By Judie Brown
Growing numb is not an option when you have chosen to stand up against the cruelty of those who deny truth in deference to the siren song of evil. But there are times when it might seem far better to be immune to facts and oblivious to death and destruction. Several recent occurrences exemplify what I am talking about.
Perhaps you did not realize that as the war continues in Gaza, a concern has been raised about the plight of females in the region. But the concerns might not be what you think.
According to reliefweb, women and girls are suffering from a “dire lack of sexual and reproductive health supplies [and] disease outbreak.” It is astounding, but true, that in the midst of bloody chaos there are people who strive to kill babies and maim women rather than help them with legitimate needs such as food, clothing, and shelter.
This is part of reproductive rights doublespeak—the Planned Parenthood version of the right to be rendered unpregnant.
Right here at home there are 48 United States senators who are clamoring for executive action from the White House that will ensure the availability of over-the-counter birth control for women. Michigan senators issued a public statement claiming that in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision “federal departments must ensure that it [birth control] is covered without cost-sharing and without the need for a prescription as a condition of coverage.”
Taxpayers pay these people’s salaries so that they can work in the hallowed halls of Congress, advocating for chemicals and devices that kill. This alone would be tragic, but it is just another item in a long list of amoral events occurring in the world today.
We see this in the biblical contrariness of Dr. Tim Ahrens, pastor of the First Congregational Church in Columbus, Ohio, who recently wrote: “Since early October, I have had the unique position of being the only Ohio religious leader in an ad running statewide on TV and radio in support of adding a constitutional amendment to the Ohio Constitution protecting women’s reproductive rights.”
Maybe Ahrens is unfamiliar with the book of Genesis, where it says that God created human beings in His own image. So maybe this is why he supports abortion. But in my opinion his mind-boggling boast that he is the “only” religious leader to do so underscores the many fraudulent claims that pour into every aspect of public and private lives these days.
It yet another sad story, we read about animal shelters generating more compassionate responses from the public than the aging person who is going to die because of imposed death or because he wants to die—but needs help to do so. One of the experts on this question, Wesley J. Smith, recently wrote,
I knew several people who were dying and wanted assisted suicide, who changed their minds and lived the remaining days of their natural lives very glad they didn’t receive it. Besides, if people don’t kill themselves because of concern about stigma, isn’t that good? I mean, shouldn’t we want fewer people to commit suicide?
Bottom line: Just as when one calls a dung beetle a butterfly it remains a dung beetle, so too advocates who call assisted suicide “medical aid in dying” are still talking about suicide. If that simple fact keeps people from taking a lethal prescription, the more the better.
Defending, advocating for, and striving to save human lives has immense rewards, most of which cannot be measured in this life. But we know that God is keeping score. The thing is, fighting for the vulnerable and their right to live—not die—requires courage, fortitude, and most of all love.
