I am not a numbers person – far from it. Math is not my forte. In fact, I cried my way through most of my math classes in school. So when I hear the word statistic, my brain usually shuts down.
But there is a statistic that caught my attention while serving on the board of directors for a local center for pregnancy choices. I cannot get it out of my mind. It’s haunting.
That’s the total number of known abortions in America since Roe v. Wade in 1973. This number, which was first published in early 2014, is expected to top 57 million this year.
That is too much for my mind to grasp. Fifty-seven million babies – dead.
To put this in perspective, approximately 11 million people, two-thirds of them Jews and 1.1 million children, were killed during the Holocaust of World War II. We cringe at this and ask, “How could a man do something so heinous to his fellow man, especially to an innocent child?”
Yet, we do it everyday. In fact, Americans have killed more than five times the number of people that Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime killed.
That is a statistic that’s hard to ignore, … but we do. We go about our lives making choices for our own good and eradicating whatever problems stand in our way.
Just like Hitler.
I am far from a World War II expert. I’m not even a buff. And I readily admit that there are explanations and evaluations of the Holocaust that go way beyond my knowledge and understanding.
But here, as stated on a Holocaust website, is one explanation for Hitler’s annihilation of the Jews: “The Jews were … increasingly perceived as a specific problem to society, a problem that needed solving if the nation were to survive.”
Sound familiar?
Think about it. In America today, aren’t most unwanted babies and those with special needs considered to be problematic, a burden to life and society? Aren’t unwanted pregnancies a threat to a comfortable and convenient “survival” for all involved?
So what do we do? We get rid of them. We willfully destroy their existence. We abort them or terminate the pregnancy – however you want to say it.
Call me extreme. But there is no difference between what Hitler did and what Americans do through abortion. Both destroy life. Both are murder.
I do realize there are many women who are post-abortive and suffer greatly as a result of having an abortion in the past. If you are one of those women, my heart goes out to you. You are loved, and there is help available. I also realize there are women who have found themselves in life-threatening pregnancies. If you are one of those women reading this, you are probably thinking that I don’t understand your situation. And you’re right, I don’t. And I pray I never will. But my heart still goes out to you because I know it’s hard. It’s torture. I’ve lost a baby – not by choice. I know the pain never goes away.
With that caveat in mind, there is still a modern-day Holocaust going on in America, and it has to stop. That’s where you and I, as believers, come into play.
So I’m going to challenge you to take action in a specific way. (There are many more ways you can help, and I encourage you to do so. This is just one option.)
Locate your nearest pregnancy help center and find out if it provides free ultrasounds to its clients.
Why?
Because various studies show that “ultrasound viewing significantly reduces the likelihood of the mother choosing abortion,” as stated in a policy published online by Family Research Council. The specific statistics vary, some are even dismissed, but certain findings claim that up to 90 percent of abortion-minded women change their minds once they see an ultrasound image of their baby.
That’s another statistic that I cannot get out of mind.
If we could just give women a window into their wombs, numerous babies could be saved, and you can play a role in their survival.
Locate and contact your local pregnancy help center and determine if it offers ultrasounds to its clients. If so, do all you can to promote and support the center and send abortion-minded clients to the center. If not, still promote and support the center, but also talk with its director and ask what all is involved in making ultrasounds available.
I know from my experience as a board member that making ultrasounds available in a pregnancy help center is very expensive. It requires the center to become a medical clinic, and there is a long, costly and involved process when “converting to medical.” But it’s not impossible; I have been a part of the process myself. If it means saving lives, it is worth the time and money.
So do your part by becoming educated on the matter. Consider how you can play a role, whether large or small, in bringing ultrasounds – and ultimately life – to a pregnancy help center near you.
“Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter” Proverbs 24:11.
According to the late preacherAlexander MacLaren, “He who neglects to save a life, kills.”
