# 54 – Abortions Painful? Duh! What Do YOU Think?

[Please check out the latest editorial cartoons from around the country at http://www.worldmag.com/editorialcartoons/]

[P.S. – I want to challenge you to PLEASE, PLEASE, either watch or program to tape “The Coral Ridge Hour” (which is really only a half-hour long) THIS SUNDAY and NEXT SUNDAY, May 16th and May 23rd. (In Orlando, it’s televised 5-5:30 pm on non-cable channel 40.1) These upcoming broadcasts will present a documentary entitled “Socialism: A Clear and Present Danger.” If you want to get a handle of what is wrong in our country (and much of the world) from a Christian perspective, you will want to take the time to get informed. I guarantee that it will be well worth an investment of a total of just one hour of your life.]

[“Are You Serious?!!!!” - I've learned that just the other day, a law went into effect in the state of Florida that make it a “hate crime” if you “attack” a homeless person. It was enacted because we are told that around 30 homeless people are attacked in the state every year. I’m not sure exactly how the law defines a homeless person being attacked – whether it is any assault or just those that result in death. Of course I have sympathy for those who are homeless who are attacked. But come on!!!

Every year in Florida, we (based on the Supreme Court ruling in 1973) legally sanction the murder (by paid hit-men called abortionists) of around 10,000 (!) of our most innocent and defenseless citizens – the pre-born. We in this country are willing to consider the homeless some kind of “endangered species” (as though they were some precious sea turtle, right?) but a baby is somehow “a non-person not deserving of the protection of the law” (the conclusion of the Supreme Court in its abortion ruling of 1973) . Can someone please explain this to me?!!!! (P.S. – You also have to wonder what’s next: Will it now be a “hate crime” if you attack a school teacher; a convenience store worker; the repairman who overcharges you? Are you serious?!!!]

The Humanity of the Fetus By: Mark Earley, April 27, 2010, Breakpoint.com

A groundbreaking new law restricting abortion in Nebraska is getting a lot of attention from pro-abortion forces. And well it should. I’ll explain.

On April 19, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman signed a new state law banning abortions at and after 20 weeks. This isn’t just another abortion restriction—it has the potential to be a major breakthrough in the fight for the sanctity of human life. The Nebraska law is called the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. As Marc Thiessen writes in the Washington Post, it’s based on reputable scientific studies that tell us “that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks, and possibly as early as 17 weeks when a portion of the brain called the ‘subplate zone’ is formed.” And, according to the widely respected Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand, who has been studying infant pain for 25 years, unborn infants may feel pain more keenly than those already born.

Of course, the Nebraska law faces court challenges. Why? Because it restricts abortion according to when a fetus can feel pain—at 20 weeks—instead of when a fetus can survive outside the womb—usually 22 to 24 weeks. Already the Center for Reproductive Rights has called it “unconstitutional” and hinted that they’re planning litigation. No doubt other pro-abortion groups will be lining up to help. But, as Thiessen says, “regardless of the legal outcome, a national discussion on the topic of ‘fetal pain’ can only help the pro-life movement.” It’s easy to see why. As science and technology develop ever more sophisticated ways for us to study the child in the womb, it’s getting harder and harder for the pro-choice movement to argue in favor of snuffing out that child’s life. And who would want to argue in favor of deliberately causing the child pain on top of that?

What we’re talking about here is no less than the humanity of the fetus, and science is making that subject harder and harder to avoid. The scientific studies are backing up what our faith had already told us: that the life in the womb is indeed a human life, with the same qualities that make us consider our own lives sacred—a beating heart, brain function, and sensitivity to pain being just a few of them. And so we believe that a child’s life is a gift from God and worthy of protection and care. Abortionists can lie all they want to about the development of the fetus. Undercover videos recently taken at a Kentucky abortion clinics show that they’re still lying to women and girls about the development process. But those lies are getting easier and easier to disprove. And the facts are on our side.

The more we talk about those facts, the more the law will come to be on our side as well. Nebraska took the lead in this case because the state government wanted to prevent infamous late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart from following through on his stated intentions to carry on the work of the late George Tiller. If the Nebraska law holds up in court, other states are likely to follow. Even the pro-abortion forces can’t plausibly deny what our own eyes and ears are telling us about the life in the womb. In this case, seeing is believing—and what we’re seeing, by the grace of God, could finally put a stop to the wanton destruction of unborn human lives.

Further Reading and Information
Bringing Humanity Back to the Abortion Debate, Marc A. Thiessen | Washington Post | April 19, 2010
Neb. Governor Signs Landmark Abortion Bills, Washington Post | April 13, 2010
Legal Fights Await Abortion Law, Boston Globe | April 19, 2010
The Abortion Evangelist, Newsweek | August 15, 2009
Undercover Video Shows Kentucky Abortion Center Failing to Report Child Sex Abuse
David Schmidt | Live Action Blog | April 21, 2010
States Seek New Ways to Restrict Abortions, USA Today | April 26, 2010