To the editor:
It’s been a devastating year for women and children in Ohio. I’m thankful to live in Shelby County where most people believe that children deserve to live, and women deserve better than abortion. Last month, 76% of our voters affirmed that belief.
Champions of abortion disagree that it’s been a devastating year. They celebrate the enshrinement of abortion in our constitution as “good for women.” They avoid discussions of the babies killed and focus almost exclusively on the “rights of women.” They refer to the deaths of babies as “healthcare for women.” They treat the deaths of babies as a form of “contraception for women.” They claim these deaths are “necessary for women” to live fulfilling lives, and that women are somehow demeaned if abortions are restricted in any meaningful way. Anyone opposing this pro-abortion narrative is labeled anti-woman.
Pro-life advocates believe that being pro-life and pro-woman are synonymous. We believe that ending the life of a child in the womb is a devastating decision that is unimaginably harmful to women. We seek to “protect women” from an industry that trivializes, promotes, and now celebrates, the death of babies. We believe it is a moral responsibility to protect women from a lifetime of pain and regret that will almost certainly ensue if they end the life of their child during a vulnerable, confusing period in their own lives.
When you strip away all the pro-abortion hype, the fundamental difference in these views is that one claims that babies must die for the good of women and the other recognizes that the death of babies is devastating for women.
As we faithfully continue to fight for both women and children, we must cautiously guard our hearts, our words, and our actions. Jesus told us that the greatest two commandments are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). And if that isn’t hard enough, He also commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Jesus is our perfect example because “…while we were still sinners [His enemies], Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). So love, not hate, must motivate all that we think, say, and do as we oppose the culture and seek God’s best for both women and their babies. Soli Deo Gloria!
Dan Cecil – [email protected]
Sidney
