“Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord.” Lamentations 3:40
Last week a new president of Planned Parenthood was announced, Dr. Leana Wen. In an interview she shared her reasons for deciding to take on this new position. Her tone indicated that she deeply believes in the cause of Planned Parenthood and has resolve to fight for and inspire others to fight for what she considers a right for all women.
Twenty-five years ago I entered the doors of a Planned Parenthood. Three heartbeats went through that door–mine, my boyfriend and my unborn child—two left, and one was silenced. The two hearts that left physically intact were emotionally and spiritually shattered.
As I listened to Dr. Leana Wen, a deep place within me grieved as she truly believes she is fighting for a just cause. She used terms like “healthcare” to describe abortion. She tells a story of a young lady who died in the emergency room she worked in because of a home abortion, a young lady who was too scared to go to an abortion clinic and that she believes this death was due to a failure in our system.
She is right. This death was due to a failure in our system—a system that fails to teach who we are as created in the image of our Almighty God. A system that fails to teach that if God is for us, who can be against us. A system that fails to teach that God can and does work all things together for good and His love is above and beyond all we can ask, think or imagine. Oh that we would search out and examine our ways and turn back to the Lord in our system.
If our system taught those truths, then this young girl might have seen her pregnancy and situation differently. She may not have sought out an abortion—legally or illegally. Every life lost matters.
There indeed is a failure in our system.
I meet women all of the time who did not physically die from an abortion—but their heart did that day. That day, a part of their heart became dead. They are hindered in their ability to mother, to nurture, to have healthy relationships with friends and in marriage. They are breathing, but not fully alive.
Every life lost is devastating and women die from abortion procedures at abortion clinics. Some have nearly died and not received medical treatment needed due to the abortion clinic not wanting to gain negative exposure.
Dr. Leana Wen also stated that she wants to “Fight for our most vulnerable individuals on a bigger scale.” This statement also grieved my heart. There are two vulnerable individuals we need to address. One is the woman who may not have the emotional or financial support she needs, and the other is the baby whose life is at risk. Both of these need to be addressed.
The woman who is pregnant is vulnerable, perhaps alone, hurting and at risk. She does need support. She needs the body of Christ to come alongside her, love her, support her and help her. However, abortion does not help her and to claim it does is to deny the reality of the pain abortion brings. God cares for the broken hearted. God will make a way when we turn to Him instead of trying to “fix” things on our own. He is saying, “Come to me, trust me. I can make this all turn out for good.”
The other is the baby whose life is at risk. There is no one more vulnerable and defenseless than an unborn child. The womb is intended to be a safe place for a child to grow and develop. Our society has made this safe haven into a war ground between a women’s right to her own choice and the precious life she was given to carry. The choice to have sex or not is the choice we have, except of course in the case of rape. But rape is tragic enough without the added trauma of abortion in a person’s life. Death on top of death is never a good solution.
Dr. Leana Wen sees abortion as mainstream medical care. She stated reproductive healthcare is healthcare and women’s healthcare is healthcare. Healthcare is healthcare. What I hear her saying is that abortion is healthcare. Abortion is basic healthcare, like going to the doctor when you are sick with a cold.
In some cultures this is a common thought and I have heard it often—getting pregnant and having an abortion is like getting a cold and going to the doctor. How far our society has fallen when our mentality of life is reduced to getting rid of cold, and ending a pregnancy is compared to eliminating a virus.
This is heavy on my heart and is indeed a heavy subject. We too must fight for our most vulnerable individuals and speak truth in order to change the failure in our system—the failure of not teaching the truth about who we are as sons and daughters of God, and that every life is precious and God ordained. Every life. Every single one is precious.
Dear Lord, I pray for Dr. Wen. Father may she see every life as precious. Lord, may we as a society have our eyes opened to the truth of our identity in Christ and who you made us to be. May we value each individual life and honor and respect each other as image bearers of the Most High. Oh Lord, how our heart grieves. Lord we ask for your light to shine on the darkness and for your truth to expose the lies. May we as a society choose life and our hearts would turn toward you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.