40 questions to ask on the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Editor’s Note: This article was written by Mike Spielman, and was first published today at Abort73. It is reprinted with permission.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that invalidated all state prohibitions against abortion and made it a constitutionally protected act. More than 50 million abortions have occurred in the four decades since—leaving us all with some questions to answer.

FOR ABORTION SUPPORTERS

• If there is uncertainty as to when individual life begins, should we error on the side of protecting life or discarding life?
• Which right is more fundamental, the right to not be killed or the right to not be pregnant?
• Does it concern you that everyone who supports abortion is no longer threatened by it?
• Have you considered the fact that the arguments used to justify abortion were once used to justify slavery?
• Would you rather live in a country that protects the lives of all human beings or one that thinks some human beings are better off dead?
• Was your support of abortion arrived at by an honest examination of the facts or by a desire to justify the elimination of unwanted pregnancy?
• Does it bother you that 93% of abortions are performed on healthy mothers, with healthy babies, who chose to engage in sexual intercourse?
• Which is more noble, to sacrifice a portion of your life for the sake of your child or to sacrifice your entire child for the sake of you?
• Are poverty, parental immaturity, or unwantedness sufficient rationales for killing children after they’re born?
• Is it more loving to kill a child you can’t raise or to give that child to someone who can?

FOR ABORTION OPPONENTS

• If your grandkids ask you someday what you did to combat abortion, will you have anything to tell them?
• If an outside observer were to secretly examine your life, specifically how you invest your time and money, would they conclude that abortion is a grave injustice or no big deal?
• If all abortion-opponents responded to abortion as you do, would that help or hurt the cause?
• Do you spend more money on coffee than you do on the defense of abortion-vulnerable children?
• Would you be doing more to combat abortion if the lives of your own children hung in the balance?
• Is it more important to believe that abortion is wrong or to act like abortion is wrong?
• If it was your life that was threatened by fatal violence, would you want advocates who politely held their tongue, or advocates who actually spoke up in your defense?
• How much time have you spent equipping yourself to be able to competently explain the injustice of abortion?
• Does your engagement come from a place of arrogance or humility?
• Does the way you treat people give credibility to your “pro-life” convictions or make them seem rather hypocritical?

FOR CHRISTIANS

• Is Jesus more likely to criticize someone for doing too much on behalf of abortion-vulnerable children or too little?
• If you were to be judged according to what you did or didn’t do for the least of these among us, how would you fare?
• Does Jesus’ warning to not overlook the little children have any application to abortion?
• Does Jesus assertion that, “Whoever receives a child in my name receives me,” have any bearing on abortion?
• How much of your prayer life is devoted to the elimination of abortion?
• What are the chances your teenage daughter would have an abortion before she’d tell you she’s pregnant, for fear of your reaction?
• Does your service to those threatened by abortion more closely mirror the Good Samaritan or the priest and the Levite–who were too busy to stop and do anything?
• Does the flavor of your life give those around you a positive or negative view of humanity?
• Is Jesus more concerned about how you feel or how you act?
• If faith without works is dead, what is pro-life conviction without action?

FOR PASTORS AND ELDERS

• Are you more concerned about your music and preaching than you are about intervening for the marginalized and vulnerable?
• What does your church budget say about your commitment to protecting abortion-vulnerable children?
• How many weeks, months or years could someone go to your church without hearing any public prayer or proclamation regarding abortion?
• Is there a culture of grace at your church such that a single woman need not fear being condemned or ostracized for showing up pregnant?
• If all churches were to follow your example, would we be looking at another 40 years of legal abortion?
• Since 85% of most ministry budgets are dedicated to salaries and facilities, how much of your salaried time are you devoting to abortion-vulnerable children?
• If John Ensor is correct, and abortion is the defining experience of this generation, are you faithfully equipping your people to be able to minister in a world full of post-abortive men and women?
• Do your middle school, high school and college students have a clear understanding of what abortion is and why it is an affront to God?
• In light of the fact that 65% of aborting women are professing Christians, how is your church doing with the Great Commission call to teach disciples to observe everything God has commanded—including the prohibition against shedding innocent blood?
• If the church in America ever made the elimination of abortion an honest-to-goodness ministry priority, do you think Planned Parenthood would even stand a chance?