How Sanctity of Human Life Sunday Began by The Boundless Team on 01/19/2007 at 4:06 PM

In 1983, an organization named Christian Action Council (now known as Care Net), founded with the help of Francis Schaeffer and former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, "asked President Ronald Reagan to create a special day to focus on the intrinsic value of human life." That same year, "President Reagan issued a proclamation establishing a National Sanctity of Human Life Sunday."

Here's a portion of President Reagan's proclamation the following year marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade as "fitting ... [to] reflect anew" on our responsibility to "care for the lives and freedoms of even the weakest of our fellow human beings."

Since 1973, however, more than 15 million unborn children have died in legalized abortions -- a tragedy of stunning dimensions that stands in sad contrast to our belief that each life is sacred. These children, over tenfold the number of Americans lost in all our Nation's wars, will never laugh, never sing, never experience the joy of human love; nor will they strive to heal the sick, or feed the poor, or make peace among nations. Abortion has denied them the first and most basic of human rights, and we are infinitely poorer for their loss.

We are poorer not simply for lives not led and for contributions not made, but also for the erosion of our sense of the worth and dignity of every individual. To diminish the value of one category of human life is to diminish us all. Slavery, which treated Blacks as something less than human, to be bought and sold if convenient, cheapened human life and mocked our dedication to the freedom and equality of all men and women. Can we say that abortion -- which treats the unborn as something less than human, to be destroyed if convenient -- will be less corrosive to the values we hold dear?

We are poorer still. The 15 million "lives not led" President Reagan referred to has now grown to 50 million. And such a number can numb us into believing that nothing we do matters. But I saw hope today.

During Focus on the Family chapel, we were given a chance to honor the staff and volunteers of local pregnancy centers and see face to face the women they care for and the babies they have saved. And thanks to Care Net's Option Line 24 hour call center and programs like Focus's Option Ultrasound, more and more women facing unplanned pregnancies are seeking their help.

Today, President George W. Bush continued the national observance Reagan began by proclaiming this Sunday, January 21, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. Please take an opportunity this weekend to consider how God may be calling you to "care for the lives and freedoms of even the weakest of our fellow human beings."

How Sanctity of Human Life Sunday Began by The Boundless Team on 01/19/2007 at 4:06 PM

In 1983, an organization named Christian Action Council (now known as Care Net), founded with the help of Francis Schaeffer and former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, "asked President Ronald Reagan to create a special day to focus on the intrinsic value of human life." That same year, "President Reagan issued a proclamation establishing a National Sanctity of Human Life Sunday."

Here's a portion of President Reagan's proclamation the following year marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade as "fitting ... [to] reflect anew" on our responsibility to "care for the lives and freedoms of even the weakest of our fellow human beings."

Since 1973, however, more than 15 million unborn children have died in legalized abortions -- a tragedy of stunning dimensions that stands in sad contrast to our belief that each life is sacred. These children, over tenfold the number of Americans lost in all our Nation's wars, will never laugh, never sing, never experience the joy of human love; nor will they strive to heal the sick, or feed the poor, or make peace among nations. Abortion has denied them the first and most basic of human rights, and we are infinitely poorer for their loss.

We are poorer not simply for lives not led and for contributions not made, but also for the erosion of our sense of the worth and dignity of every individual. To diminish the value of one category of human life is to diminish us all. Slavery, which treated Blacks as something less than human, to be bought and sold if convenient, cheapened human life and mocked our dedication to the freedom and equality of all men and women. Can we say that abortion -- which treats the unborn as something less than human, to be destroyed if convenient -- will be less corrosive to the values we hold dear?

We are poorer still. The 15 million "lives not led" President Reagan referred to has now grown to 50 million. And such a number can numb us into believing that nothing we do matters. But I saw hope today.

During Focus on the Family chapel, we were given a chance to honor the staff and volunteers of local pregnancy centers and see face to face the women they care for and the babies they have saved. And thanks to Care Net's Option Line 24 hour call center and programs like Focus's Option Ultrasound, more and more women facing unplanned pregnancies are seeking their help.

Today, President George W. Bush continued the national observance Reagan began by proclaiming this Sunday, January 21, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. Please take an opportunity this weekend to consider how God may be calling you to "care for the lives and freedoms of even the weakest of our fellow human beings."

Comments

[1. Emma said the following at 11:07 PM on Jan 19:]

1

As a non-American (though I am not anti-American), I have to say that I am green with envy that you have a president like that. Many other leaders of supposedly "developed" countries around the world, including mine, would never utter such words.

I have to say, though, I was deeply disappointed that America chose as it did last November. I don't like knee-jerk anti-Americanism at all, but I felt disgusted with the choices made on election day because they showed that American voters cared more about how others around the world thought of them, than doing what is right by their own children, including their unborn children.

If anyone thinks that there is anything that America or its allies ALONE could do to "provoke" terrorists, they ought to read their history and teaching, preferrably in Arabic. This has been going on for a while, even before America existed. Not to get into into the details and complexities of Iraq....but whatever the losses there - and they are many and tragic - they are the results of war (whatever one thinks of it). And they are of people that we can see on television screens...not little embryos whose cheeks you can't squeeze yet.

