What's the Difference Between a Clinic and the Nile?

I find it humbling that as I was newly forming in my mother's womb, the Roe v.  Wade decision was handed down. As I developed in her womb, many who were also in their mother's wombs didn't make it out alive. In 1973 alone, over 740,000 abortions were conducted in the US (1). In comparison, there were over 3.1 million births in that same year (2). Based on these figures, almost 1/4 of the would-be population was killed before taking their first breaths. I am so glad that I got to take my first breath.

I had planned on writing this blog around the 40 year anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision last week, but felt that enough was being said at the moment. That was until yesterday. I happened to be checking my twitter news stories yesterday and came across this article titled, "MPs Call on Police to Investigate 491 Babies Born Alive After Failed Abortions and Left to Die." (3) In the article was this quote that made my heart ache. A former nurse was quoted as saying, "In one instance, she said she heard that a child was being left, and she “couldn’t bear the thought of this suffering child dying alone.” “And so I cradled and rocked him for the forty-five minutes that he lived.”" This nurse couldn't save him because he had already been set aside to die.

Could you imagine?

No, I can't imagine being forced to partake in something as cruel as this, but I know some people who can relate.

Pharaoh felt threatened by the strength of the Hebrews. Even as they were oppressed, their numbers grew. Pharaoh had to do something about it. So he ordered all the midwives to kill the male babies born to the Hebrew women. Problem was, the Hebrew midwives, according to Exodus 1:17, "feared God and they refused to obey the king's orders and they allowed the boys to live." Pharaoh was not a happy camper about this and when he asked the midwives why this was happening, they gave an excuse about the Hebrew women giving birth too fast and that they couldn't get there in time to kill them (Hebrew law states that killing a day old baby is considered murder). While they didn't overtly say that they were obeying God, God still blessed these midwives for saving the Hebrew males. (vv. 20-21)

Exodus 1:22 goes on to say that Pharaoh then gave an order to his people to "throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River." He knew he couldn't count on the Hebrew midwives anymore so he turned the task over to his people - people who didn't fear God.

My question today is, where are our "Hebrew midwives?" Why is there not more people who will stand up for the unborn children and say, "Nope, not going to happen on my watch."?

Are doctors becoming more and more like Pharaoh and/or his people? Are they asking their nurses to assist with the dirty work? What ever happened to the Hippocratic Oath sworn by doctors in part which states, " I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy"? These were Greeks for goodness sake who implemented this oath...certainly not "God-fearing" people, but even they saw that abortion was just plain wrong.

Pharaoh saw the Hebrews as an inconvenience to him. They were a threat. Same can be said of many who partake in abortions today. The number of abortions based on rape, incest or medical claims is still relatively low. The majority are elective.

I am not here to cast judgment on any who have taken part in an abortion. I, myself, have never faced this decision so I have no idea of the enormity of this personal decision. Even "Roe" never went through with an abortion. I am sure that there are many out there though that have pushed this decision they made to the backs of their minds or they try and bury it out of shame, guilt or worry that others will find out. Statistics show that one in three women will have or have had an abortion in their productive lifetime (4). This means, we all probably know someone that has faced the decision of abortion. Instead of hiding it, we should discuss it more and what the aftermath is really like. According to statistics, abortions peaked in the late 1970's through the early 1990's. Fortunately, they have been slowly declining ever since. Let's pray the trend will continue.

The burden carried by abortion is not something that will ever go away without releasing it to Jesus. Jesus can and will forgive you. There are resources out there for people who have been involved with an abortion...whether that was one month ago or forty years ago and whether you were the birth mom or the birth dad. Find help if you need it.

And remember, we need people who have gone through experiences to help those who too have gone through the same thing or are possibly considering going through with the same thing. Your testimony can and will help others.

But what we don't need more of is more Pharaohs or his people willing to do the killing. We don't need more innocent children to die. The numbers are staggering - more than 55 million abortions have taken place in the US alone since Roe v. Wade was handed down in 1973. Those numbers include those who would have been daughters, sons, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, future husbands, and future wives...maybe even the future President.

Adolf Hitler tried to extinguish the Jewish race too. He killed millions, including almost 1.5 million children (5). That outraged everyone at the time, and still cuts deep in many people,  and started a war. Where is our outrage over our 55 million children? Why if we feel strongly against it, should we be made to be kept quiet or seen as "butting in"? What if the US hadn't "butted in" and helped out the war efforts? How many more would Adolf have killed?
 
Children are not a threat to our way of life - God created them to be a part of our lives. Their lives must count for something whether 8 days gestation or forty weeks full-term. No matter which way you justify it, that 8 day old gestation, God willing, will turn into that 40 week full-term baby. But, we have to let it get there first.

Let's be more like the Hebrew women - God-fearing instead of fearing man - and let the little babies live at any and all cost.

(1) http://www.christianliferesources.com/article/u-s-abortion-statistics-by-year-1973-current-1042
(2) http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005067.html
(3) http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/mps-call-on-rcmp-to-investigate-491-babies-born-alive-after-failed-abortion
(4) http://www.1in3campaign.org
(5) www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005142