Looking through a Wider Lens
Most of the time I focus on how we can meet the needs of our clients and patients on any given day. We know the benefits of a relationship with Jesus Christ so we are always focused on how we can better introduce all of our clients to the knowledge of Him – directly or indirectly. We are deeply passionate about the physical and mental well-being of women. We respect the women we serve and their choices. Our goal is to help them make educated and informed decisions - not decisions born out of fear or out of a false sense of normalcy that abortion is just another easy, everyday option to end an unwanted pregnancy.
As a leader in a pro-life ministry, I find that since the overturn of Roe, the view I have to take requires a much wider lens.
The times have changed. The states are making the rules, and Pennsylvania is a challenge to ministries like Crossroads. We now have to stay vigilant against negative actions coming from our government; lies from the press falsely accusing our ministries of misleading and intimidating women; and, in general, a cold viciousness toward anything pro-life. While I know that God is for us and not against us, it is still our due diligence to know the schemes of the enemy to make it possible for us to continue the good fight.
As you know, abortion is not a political issue…far from it. It is an all-encompassing spiritual issue. David summed it up, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:13–16).
The Bible recognizes that God has plans for the unborn child. When God called Jeremiah to his prophetic ministry, He indicated the ordination was prenatal when He said: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). There are many more Bible references to underscore the sanctity of human life created in the image of God.
I recently even found myself explaining to a pastor of a Christian church why the value of life is not diminished because of Down’s Syndrome. Is a child any less valuable because of his disabilities? Unfortunately, this man thought this to be true. Sadly, sometimes even the church misses the mark.
The reality is that the Bible is true! Yet we now live in a society that has lost its way.
When looking at legislative action, abortionist shield laws, like House Bills 1786 and 1788, if passed are intended to protect abortionists at all costs. By carving out exceptions to interstate cooperation laws, these bills create a safe haven in Pennsylvania for abortionists and all related “service providers” who facilitate abortions for women and children outside of Pennsylvania. These bills would shield abortionists from liability for the harm they cause to women, even where that harm involves criminal or negligent actions.
A state funding program that was used to give financial aid to pregnancy resource centers was cut and redirected to the abortion industry by Governor Shapiro. As stated by Michael Geer, President of Pennsylvania Family Institute, “If you’re a taxpayer in Pennsylvania, you’re being forced to give the abortion industry a raise. This new program guts the longstanding ‘Alternatives to Abortion’ contract that supported the great work of pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes across our state, and instead is now funneling those tax dollars through organizations that push a pro-abortion agenda.”
While Crossroads never received these funds, those centers in Pennsylvania who did, used them to provide vital services for women and to protect life. Now those funds are used for destruction.
The Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Michele Henry, now has a special page on the state website for people to file complaints against pregnancy centers specifically. Are we really a threat to the pro-abortionist’s agenda? I hope so.
I could go on and on...the increased use of the abortion pill...how it now is responsible for most of the abortions in Pennsylvania as well as adding to the 300% increase in complications following abortions...how the pill is a threat to women’s health...and how readily available it is without proper medical oversight.
We should pray for those who hold the “abortion rights” view and look for ways to have real dialogues full of both grace and truth. We pray for those in the abortion business to have their eyes opened - with their own “wider lens” to see the practice for what it is. I believe that many people who are pro-choice honestly believe that abortion is a necessary option for women and our society. But until they change their view, we pray for changed hearts and minds. We pray for the many who have had an abortion who have broken hearts and carry a heavy burden of regret.
So here we are in this new landscape. As we stand at the foot of the next mountain in front of us, I look through the lens of His faithfulness and remember the call He has for all of us to protect. Proverbs 24:11 tells us, “Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.”
Our hope, with God’s help, is to see that abortion has disappeared from the picture.