court abortion decision.

Yesterday, I posted an interview with John Ensor about his work with Heartbeat International. Today, I have one follow-up question about a recent development in the pro-life movement.

Trevin Wax: What do you think of the recent media coverage given to the Atlanta billboard campaign (“Black children are an endangered species”)?

John Ensor: Funny you should ask.  I just met last week with Ryan Bomberger, who designed the campaign.  We became friends a year ago when he told me his amazing story (conceived in rape, almost aborted, adopted by white Christian family, one of 13 children, etc.).  He and his “Endangered Species” Campaign is a wonderful sign of what we call the Third Wave.

Trevin Wax: Explain that for us. What is the third wave of the pro-life movement?

John Ensor: In the first wave, Catholics took the lead is declaring the inherent evil of abortion.  Evangelicals then flooded in to help advance the pregnancy help movement.  The Third Wave points to the victory of our movement and the downfall of abortion as a business, when Black and Hispanic Christians not only join this movement, but lead it.

The Endangered Species Campaign is causing many people, black and white, to look at the connections between racism and abortion and to reassess their views.  But Trevin, I am pleased to report that this is just one of several signs of the Third Wave.

Trevin Wax: What are some of the other signs?

John Ensor: The release of the documentary Maafa 21 is magnificent piece of research.  It is well done and opening eyes within the Black Christian community like never before.

Last January, Bound 4 Life (those radical young Christians who stand with a piece of red tape over their months and pray for spiritual revival in America) made a challenging video clip exposing the racism and called young people to gathered outside the new Planned Parenthood Super Store opening in the predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhood of Houston. 14,000 kids showed up to stand and intercede.

Rev. Arnold Culbreath, of Protecting Black Life, recently loaded 65 Black pastors in Miami onto buses in order to visit Heartbeat of Miami. This pregnancy help medical clinic serves amidst 30 plus abortion business targeting Miami’s minority neighborhoods.  Arnold believes if these Black pastors drop the dodge that abortion is a conservative political concern, rather than a biblical matter of justice, and if they break the silence in their pulpits and get behind the pregnancy help movement, they will see the abortion industry collapse before their very eyes.

Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King (and board member at Heartbeat International) is now tirelessly and painfully speaking about her two abortions.  She explains how deceived she was and is calling on the Black community to see that the reason Jim Crow laws were evil, is the same reason abortion is evil; both are examples of powerful people devaluing the human life of powerless people.  She is a true Third Wave leader.

Alveda came with me to Pittsburgh in November, 2008.  We went there to led support to an urban initiative undertaken by two white suburban pregnancy centers who decided to merge, move into the city and partner with the Black Christian community there.  That kind of resolve and courage is worth supporting.  Alveda helped them highlight how all 4 abortion businesses in Pittsburgh are in or adjacent to the predominant Black neighborhood of Wilkinsburg.  Her testimony inspired many to act.

In January, 2010, the Women’s Resource Network dedicated and opened a new office in Wilkinsburg.  Covenant Church, led by Bishop Joseph Garlington, provides the space and contributes to the leadership.  This is the Third Wave.

Trevin Wax: How does the racial component of abortion make this tragic killing even more unspeakable?

John Ensor: The tragedy that our Black and Latino neighbors represent 25% of our population but suffer 59% of all abortions arouses me to do everything I can, in the name of Jesus, to steer the pregnancy help movement into the city.  I found one block in LA where their are 4 abortion businesses within 100 feet of each other!  I think it the neediest neighborhood in America in want of a pregnancy center.  So if anyone wants to get involved, visit any of these links or join me in our urban initiatives at Heartbeat International.

Related Posts:

• Abortion and White Supremacy
• The Current State of the Pro-Life Movement: An Interview with Scott Klusendorf
• A Worthwhile Documentary on the Abortion Debate

I am often asked to promote a variety of organizations and ministries that are doing a world of good. For my readers’ sake, I generally decline these requests. Most of the time, even if I agree with the mission and the ministry, I realize that I simply can’t point readers to every good ministry out there and maintain the consistency of this blog.

Still, there are rare occasions when I want to promote a ministry, and since these occasions are so rare, my support should be interpreted as very, very strong. That brings me to Heartbeat International and their ministry and their pregnancy support ministry. Let me introduce you to John Ensor – a man who has the mission of Heartbeat at his heart.