Still, the fact that you have a president willing to go on the record to say these things offers glimmers of hope. And all the babies that people like Focus and CareNet save remind us that this fight for the right to life has not been a total loss.

Ultimately, amongst other things, we should pray for the unborn and for their enemies. Not to mention your 2008 election.

[2. Adam said the following at 11:58 AM on Jan 20:]

2

Hey Everyone!

Wow, if there is one thing that I have to control my emotions on when I discuss, it is abortion. I cannot believe people play philosophical games with things like human life. It is so silly to think that you can kill and infant still in the womb, but if it moves a matter of inches, it is all of the sudden unable to be killed.

Worse than that, I saw a show on Forensic Files one time in which a man who did not want to deal with the fact that he got a girl pregnant out of wedlock, secretly stuck medicines in her drinks which were designed to cause a miscarriage. When he was caught, he was accused of, you guessed it, attempted murder of his unborn child. Worse than that, he was convicted. How is it that it is murder if the mother doesn't want the child to die, but it isn't murder if she does want the child to die?

All of the arguments I have ever heard from abortion supporters partake if this kind of ethical silliness. This is not a game. It is going to be sad to see people standing before God on judgement day, and having to answer for their careless treatment of human life.

[3. Rabenstrange said the following at 6:56 AM on Jan 21:]

3

Reagan was an amazing man (I'm currently reading a 900 page biography of him to study of his character and life.) and I proudly proclaim him to be one of my heroes. His words eloquently remind us of abortion's tragic cost.

I am continually amazed by the callous selfishness with which abortion advocates promote their positions.

[4. Esther said the following at 10:56 AM on Jan 22:]

4

Yesterday, in honor of sanctity of life Sunday, my pastor preached an eloquent sermon on the value God places on life. He addressed not only the issue of abortion, but also euthenasia and embryonic stem cell research. The last item triggered an interesting comment from my brother. He asked, "If stem cell research kills a baby in order to improve the life or health of other people, how is it different from the sacrifice of children to Molech, in hopes of improving the lives of the parents?"

A sobering thought. How much are we willing to sacrifice (in terms of human life) in order to achieve a selfish extra few years of life and health?

[1. Emma said the following at 11:07 PM on Jan 19:]

1

As a non-American (though I am not anti-American), I have to say that I am green with envy that you have a president like that. Many other leaders of supposedly "developed" countries around the world, including mine, would never utter such words.

I have to say, though, I was deeply disappointed that America chose as it did last November. I don't like knee-jerk anti-Americanism at all, but I felt disgusted with the choices made on election day because they showed that American voters cared more about how others around the world thought of them, than doing what is right by their own children, including their unborn children.

If anyone thinks that there is anything that America or its allies ALONE could do to "provoke" terrorists, they ought to read their history and teaching, preferrably in Arabic. This has been going on for a while, even before America existed. Not to get into into the details and complexities of Iraq....but whatever the losses there - and they are many and tragic - they are the results of war (whatever one thinks of it). And they are of people that we can see on television screens...not little embryos whose cheeks you can't squeeze yet.

Still, the fact that you have a president willing to go on the record to say these things offers glimmers of hope. And all the babies that people like Focus and CareNet save remind us that this fight for the right to life has not been a total loss.

Ultimately, amongst other things, we should pray for the unborn and for their enemies. Not to mention your 2008 election.

[2. Adam said the following at 11:58 AM on Jan 20:]

2

Hey Everyone!

Wow, if there is one thing that I have to control my emotions on when I discuss, it is abortion. I cannot believe people play philosophical games with things like human life. It is so silly to think that you can kill and infant still in the womb, but if it moves a matter of inches, it is all of the sudden unable to be killed.

Worse than that, I saw a show on Forensic Files one time in which a man who did not want to deal with the fact that he got a girl pregnant out of wedlock, secretly stuck medicines in her drinks which were designed to cause a miscarriage. When he was caught, he was accused of, you guessed it, attempted murder of his unborn child. Worse than that, he was convicted. How is it that it is murder if the mother doesn't want the child to die, but it isn't murder if she does want the child to die?

All of the arguments I have ever heard from abortion supporters partake if this kind of ethical silliness. This is not a game. It is going to be sad to see people standing before God on judgement day, and having to answer for their careless treatment of human life.

[3. Rabenstrange said the following at 6:56 AM on Jan 21:]

3

Reagan was an amazing man (I'm currently reading a 900 page biography of him to study of his character and life.) and I proudly proclaim him to be one of my heroes. His words eloquently remind us of abortion's tragic cost.

I am continually amazed by the callous selfishness with which abortion advocates promote their positions.

[4. Esther said the following at 10:56 AM on Jan 22:]

4

Yesterday, in honor of sanctity of life Sunday, my pastor preached an eloquent sermon on the value God places on life. He addressed not only the issue of abortion, but also euthenasia and embryonic stem cell research. The last item triggered an interesting comment from my brother. He asked, "If stem cell research kills a baby in order to improve the life or health of other people, how is it different from the sacrifice of children to Molech, in hopes of improving the lives of the parents?"

A sobering thought. How much are we willing to sacrifice (in terms of human life) in order to achieve a selfish extra few years of life and health?