Abortion: Pro-life Vs. Abolitionism - Is There A Difference?

Contributed by Barbara Andersen

“Abolish Human Abortion”   

You are beginning to hear that phrase more often than before. 

I’m an abolitionist who used to be pro-life. What is the difference?

When I began to see Facebook posts related to abolishing human abortion, I was stunned. Something about the memes/posts seemed different, more graphic and telling. Later, I saw a
news report with two young adults in another state declaring on national TV that they’re not
pro-life, but rather Abolitionists. https://youtu.be/IrWfrkregSc. I listened intently. I was impressed. Yes, I agreed with them wholeheartedly, but something was missing. 

One day, an abolitionist point blank asked me, “Have you repented yet?” What in the world
was he talking about? Of course, I have repented. I am a blood-bought child of God, believer in
Jesus Christ. How dare he question “my Christianity”! I listened to him explain how we, as
Christians, have allowed this holocaust to continue and that it is our fault and we need to repent before God and ask forgiveness. That our land/country is cursed because we have allowed it. Only true repentance by the born-again church of Jesus Christ will be the way to bring justice and truth back to our land. 

Honestly, I thought this guy was pretty haughty; but still, I knew deep down he was right. After all, he was speaking truth and I was suppressing it in unrighteousness. (Rom. 1:17-22) Regardless, this also led to a stirring and questioning of my Christianity itself as I contemplated the question over a few days and nights. I had to admit I was offended, so right there something was definitely wrong with my walk and I needed to seek the Lord’s forgiveness.  After nights of studying scripture, praying and trying to get a grip on how I, who have never had an abortion, never supported abortion, always defended the preborn and worked with Pro-life Organizations, could possibly need to repent? I still didn’t get it. I was not at fault… others were! My parents, their generation, they are the ones who need to repent. I recognized a "Pro-Life Pride” welling up within me. 

However, out of obedience to the Holy Spirit and not being able to sleep very well, I prayed a prayer of repentance, and I began speaking about it in my home and discussing it with my husband and admit how furious it made me to realize that babies are being murdered
systematically every day and I do NOTHING about it. Why can we not correct our statutes?
 
A few weeks ago, (April 24, 2018),  I listened to a podcast by a man who told a story of his past experience as a naval officer and having to attend a trial concerning an accident which took place. At the trial, the commanding officer took full responsibility for what his crew had obviously done even though they performed to best of their ability and knowledge. Clearly, they were at fault, but he took the blame. He asserted that because they were under his charge, he should have made sure that they were completely knowledgeable and since a failure happened, it was his fault. 

The podcaster went on to say that he had noticed a distinctive disregard for repentance in the Western Church. When approached with the idea that we, as American Christians, should take full responsibility for the slave trade and practice which took place earlier in our country’s
founding, he could find no other pastors to agree with him on this subject. They all shifted the blame to others; after all, they were not there, they did not do it. They were completely innocent. https://reconstructionistradio.com/axe-to-the-root/

He began to speak of Jesus Christ and how he had lived a sinless life, yet he took on the sins of
the entire world when he had done nothing at all to deserve it. He, as an example, is the very reason why we call ourselves Christian. Should we not look to him as an example for true repentance? God have mercy. It all fell into place. By God’s kindness, He led me to repentance. Humans are created in the image of God and deserve our utmost respect as a holy issue of God’s will. We have no right to EVER consider taking another human being’s life from them when it is God’s will and plan that they live. Psalm 139 explains it well. 

Pro-life legislation consents to the continuation of murder by man’s decree. 

Abolitionists demand NO MURDER in the name of Jesus Christ by God’s decree: 

“Thou shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13 

That is the difference. 

#RepentWithUs
http://AbolishHumanAbortion.com