What a Difference a Few Years Can Make -- Tim Phillips
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, I thought I would post a blog article I wrote more than a decade ago entitled "Indications We Are Winning the Abortion Fight" (see here for the original article). A few things had to be changed (and a couple of links were broken), but I had forgotten about the video at the end (which still works). That was the first time I had heard of Abby Johnson; since then, a movie has been made about her story, and I also heard her speak at a Right to Life banquet in 2015.
From 2009:
A couple of weeks ago, the Missus and I watched an episode of Law and Order where the case centered on the topic of abortion. It was a great episode, and involved a “ripped from the headlines” (or “ripped-off from the headlines” as I always like to say) story of an abortion doctor who was slain at his church during a service. The interesting thing about the episode is that several of the main characters were portrayed (favorably) as being pro-life. One of the police detectives was very frank about his pro-life stance, so much that his partner objected openly (and was portrayed very negatively when he did so). One of the Assistant D.A.s was also very much pro-life (even arguing with his boss that Roe v. Wade needed to be re-examined because of advances in medical technology since 1973), and his assistant, who was pro-choice at the beginning of the episode, changed her mind near the end after hearing the testimony of a witness who gave birth to a child (a baby who would have been otherwise aborted because of severe birth defects — the mother gave birth and enjoyed the few hours of her child’s life). NBC needs to be applauded for such a powerful episode.
The Missus pointed me to this story involving a woman who worked as a director at a branch of Planned Parenthood. She resigned after she was forced to watch an ultrasound of an abortion being performed (I cannot imagine how horrible that must have been). She describes the change of heart in terms of a spiritual conversion.
Back to 2022: I always like to remind folks about patience and perseverance in prayer. Jesus gives this example in Luke 18:
Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
In at the Spring 2018 meeting of our presbytery, a motion was made and passed for a day of prayer and fasting for the release of missionary Andrew Brunson, who was being held in a Turkish prison. Thanks to Moderator Lee Shelnutt, that day of prayer and fasting spread to our entire denomination. And by the time the Fall 2018 meeting of presbytery happened, Andrew Brunson had already been released.
We must be earnest and persevering in our prayers. That includes not only prayers for big things, but also the "ordinary" things. Pray that the Lord would revive His churches. Pray that we would grow spiritual. Do this at all times without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). A decade, or a year, or a few months, or even a few days can make a big difference.