5 Things We Must Do in The Fight for Life

"Never, never will we desist till we . . . extinguish every trace of this bloody traffic, of which our posterity, looking back to the history of these enlightened times, will scarce believe that it has been suffered to exist so long a disgrace and dishonor to this country” (William Wilberforce).


This past Monday, the Senate Bill (S.1881) to defund the largest abortion provider in the US stalled. What does that mean for those who want to see the end of abortion? How should we think about these things? What should we do? I'll suggest five things.

1. Keep our focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We oppose abortion first and foremost because it is an attack on the gospel. Satan has been a murderer from the beginning, and the unjust termination of human life is a sign that the dominion of darkness still has sway. Satan has always been about murdering children since he knew that the Offspring of the the woman would one day crush his head (Gen. 3:15). This is why the kingdom of darkness has been characterized by child sacrifice (ex. sacrifices to Molech). This is why Herod had hundreds of baby boys killed in Bethlehem as he sought to kill the new born "King of the Jews." So, we focus on the only hope of salvation and of turning back Satan's attacks. The gospel pushes back the kingdom of darkness by transferring people into the kingdom of light.

The gospel has a word for those who have committed and participated in abortion. It says judgement is coming, but there is hope for any who will turn away form their sin and to Jesus as their Lord and Savior. So, we show compassion and share the good news and declare that abortion is evil. We must also encourage men and women, who are in Christ, who have committed abortion to know that all their shame was taken by Jesus. He died to face the wrath of God and shame that their (and our) sin deserves.

2. Continue to pray and fast, pleading with God to end this evil in our land.

As Christians we know that trusting in horses and chariots (our arguments and political involvement) is not where our hope comes from. As Jesus said when talking to the disciples about why they could not cast out a particular demon, "this kind only comes out by prayer and fasting." That is to say, God has the firepower, so we call out to him in prayer as the infantry would call over the walkie talkie for air-support in the midst of conflict.

We do not have the power to overcome the murderous lies of Satan and the seduction of the world which has blinded people from seeing the glory of God and from seeing humanity as made in God's image (no matter how small). So, we diligently cry out to God, to the point where we are willing to forgo food to spend more time on the walkie talkie knowing that we need God's strength more than we need every meal.

3. Understand what is going on politically and be involved. 

While we do not put our hope in politics we are to be "as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves." We ought to know how to fight smart in order to protect the unborn. Joe Carter has a helpful article on what happened in last Monday's cloture vote and what things look like going forward.

One point he makes is that a government shut down might be looming, but that is probably not the best move for the pro-life cause. The reason is that elections are coming up soon and there are possibly four supreme court justice positions that will come open for the next president to appoint. Additionally, more pro-life senators and representatives would help future votes to topple wicked laws. A government shut down might put pro-life candidates on the defensive rather than allowing them to focus the nation's attention where it should be- on the horrors of abortion.

It is important to note what good the cloture vote did accomplish. The vote put every senator on record as to their position on what planned parenthood is doing.1  With elections coming up, we must be sober-minded enough to know that they will have consequences, and we must vote for pro-life candidates.

Some argue we ought not be a one issue voter, and in one sense I agree. I care about the budget, immigration, the environment, and education. I don't agree with ever pro-life candidate on these issues. However, I think we must realize that there are certain positions a political leader might hold which should, for us, immediately disqualify him or her. Abortion is one of those issues. Think about it.  If someone was running for office and said they believed we should go back to slavery, you would probably not vote for them even if every other view they had seemed better than their opponent. I would argue that killing innocent human beings is one such barbaric view that must disqualify someone in our eyes.

4. Know and make the pro-life argument to friends and family members.

The unborn are human beings unable to defend themselves. Just like courts appoint a guardian ad litem to speak for a small child and to argue for his or her best interests in cases of abuse, we ought to see ourselves as speaking for these children. We also ought to see ourselves as speaking against the oppression of women by predatory men and organizations like planned parenthood. We ought to argue for women's health care (which means we will also be for unborn women's health).  Let's bring these issues up to others, even those we know who are pro-life so that we might strengthen each other.

To make the case for the unborn, just remember, if you can prove that this is a human being, every other argument ultimately falls to the wayside. To help you make this case, I suggest watching this short video by Scott Klusendorf or reading this article by Kevin DeYoung.

Also, watch and encourage others to watch the videos being put out by the Center for Medical Progress revealing what is happening inside Planned Parenthood. The main reason is not to see that what they are doing is illegal (though congress has a responsibility to investigate this). Instead, it is to show people what abortion is. The legality issue isn't the main issue because the laws have always lined up with the strong as they oppress the weak (ex. slavery was legal).

The last few videos get graphic, but they prove that these are human beings. There are arms. hands, fingers, legs, eyeballs, spinal cords, and even the ability to tell if it is a boy. One of the most horrific images, in my mind, is seeing a tiny dismembered hand and arm being lifted up out of a petri dish by cold tweezers. It is a hand that has never known a human touch and which will never hold his mother's hand. A hand which only knows cold forceps which ripped it from the warm, safe womb and then cold tweezers which plucked it from a petri dish where it sat slated for sale. It makes me sick, mad, and sad at the same time. This is not, as some pro-abortion folks argue, an emotion of disgust like one might have watching a "messy and gross" surgery like heart surgery or an amputation. This is disgust because I know, we all know, that this is a dismembered human being and that has a moral weight to it. The "my body, my choice" argument does not work very well when we are talking about someone else's body and organs.

The reason you should watch and encourage others to watch these videos is that they prove that these are human beings and abortion is horrifyingly evil. General Eisenhower made Germans who lived near concentration camps walk through the killing camps to see the horrors of what had been happening in their backyards. They needed to know the moral gravity of what occurred. Help your friends see, as William Wilberforce said, that "You may choose to look away, but you can never say again that you didn't know." Abortion is horrifying and the bloody traffic must be stopped.

5. Do Not Grow Weary in the Fight

This is not a fight for better education or better foreign policy (as important as those are). This is a fight for the lives of millions of unborn human beings. Planned Parenthood killed over 327,000 babies in 2014. Over 50 million have been killed since Roe v. Wade (that is the Holocaust x 10). So, we must not grow weary in the battle. We must be willing to spend our money, counsel others, and have uncomfortable discussions for the long haul.

Again we find a good example in William Wilberforce, who fought the slave trade in England. He fought for over 42 years before he finally was able to see the evil outlawed. Along the way, he fought and won small battles, passing small pieces of legislation, while calling for the full end of slavery. As Nicole Russell wrote at The Federalist, "Pro-lifers are today's abolitionists." We have some big shoes to fill. By God's grace we can.

"Never, never will we desist till we . . . extinguish every trace of this bloody traffic, of which our posterity, looking back to the history of these enlightened times, will scarce believe that it has been suffered to exist so long a disgrace and dishonor to this country” (William Wilberforce).

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1. Every senator is on record with the exception of Lindsey Graham who did not show up but says he is for defunding PP. Also it should be noted Senate Majority Leader McConnell voted "no" even though he is for the bill. This was for a good, strategic reason (read Carter's article for more details).