South Dakota Steps Up

Although a court challenge is sure to come, South Dakota has taken a definitive step in recognizing something I believe to be fundamental to our very existence: life. In recognizing the sanctity of life and in defending the concepts of our very Declaration of Independence, at least one state in this great Union has demanded that we answer for our duties and responsibilities toward our fellow man: defend the defenseless.

How odd it is, then, that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports statistics about abortion that I find to be ironic. “Most believe that having an abortion should be a personal choice, but they also think it is murder.”

Citing an AP poll in which it is stated that “most” Americans believe abortion should be legal, it breaks the poll down into four categories. 19% believe that abortion should be legal in all cases, and 16% believe it should be illegal in all cases. 32% believe abortion should be legal in most cases while 27% believe it should be illegal in most cases. “Most cases” is not defined though I suspect the usual litany of political excuses, none of which addresses the moral implications of the act itself.

Karlyn Brown, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, states, “When we as a society make up our minds about something, as we have about abortion, most people tend to pull away from it.”

Have we really “made up our minds” about abortion? The AP poll would suggest otherwise. My math indicates that 59% cannot make up their minds. It is only the 35% who believe that abortion should be legal or illegal “in all cases”, and even these Americans cannot agree.

I suppose where I am having the most difficulty in grasping a concept is in those who claim to believe in “personal choice” yet seem definitive in calling abortion what it is: a deliberate termination of life. Premeditated murder. This legal definition tells the story: a life exists, and a move is made to intentionally end that life. For reasons unknown? Hardly.

We know exactly why this horrid procedure is being allowed. Under the guise of “personal choice” and a constitutional right to privacy, women undergo this procedure for one reason: they do not want the child. For one reason or another, these women have decided that the quality of their lives will somehow be enhanced by ridding themselves of this … what? How can it be that an unborn child is so dehumanized with scientific terms as “fetus” while medical science clearly shows life in abundance? What do these women seek when they make such a rash choice? Especially if “most” Americans believe it to be murder?

There are plenty of political organizations that seek to undo the horror of Roe v Wade, but the reality is that judges will decide based on legal precedent and politicians will decide based on what polls say it will take to be elected or re-elected.

There is only One who can end this scourge that we have allowed to “pollute our land”, and He does not answer to “personal choice” nor is He defined by a desire to be popular. Justice demands that blood be answered with blood.

My fear for the future of this nation is not in high taxes or Iranian nuclear power or Islamic terrorists or illegal immigration. Rather, my fear comes from watching this slaughter continue right under my nose while I have remained virtually silent for fear of upsetting some delicate sensibilities. South Dakota has set the pace. What shall be done from here? Because it is not a legal issue or a political issue; it is a moral issue with eternal implications. It is life, and without it we cease to exist.