Jeremiah 16:17 “For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.”
Before working as an RN in Labor & Delivery and Postpartum, I trained at a well-known nursing school in southern California. During my obstetrics rotation, I saw many joyous moments of childbirth as well as some tragic ones. One of the most difficult days for me as a student nurse was when I witnessed a saline abortion, from the administration of the lethal intravenous fluid to the delivery of the baby to the traumatic aftermath that enveloped the mother. Thankfully, my nursing school did not make any of us participate in any abortive procedures.
After the saline solution had been given, we were informed the birth would probably take place the following day. The next day, I was allowed to visit the young teen to see how she was doing. She was alone in a room, going through the last stages of labor, and very afraid. There was no nurse or doctor anywhere to be found. As a student nurse, I had no idea what to do, so I went in search of help. When I found the nurse on staff, she simply handed me a bedpan, said to put the “products of conception” in it, and call her when it was done. I was stunned. How could a nurse be so callous? I chose to stay with the teen through the delivery. She was so frightened, and kept saying she only did this because her mother told her to. Her mother was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t long before the baby was delivered. She was perfect… very tiny, but perfect… and dead. I cried along with the new mother as we grieved the death of her daughter together.
I have never been a political person. I rarely join in on conversations regarding current events, and I usually do not share my opinions on social media. However, as the times change, it mandates a change in me.
In the past few days, recent events have tugged at my heart until finally came the straw that broke the back of the proverbial camel. When I read that New York had extended the legalization of abortion up to the moment of birth, I was stunned. It was even said that the legislators cheered when the law was passed. Lots of different emotions flooded my soul. Shock, anger, grief, shame… and they linger.
There are numerous verses in the Bible testifying that sacrificing children is an abomination to God (Leviticus 18:21, Ezekiel 16:20-21, Psalm 106:37-38, 2 Kings 17:17-18 to name just a few). In Micah 6:7, it states that God does not accept the sacrifice of children for the atonement of sin. It is a heinous sin to Him.
The only one who desires the sacrifice of helpless babies and children is Satan. The Bible speaks of children being offered to Moloch, a satanic-based pagan god who required these sacrifices in the name of religion. This worship of Satan required child sacrifices then, and it requires them now, and Satan will find any way to obtain them. Cultures such as Aztecs, Minoans, and Incas practiced sacrificing children as part of their religious worship, and “civilized societies” condemned them for these acts. Rather ironic that the same cultures today don’t think twice about abortion. Why? The reason is because under the guise of “pro-choice” and “women’s rights,” the reality of abortion is disguised and made much more palatable and acceptable. Because of this, Satan still gets his child sacrifices today… millions of them.
One reason abortion seems innocuous is because of the argument regarding the moment that life begins. Some say at conception; some say at birth. I propose that the moment life begins is long before conception occurs. In the book of Jeremiah, God is speaking of the prophet in chapter one, verse five where He says, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” I believe Jeremiah’s life began in the mind of God before he was actually conceived within his mother’s body. Since children are a gift from God, it is completely feasible to me that life begins when He decides to create that child… well before conception.
Every life is created by God, given by God, and loved by God.
“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” – Psalm 127:3
Psalm 139 is one of my favorite messages from the Lord and at one point during a severe depression, it saved my life.
When the issue of abortion started becoming the topic of public conversation, I believed I understood both sides (or ALL sides, if you will) of the argument. Though I personally always considered the beginning of a life the moment of conception, I understood other points of view.
In the 90’s I was asked to become part of an Inner Healing team, people who prayed for others to be healed of (primarily) emotional damage or scars. Without breaking confidentiality, I can say that I spent time on prayer with several women who chose not to give birth. Whether the woman chose to “lose” the baby early on or later on in the course of her pregnancy, each woman expressed an immeasurable grief over the loss of a child. In most cases, the child was not given a name – another source of grief for the mother. In some cases, we named the child and gave him/her into God’s hands and that seemed to alleviate some of the pain.
But not one of the women was unscathed and lived with the remorse of making the decision to end the pregnancy.
This brought a whole new perspective to me regarding abortion, When my single neighbor who had become pregnant told me she planned to abort, I asked her if we could talk about. We did and she said she had thought about all the alternative I mentioned and felt her only course of action was to abort the fetus. When she asked me if I would help her, I told her that I loved her and wanted to support her, but that I would have to pray about it. I did and I put it in the Lord’s hands. I told her if I was available the day of her procedure, I would go with her. The night before, my agent called me to tell me I was booked to work on a film the next day.
I told my neighbor and she understood.
It was a very hard decision for me.
We have now joined a group of only 4 nations that have no gestational limits on abortion: North Korea, China, Vietnam, and Canada. The United States is nation #5. Sad company of which to be a part. This grieves me greatly. I can only imagine how the heart of God must be breaking. We protest the inhumane treatment of animals, but not unborn babies. We care more about a spotted owl than we do our own children. Why is there not a greater outcry against this atrocity against humanity itself? Who is next? The elderly? The disabled? The mentally challenged?
I am reminded of a poem by Martin Niemöller:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak for me.”
As Edmund Burke once wrote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” So what must we do? We must take our stand and pray. Pray fervently and without ceasing because no matter how tragic the outlook, no matter how mighty the enemy seems, our God is greater, and He remains in control. The victory has already been won at the cross of Calvary, and the bigger picture is only known by God. He will prevail, but until then, we must pray and fight the good fight, never giving up our hope which is in Christ Jesus alone.