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Christianity Today, April (Web-only), 2007 |

Total Victory on Partial-Birth Abortion

Prolife leaders applaud Supreme Court's first regulation on an abortion procedure.

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra | posted 4/19/2007 09:47AM

Prolife leaders celebrated Wednesday after the Supreme Court upheld the 2003 federal law banning partial-birth abortions. The law, which prohibits doctors from using the dilation and extraction procedure ...

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N	Posted: May 01, 2007 9:48 PM


My comment has not been posted, and I bet someone did not like the idea that in truth it is sex that's the cause of all the problems. The abortion comes AFTER sex, A LOT OF TIMES UNWANTED BY WOMEN/CHILDREN. So, once again, something must be done about that problem, not the abortion!!!

Brenda~

Posted: April 25, 2007 1:10 PM

This small victory may accomplish more than we expect. Let’s use it as a conversation starter to listen to and share views with others. If our society’s view of abortion is going to change, it will take a viral grassroots effort. Besides engaging conversations with our peers, we should begin pro-life ministries in our churches. We could hold classes or mini-seminars and encourage attendees to invite their friends; they could be for teen and pre-teen girls, for co-eds, adults or a mother/daughter format. The lessons should include, not only information about what the scripture says about unborn human life, but about sex, marriage and caring for orphans and the poor. These classes could include volunteer information for community projects or mission work, encouraging those who attend to engage others with the life-giving love of Christ! If your church already does this, get involved and see if it can be expanded. If not, I challenge you to share this idea and try to get something started

jancie

Posted: April 25, 2007 10:06 AM


this article shows mothers to be that every child is precious

Karen Bruce

Posted: April 25, 2007 9:57 AM

It is a small step but a critical one for each and every life that will be saved. I am grateful for the hard work and persistence by Pro-Life Organizations and Crisis Pregnancy Centers to save as many as possible within the laws of our nation. I pray that one day we will realize that abortion serves to kill America one child at a time and is a terrible lie. Americans are always free to choose but some choices in our society do and should carry a heavy burden of responsibility. We should not allow an innocent child to die for the sake of "choice" any more than we should allow a person to destroy their own body or their own family with the use of illegial drugs or a pedophile to perversely destroy a child for fun or profit or for a murderer to take the life of another. I do not agree with all the rights and laws of our land but I think that this decision by our highest court is a just and needed revision. May the Supreme Court Justices be blessed and lives be saved.

Rshaull@michonline.net

Posted: April 25, 2007 9:45 AM

I thank God for the Supreme Court decision on partial birth abortions. Babies were being 'slaughtered' by any definition of the word. I'm sure when the Court Justices saw pictures of a baby being delivered three-quarters of the way out of the womb except for the head, then having a sharp instrument thrust into the base of its skull to kill it they could not help but vote against procdure. They also realized this procedure could not benefit the life of the mother and therefore wrote "no exceptions" into their decision. How the other Justices could view those pictures and be so hard-hearted, will always be a mystery to me. Second term abortions are equally brutal as the child is sliced up, instead, inside the womb and then delivered. First term, although still wrong in God's eyes at least has a some semblence of mercy. I pray that the Pro-choice movement will put on a heart of compassion

letigre'

Posted: April 25, 2007 7:36 AM

There is little that is "partial" about abortion. Sin brings a thorough effect on the life with which it is associated. We center on the baby when the woman has no physical reason to abort the child and we assert the baby's innocence. When the woman has an emotional or physical or criminal issue, however, we begin to assert the woman's rights. Ideally, the issue should never be anything else but the baby's innocence. Even in the case of rape or incest, the baby has done nothing wrong & regardless of the crime committed, the baby should not receive a death penalty. Some have called this the "ultimate" ideal, but is it an ideal at all if the ultimate truth is laid aside? One may take a piece-by-piece approach to repealing Roe vs. Wade, but one can NEVER take a piece-by-piece approach to the ideal. P.S. I wonder how those millions who have been aborted would have voted for president with this Supremen Court decision on their minds?

Robert W. Wallace

Posted: April 25, 2007 12:41 AM

It would be interesting to know how many of the "partial birth abortions" were for therapeutic reasons, either because of a serious threat to the mother or a serious impairment of the fetus. Unless we know this, we can't judge whether these were ethically or theologically permissible. There should be no late term (third trimester) abortions by any method except for serious therapeutic reasons, in which cases the women should have the right to choose in consultation with their physicians. A women should not be forced by the state to carry to term in these circumstances against her ethical and religious convictions regardless of the views of others. No physician should perform a late term abortion simply because a women has decided to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. We could have better regulative legislation.

Beckee Smith

Posted: April 24, 2007 11:11 PM

This is a victory (how can you not call it that?) When even if just one child will be allowed life because of this ban. LIFE. It is easy for others that comment to attack life when they already have been allowed such a privilege. We will never create a Utopian society that does not see the need for abortions as it is human nature to invent justification. . .sometimes simply because a child is undesired at this time, and a deep desire to keep ones body shape. It will never be enough to eradicate the world of poverty and meet universal needs inclusively. The human heart is deceitful and does not always know what is best. We are to treasure life, To love others above ourselves. That includes unborn children. Praise God that LIFE has won the day!

janice Schilt

Posted: April 24, 2007 8:04 PM


I think there are times when abortion is the lesser of two evils but am glad they upheld the ban on partial birth abortion. For me that is never right except if the mother 's life were in danger otherwise.

