Thoughts about Abortion and Planned Parenthood
If you have not seen the Planned Parenthood videos then you can see one at the following link.
This would seem to show that they are willing to sell for a profit the remains of aborted babies.
I would recommend the book: Abortion & the Early Church by Michael J. Gorman as a good book on developing a prayerful and careful approach to the Abortion issue.
The first century church of the Apostles faced legal abortion the same way we do today.
A wide range of other competing religions within the Roman Empire, including Judaism, the Greek state religion, Mithraism, the Roman state religion, and various Mystery religions, surrounded the early Church. With the exception of Judaism, most or all of the competing religions allowed women to have abortions and allowed parents to kill newborn babies by strangulation or exposing them as methods of population control.
The rescue of these abandoned babies proved to be a source of great growth among the early church who took those children giveo to exposture home and adopted them. There are many writings, letters and petitions of early Christian philosophers and Church Fathers, which equated abortion with infanticide and condemned both as murder.
Here are some examples:
"For us [Christians] we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing; nor does it matter when you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to birth. That is a man which is going to be one: you have the fruit already in the seed." Apology 9:6
"They [John and Jesus] were both alive while still in the womb. Elizabeth rejoiced as the infant leaped in her womb; Mary glorifies the Lord because Christ within inspired her. Each mother recognizes her child and is known by her child who is alive, being not merely souls but also spirits." De A ninta 26:4
The Didache (also known as "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles") dates from the first half of the second century CE. It states: "Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion." (2:2) It also says that "The Way of Death is filled with people who are...murderers of children and abortionists of God's creatures." (5:1-2)
So the Church has always understood that life in the womb should be protected and abortion is not the will of God.
So we can strive to do many things in regard to abortion.
1. Pray for the nation to become convinced that abortion of unborn children is not the will of God.
2. Pray for forgiveness for either having an abortion or failing to work to encourage people not to abort their children.
God's grace can forgive the act of abortion and help us consistently live as those who love life. We must proclaim God's will to protect the life of the unborn and the forgiveness for failing to do this offered in the gospel of grace.
3. Support ministries that educate about abortion such as "Right to Life" and provide care for women facing crisis pregnancies such as "Hope Pregnancy Center".
4. Plan to be part of the "Life Chain" for public prayer on the first Sunday in October. This year this will be Oct 4th. We will be at Commercial and University on the sidewalk near the Checkers fast food from 2 to 3.
5. Pray for people to be converted to true faith in Messiah Jesus and discipled in that faith, since this will consistently lead to a desire to protect the unborn while having compassion on woman facing crisis pregnancies.
6. Petition congress to defund Planned Parenthood from all government assistance as an act of expressing your faith that God desires innocent life to be protected.
Consider carefully these matters and God's calling on your life in being part of the voice of the unborn and how to show the compassion of Jesus to all those struggling with this issue.
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