Trevin Wax: Welcome to Kingdom People, John. Tell us a little about Heartbeat International.

John Ensor: Heartbeat serves as the leadership supply-line for other pregnancy help ministries. There are 2000 plus pregnancy help ministries established now across the USA and Canada. They consist mostly of pregnancy help centers, (about half of which are now ultrasound-equipped medical clinics) and maternity homes, started, funded and staffed by the Christian community. With rare exception, none of these existed 40 years ago.

Trevin Wax: How does Heartbeat serve the pregnancy support movement and how did you become involved with this ministry?

John Ensor: Nearly 40 years ago, legalized abortion became the accelerant used to burn down the moral structures designed by our pluralistic society to protect women, children, marriage and family. In response, the pregnancy help movement emerged as a fire line: a winsome, life-saving and life-changing work of crisis intervention.

I consider this movement to be the underground railroad of our time. It is everyday Christians focusing on rescuing individuals and couples, promoting life, sexual integrity, family and faith in Christ in their neighborhood, while praying for the truth to work it’s way into the conscience our of country. Heartbeat’s role has been to keep this movement growing effectively and broadly.

For example, in 1992, when I lived in Boston, a number of churches recognized that by working together, in spite of remaining differences, and pooling resources, we could stop the killing and make dramatic changes in the lives of those in pregnancy distress. We turned to Heartbeat for training, resources, mentors and counsel.

• Over the next 12 years we established six pregnancy help medical clinics.
• We saw six abortion businesses close during that time.
• The state abortion rate dropped from 40,000 a year to about 26,000 a year.

While a variety of factors contributed to that downturn, one was certainly the cumulative impact of hundreds of Christians actively befriending, mentoring, evangelizing and helping thousands of women and couples who otherwise would have turned to an abortionist as their savior.

It fell to me to lead that effort. At the time, I was lamenting the discovery that probably 30% of the women in my church had already suffered an abortion (or three). An similar percentage of men confessed to pushing for and paying for abortions in their personal history. I was shocked. Then I was deeply disturbed at my own pastoral leadership as I read how clearly and plainly the Bible calls us stop the shedding of innocent blood (Dt 21:1-9, Psm 82:3-4; Lk 10:25-37 to name a few).

I turned to Heartbeat to learn how to take this biblical call and convert it into a practical local ministry. They taught me and our team how to save lives and how to do it in a personal and loving way so that the Gospel flowed freely from us to those we served. Now, at Heartbeat, I am working to turn the local pregnancy help ministry into a true global missions movement.

Trevin Wax: How can we get involved in helping Heartbeat move forward?

John Ensor: Start with a visit to our website. It was developed for Christians who are hungry and eager to make a difference in this, the preeminent injustice of our time.

We call the work before us, “cross-bearing for the child-bearing.” That reflects both the method and the message fueling the pregnancy help movement. It certainly reflects the sacrifice required.

This cross is taken up simply by taking up a small piece of the work. Decide which piece by reviewing our five initiatives. Then join that community of like-minded friends and supporters working with Heartbeat along those lines.

On the home page, take up the challenge: “$2 Answers this Call!” We designed this so that anyone and everyone can directly engage in the life-saving work of the pregnancy help movement. So buy a few calls and then sign up for the updates so you can learn who and how lives were saved through your support.

And tell the kids! Kids and teenagers recoil at the abhorrence of abortion. As soon as they learn of it, they want to stop it. Can you imagine what it would mean if the ninth graders in your church for example, each paid for a phone call that helped a mother choose life and then used their FaceBook or texted a few friends to follow? They would never forget it.

Giving stimulates passion; or as Jesus said it, “where your treasure is there your heart will be also” (Mt 6:21). They may be active and supportive in the cause of life for the next 50 years. And should they or their friends ever need pregnancy help, they would know that help is a phone call away. That is our thinking behind the Answer the Call effort.

So if you want to advance the pregnancy help movement, visit Heartbeat International, feed your interest, invest a few dollars, follow your thirst!

Tomorrow, I’ll ask John about the recent campaign in Georgia that seeks to communicate the racial component of abortion-on-demand.

Related Posts:

• Roe v. Wade at 37
• Making the Case for Life
• Being Pro-Life in a Culture of Death: An Interview with Russ Moore