Texas Abortion Debate is Changing the Heart of America
Something is happening in our culture today that deserves not only our attention but serves to remind us that some battles are worth fighting. Consider what is happening in the state of Texas over abortion.
Gov. Rick Perry is poised, ready to sign legislation that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of gestation. The reason? These precious little people, made in the image of God, can feel pain. This scientifically substantiated fact bears witness to the plain truth that pre-born children are not blobs of tissue but human beings that deserve the full protection of the law.
When the federal version of the same kind of bill was introduced in the House of Representatives, members of Congress, and the public, learned that children living in the womb not only feel pain but they probably feel it more intensely than most of us living outside the womb, given the newness of the neurons and pain receptors these babies have at that stage of pregnancy.
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But despite the objective truth of medical reality, some are so blinded by the concept of death-on-demand that they are willing to do almost anything to make sure that no restrictions of any kind are ever placed on the barbaric act of cruelty known as abortion.
USA TODAY, ran an editorial decrying the legislative proposal in Texas. The board wrote that "while some genetic conditions, such as Down Syndrome, can be detected with amniocentesis at 16 to 22 weeks, even then it can take two weeks to get results." This, they purport, causes a woman to "make a heartrending decision(s) against a ticking clock." In other words, it might take more than 20 weeks to determine if a child has a "serious impairment." Translated: it would be harder to abort a baby with Down syndrome.
According to a report from the Congressional Budget Office, almost 30 babies a day are aborted at 20 weeks or more. Yet, according to CBO, this might not be a bad thing as it saves money in the government-run Medicaid system. Late term abortions would, they reason, actually save the government money while late term babies cost money. This sort of utilitarianism would make 19th century English Philosopher John Stuart Mill very proud – but it should break our hearts.
But something is happening. States all across the country are rethinking scientific evidence that makes abortion much less palatable. Currently North Carolina is pushing a bill similar to Texas, with abortions banned after 20 weeks.
In 2010, Nebraska passed a law banning abortions after 20 weeks. In 2011 and 2012, eight additional states-Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma enacted the same type of ban. Just recently, in Ohio, Gov. John Kasich signed into law a bill that mandates ultrasounds for those seeking abortions. 21 states have introduced 45 abortion-ban measures in the last two years.
On the federal level, the US House of Representatives just passed a ban on abortions after 20 weeks and Senator Marco Rubio is about to introduce a similar ban in the Senate.
Something is happening in the heart of America regarding this most contentious issue, somthing that should make us all say "Amen!"
