“IT’S ABOUT KILLING BABIES”

It failed: There was an urgency about Issue 1 up for a vote in Ohio this past week. The issue was about whether or not to raise the qualifications for the initiation of an amendment to our constitution from 51% to 60%. Only it wasn’t really about that. It appeared to be a question of checks and balances in our government. Only it wasn’t. Opponents of raising the threshold of a qualifying amendment insisted that it was about democracy. Only it wasn’t. Opponents outspent supporters 2-1. The source and amount of money spent to defeat it reveals the issue, despite protestations, wasn’t about democracy. Personally, I, considering only whether it was beneficial for our system of governance or our constitution, was never sure if Issue 1 was legitimately needed or good--if a yes vote was the right vote. But it wasn’t really about those things. Knowing what it was really about, I voted yes. If one truly voted no for the reasons I just listed, I would not malign them or their vote. But it wasn’t about those things. All along, both the prescient and honest and the devious and designing knew Issue 1 wasn’t about Issue 1. It was about subsequently attempting to amend the Ohio Constitution to legalize abortion. An amendment to the constitution legalizing abortion would protect it from legislative action or judicial ruling. Excluding those who were deceived into thinking, or who honestly believed it was a question of governance, for the preponderance of those who opposed it, Issue 1 was about killing babies. Most support of Issue 1 was about NOT killing babies. Opposition wasn’t just about killing babies but making it more convenient to kill babies. Anecdotes and statistics have been shared again and again by near-weeping promulgators of abortion of how women have had to travel outside of Ohio to a nearby state to have an abortion. Websites have labeled Ohio “hostile” towards those seeking an abortion. After the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe vs Wade, the Ohio legislators passed the heartbeat law (6 weeks) and our governor signed it into law. The court has blocked it. This has reverted Ohio back to the allowance of abortion up to 22 weeks. That does not satisfy many folks. Afraid of an appeal court’s decision to allow the heartbeat law or in order to push for even later-term abortions, an intensive move was made to defeat Issue 1. These motives, though evident prior to the election by those paying attention, were revealed in the reaction to the Issues’ being defeated with 60% voting no. With a palpable giddy glee and unmasked delight, victorious opponents relieved and rejoicing immediately spoke of getting an issue on the November ballot to enshrine abortion with an amendment. Wednesday morning after the election, I finished an article on a paper’s front page that described people’s delight and said to my wife, “They’re not rejoicing over having defeated Issue 1. They are rejoicing over killing babies.” Though the jubilant claimed they were rejoicing about safeguarding democracy, or a win for women’s health, or about a victory for women’s choice, or a success for their political party, in reality, they were rejoicing because there seems now to be a path opened to get back to killing more babies in Ohio. People view issues through layers upon layers of punditry, commentary, sloganeering, and jingoistic jingles, and fail to see them for what they really are. Indubitably, there are truly complex questions about the extenuating, horrific crises of some expectant mothers--cases of concern and cause for real sympathy for a mother’s medical condition. And to say that these are rare is not to minimize their tragedy. But, when all the layers are peeled away, the end resultant reality, is that babies are being killed. And, in the end, there is but a fractional percentage where the baby, in fact, had to be killed. Left alone, these babies would have lived. No amount of redefining what is developing in a mother’s womb is going to change the reality that what is in there is a baby. And no other way of styling it is going to change that abortion is the killing of a baby. Despite those genuinely deceived, despite those whose misguided intentions are noble, caring, and empathetic, despite their being tragic circumstances in a minuscule amount of cases, in the end, the clamoring for abortion is a call for killing babies. Those who so clamor are those, “Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;” (Pro 2:14). The current push in our culture to legalize abortion everywhere is by those who rejoice in doing evil. They not only celebrated abortion's legalization wherever they are victorious, they want to coerce others to celebrate with them. We will not. We cannot. We instead weep. Why? It’s about killing babies. --Pastor Clifford Hurst

“IT’S ABOUT KILLING BABIES”

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