Artimus

Posted: April 24, 2007 12:16 PM

I don't think of it as a victory at all. I don't think abortion is right. Quite opposite. But I think taking away a women's choise is worse. Who are we helping by making it illegal? Is that going to stop abortions from happening? How well did prohabition work? It stopped the drinking right? No. Now we are going to have mothers thowing their newborns in dumpsters. Is that better? We can't control people. No matter how much we would like to. The sad truth is, this is going to happen, and continue to happen. Trying to eradicate it, rather than control it will only make it worse.

a Christian in WI

Posted: April 23, 2007 10:58 AM

Praise God for this one step in the right direction! May we as Christians continue to pray for more redemption in America. And in case pro-choice advocates think we are only dogmatic "naval gazers" who do not care about the life of the mother, I would like to argue that is not the case. My heart bleeds for the women who have gone through an abortion and feel helpless to know how to deal with the post-abortion stress. And there is that stress, because women were created to nuture, not murder. So help us, God! (May I point those who are facing that stress to their local crisis pregnancy center? CareNet is one of at least several national Christian networks of crisis pregnancy centers, and the staff at these centers would be willing to offer their support to you as you face issues surrounding abortion.)

Kurt	Posted: April 21, 2007 12:18 PM

Total victory will only come when 9 justices recognize that unborn life deserves constituitonal protection. Sadly, as of today, four justices (Ginsburg, Souter, Breyer and Stephens) still desire to give federal constitutional protection to an abortion procedure that involves killing a partially delivered baby. One justice (Kennedy) desires to give constitutional protection to all other forms of abortion. And the four most "pro-life" justices (Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Roberts) are apparently willing to let the legal status of unborn children be left up to the individual states. How can anyone who believes in the sanctity of human life get overly excited about that?

Greg Zenitsky

Posted: April 20, 2007 1:48 PM

Am I to seriously believe that abortions exist because of poverty, lack of proper sex education, or the lack of living wages? To believe such nonsense is to totally misunderstand the nature of this and all sin and to ignore even the available statistical truth of why abortions are practiced in this country. Do couples engage in the act of sexual intercourse for the purpose of procreation when they know they are living in poverty or their wages are not considered "living"??? Really?? Do women have abortions when they know they don't have health care? Can we be honest with each other concerning the root cause of abortions?

Laura

Posted: April 20, 2007 9:17 AM

As Christians engaged in spiritual warfare, we need to view this decision not as a signal for positive change in America but as a potential "Remember the Alamo" for pro-choice Democrats, and we must, therefore, be on our guard. A leading candidate for the presidency in 2008, Hilary Clinton called the decision an "erosion" of a constitutional right and thus, baldly and unapologetically, proved herself willing to twist the Constitution to support murder. Now we must ask ourselves why any American would say children's right not to have their brains sucked out of their heads is unconstitutional. Biologically, none of the arguments in favor of partial-birth abortion hold up (since the baby has to come nearly all the way out for this form of abortion to occur), so the argument comes down to two questions: Why are our leaders trying to twist the Constitution to justifiy murder? And why are we so willfully blind to such immorality?

Jim Allyn

Posted: April 19, 2007 6:56 PM

It is beyond me how anyone could consider this a victory. Victory will come when Christians stop trying to make abortions illegal, and start making them unnecessary. When we create a just society in which we have abolished poverty, when we have sex education for all our children that includes information on contraception, when we have living wage laws so that families can afford to raise children, when we have health care for all our citizens, then the current perceived "need" for abortions will vanish, and we will be on our way to victory. Passing laws against abortion is merely admitting that we don't have the determination, strength, or courage to create a society in which there will be no demand for abortion.

gdp	Posted: April 19, 2007 5:42 PM


Phyrric victory. The triumph of sectarianism over law through the ongoing incapacity to recognize the significance of sacrificing the separation of power to an overweening moral impulsiveness.

George

Posted: April 19, 2007 3:40 PM


Thaugh a partial victory it comes to symbolize America coming back to its senses. Thank you for these good and refreshing news.

Ron	Posted: April 19, 2007 2:49 PM

America lost it's soul in the 1960s, and it was reflected by Roe/Wade in the 70s. We begain to not really care about human life if it stood in the way of convience. The Clintons and many like them (me included) are a product of the 1960s when drugs, free love, do your own thing mentality, became popular. This ruling could be finally a step in the right direction toward some form of sanity. I pray that is the case.

Matt Stephens

Posted: April 19, 2007 2:40 PM

I'm glad Dr. Land was appalled by the "staggering" 2,200 partial-birth abortions per year, but what about the 1.3 million children who are legally murdered in this nation each year? What civilised nation in modern history would tolerate--even defend--the annual massacre of millions of children within their borders? The United States. Help us, God. Help the children. We are all helpless without your power and grace.

Rob	Posted: April 19, 2007 2:19 PM

The fact that this even went to the Supreme Court is an abomination. This country is in bad shape and in danger of the Lord's rebuke. This unspeakable cruelty was one vote from being considered a woman's right. May God forgive the United States. Please read Psalm 2. We as a nation are gathering ourselves against God and His annointed one. According to the Bible, He is laughing at the United States and getting ready to rebuke us. This polarized society is so worried about offending someone that we supress the only Good News that can set people free. Jesus Christ was the only "prophetic figure" that wasn't named by name at the Va Tech memorial. Those who call on the Lord will be saved. How many American's know who was voted off American Idol last night and how many American's can say what chapter of the Word they were reading last night? I am guilty too and we need to turn this ship around.

Colleen

Posted: April 19, 2007 1:42 PM

Some of those celebrating need to re-read the opinion/decision, authored by Kennedy. This is not "Total Victory". It is a slight and narrow victory at best, and very tenuous. Kennedy makes clear in his opinion that he is prepared to reconsider his stance on future appeals, assuming those appeals will be based on fact rather than theory, as this case apparently was. This will not end partial-birth abortion. Even this article points that out. I think this ruling will serve to mobilize those on both sides of the issue.

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