The 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade has passed, a special day as Roe is now reversed and returned to the states.
But abortion didn’t disappear like the critics claimed when Roe was reversed. It just changed course. Evil always does.
The abortion battle rages on—and is now headed for our mailboxes.
The Food and Drug Administration altered regulations about two abortion medications — Mifepristone and Misoprostol — earlier this month, 1819 News reported, enabling brick-and-mortar pharmacies to ship abortion drugs through the mail. This could even extend to states where abortion is illegal.
Which means your letter carrier would be able deliver the pills. And because the science of embryology teaches us that a new life begins at conception, we know that the tiny pills, now sent through the mail, take the life of a preborn child.
Some may push this science aside, though, and ask what’s wrong with a woman taking care of things by herself.
Unfortunately, at-home abortions aren’t risk-free, despite what’s promised. The side effects of the Plan B abortion drug “are very similar to the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy,” Students for Life of America (SFLA) explains. On the one hand, the drug increases the risk, on the other, it lowers the likelihood that an expectant mother will detect the danger she is in when taking it. “In a study to see how well people understood the warnings on the label of Plan B,” SFLA explains, “more than 20% of people did not understand the potentially fatal nature of severe abdominal pain that may occur after using Plan B.”
No, abortion hasn’t vanished. And it still doesn’t tell women what to do with their bodies. But it does tell them what they shouldn’t do with someone else’s.
House Democrats voted almost unanimously last Wednesday against a bill to protect babies born alive after botched abortions, “The Daily Signal” explains. “The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act passed 220 to 210. The legislation would amend Title 18 of the United States Code to ‘prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.’”
This isn’t over. And it makes us feel so helpless. As soon as one stone is knocked down, another stands back up. Evil has changed course … and so must we.
Consider the moxie of the Hebrew midwives in the biblical account of Exodus. They were ridiculously brave renegades used by God to do His work while they did theirs. They lied to the king, defied his decree, and let newborn boys live.
Do you think the midwives grasped the significance of their actions? Did they understand that their jobs as midwives uniquely positioned them to serve God? I hope so.
The Hebrew midwives feared God and acted accordingly. Their example has implications for us as we continue to fight against abortion and fight for women and their children.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is following their example, as he recently and boldly offered strong opinions regarding the newly lifted abortion pill restrictions. Pharmacists whose conscience won’t allow them to fill Plan B prescriptions, available long before they could be shipped directly to a woman’s home, are following the Hebrew midwives’ example as well, as are the ultrasound techs in OB clinics or on mobile ultrasound buses who pull back the curtain on a sacred place and invite parents to see their baby as it grows.
Pregnancy care centers, supported by generous donors, facilitate help for women in crisis pregnancy situations. These care centers, and there are nearly 3000, are available for men and women who feel there isn’t another option besides abortion. If that’s you, please know there are resources available. There are people who will help, such as the women, nurses, doctors, and techs who assisted my 17-year-old birth mom. Don’t choose an abortion and live with profound regret.
And there are many families, my own among them, who love and care for the adopted kids of these women who refuse abortion, and lawyers that help make those adoptions happen, and the judges who make adoptions permanent. Other families sacrificially open their homes to foster children.
All these people demonstrate what it looks like when we’re positioned in our work, volunteer or otherwise, to walk out our fear of God, standing for life.
We will continue to fight the ugliness of abortion, with its empty promises and destructive lies. We are still committed, as Ephesians 5 commands, not to take part in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather to expose them.
Whether it’s pro-life issues or other ones, how might God use you in your work?
“So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong.” – Exodus 1:20
Amie Beth Shaver is a speaker, writer and media commentator. Her column appears every Wednesday in 1819 News. Shaver served on the Alabama GOP State Executive Committee, was a candidate for State House District 43 and spokeswoman for Allied Women.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
