Randy Alcorn quickly points out that there is not such thing as an unwanted child. He is right. Having been a pastor for many years I have talked to numerous couples who were longing to adopt babies. Alcorn states “One and a half million American families want to adopt, some so badly that the scarcity of adoptable babies is a source of major depression.” I knew of a couple that aborted a baby that the doctors foretold would be a Down’s Syndrome baby. Again, please read my previous articles concerning the subject of abortion in which I mentioned the grace of God and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. I’m not here to condemn, but to try and help others consider not making such decisions. Just this week I was blessed by a Down’s Syndrome adult in the parking lot of my favorite Mexican restaurant. Randy Alcorn referring to Down’s Syndrome says “Not just ‘normal’ babies are wanted–many people request babies with Down’s Syndrome, and there have been lists of over a hundred couples waiting to adopt babies with spina bifida.” Alcorn rightly points out that a difference exists between an unwanted pregnancy and an unwanted child. I imagine my own mother struggled with being pregnant with my younger brother and not being married to his father. She was really poor and without much support other than her own mother. I’m so glad she kept my brother! Whatever doubts and fears she might have wrestled with I clearly saw erased when she looked at him after he was born. Even today she has a special love for him that runs extremely deep. I think part of the reason is that they “made it” together. She would often spend her last few dollars on taking care of the necessities that a baby demands to find herself sneaking apples off the assembly line where she worked in order to have something to eat for lunch. I can remember many people wanting to take care of my brother and literally adopt him. He was cute! My mother would never have let anyone have him permanently, but many would have taken him and many did take care of him like my aunt Audrey. I have no doubt that babies, if allowed to live, would find loving homes. Alcorn makes the following comment about “unwanted” children: “Furthermore, many children wanted at birth are not wanted when they are crying at 2:00 A.M. six weeks later. Shall whether or not the parents want the baby still determine whether she deserves to live? If that is a legitimate standard before birth, why not after?” Good question. Comparing the value of women to the value of a baby Alcorn makes the following statement: “For years women were degraded when their value was judged by whether or not they were wanted by men. Just as a woman’s value is real whether or not a man recognizes it, so a baby’s value is real whether or not his mother or father recognizes it.” Some prochoice advocates such as Planned Parenthood have some unbelieveable reasons for advocating abortion. For example, they justify abortion because “unwanted” children often perform poorly in school. What?!! Yes, some prochoice folks actually justify killing a baby if it’s figured to not be productive to society or potentially embarrassed by underachievement. In reference to this rationale Alcorn states “Aren’t there better ways to cure the disease than killing the patient?” Planned Parenthood says they promote the concept that kids need love and a supportive family. I’m sure some people who work there do believe that, but in reality the organization doesn’t operate that way. Alcorn notes “According to its own (Planned Parenthood) 1990 annual report, PP performed 122,191 abortions while managing, out of its 300 million dollar budget, to provide prenatal care for only 4,732 women. Saying children need love and families is also a great argument for adoption. But Planned Parenthood and other prochoice groups don’t promote adoption. They promote abortion.” Alcorn makes the point that during the days of slavery the slave owners justified slavery by saying that it was in the best interest of the slaves since they couldn’t take care of themselves. Wow. How terrible! The killing of babies for the same reason is just as terrible. If we think children in bad situations shouldn’t live that way then why don’t we just kill them now? A murder is a murder. Alcorn is right when he says that the prochoice position can be captured with the following slogan: “Every unwanted child a dead child.” He also states “Exploiting people and stripping them of their rights is always easier when we tell ourselves we’re doing it for their good rather than our own.” Grace and understanding to us all, Pastor Kevin Boone
Tags: abortion
