#2917 (1/24) "A Fork in the Roe?"

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"A FORK IN THE ROE?" - Tony Perkins, Washington Update, January 23, 2020; https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20200123/fork-r

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     Kathi Aultman is the abortion industry's worst nightmare. "I've killed more people than Ted Bundy," she admits. Coming to grips with the fact that she was "a professional mass murderer," as she called it, wasn't easy, but it has given this former abortion doctor a compelling reason to speak truth. And that truth, she insists, is that the abortion industry is a dark and nightmarish place that never, ever puts women first. She's been behind the curtain of "choice" -- and what she saw has changed her, and whoever will listen, forever.

   Like a lot of medical students in school after Roe, Kathi believed the clichés about women and their bodies. So, during her OB-GYN residency, she didn't stop at first-trimester abortions. She asked to be trained on later-term abortions, the dismemberment approach that tears babies limb from limb. When she got pregnant unexpectedly, she ended it. When she finally was carrying a baby she did want, she went on performing abortions. It was lucrative, Kathi explained. And the only time she questioned what she was doing was during her neonatal rotation, "when I realized I was trying to save babies in... intensive care unit who were the same age as some of the babies I was aborting."

   It took three patients -- three moms of different ages, situations, and backgrounds -- to end her abortion career. One was a young woman who'd already had three abortions and wanted a fourth. When Kathi realized she was using the surgery as birth control, she objected. Her boss ordered her to move forward anyway. "'Easy for you to say, you're not the one doing the killing,' I snapped back." She listened to a patient bark at a concerned friend that she "just wanted to kill it" and was surprised that her reaction was, "What did it ever do to you?" And a third, a mother of four, who cried "before, during and after" the abortion -- the waves of grief, Kathi explained, breaking her. 

   After years of fighting it, she became pro-life. "Ultimately, I could not shake the realization that the only thing that decided the fate of the baby was whether he or she was wanted or not. The former was born. The latter was killed. The life or death of a human being should not be so arbitrarily decided."

   Kathi's journey was a long and painful one, but even for Americans who don't see abortion up close, the horrors are impossible to ignore. As Congressman Jody Hice (R-Ga.) and I talked about on "Washington Watch," we both know people -- like President Trump -- who've been supportive of abortion, but "because of the technology and the images that they've been able to see of their children or grandchildren... are now staunchly pro-life, because they see clearly that it is a baby in the womb -- something that we've all known all along... [And] it's contributed enormously to the shift in public opinion [seen just this week] on the issue of life as a whole."

   One of the lies the abortion industry likes to repeat is that Roe v. Wade is settled law. It isn't -- especially not now as President Trump fills the courts with men and women who respect the plain text of the Constitution on the right to life. Elsewhere, groups like Planned Parenthood are being exposed for making this about "choice" and "reproductive health" instead of the killing of innocent children. A key part of that has been the intentional effort to humanize the unborn. 

   Rep. Hice has been a part of that push -- most recently in his resolution requesting U.S. flags be lowered to half-staff on the Roe anniversary to memorialize the 60 million lives lost these last 47 years to abortion. "It really should be," he told me, "a day of tears. There have been... tens and tens of millions [of] babies whose lives have been eradicated for whatever reasons. And this is a national tragedy..." But, Rep. Hice went on, it's a tragedy the country is on the brink of reversing. Why? Because this administration has put the priority on protecting children in the womb from the courts to the cabinet. And when the president makes history speaking at the March for Life -- "See you on Friday... Big crowd!" he tweeted -- he'll be doing so after a record-breaking term of court appointments. Thanks to his near-200 judges, we have a greater chance of overturning Roe v. Wade than ever.

As far as Congressman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) is concerned, the moment pro-lifers all been praying for is entirely within reach. Of course, he reminds us, we all have a part to play in making that a reality. "We're not going to get there unless the American people say, 'We want this guy who's given us good constitutional judges.' If we don't [reelect Trump], just look at the Democrats' stage [of candidates] -- and that will tell you you're not going to get any constitutionally-minded federal court judges. And certainly not [any in] the United States Supreme Court."

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

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PRAYER MATTERS:

"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against 
the disorder of the world. -  Karl Barth

"Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is  one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer."- Stan

World-Wide Prayer Requests:

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

The start of a new year is about new beginnings and setting goals— what has God called each of us to this year? At Open Doors, January reminds us of the importance of clarifying our vision, to see clearly what God has for us to do. We’re calling this effort 2020 Vision—an opportunity to see what the people of God are going through around the world; and then to stand with them in prayer and support. Will you join us? January | 2020 World Watch List

This week, pray with us as we focus on Christians living in countries on the World Watch List and bring you the prayers of your sisters and brothers who follow Jesus, no matter the cost. 

January 24 | IRAN - Please join Darya,* a single mom and house church leader, in praying for her children. Pray for a godly mentor for her son, Reza.* Pray for her daughter, Sara,* to not be influenced by her non-Christian relatives. 
*Representative name or photo used to protect identity