Editor’s Note:  In January, the state of New York passed legislation permitting full-term abortion. The lighting of NYC buildings and the video of the Super Bowl style celebrations shocked many, even some in the pro-choice crowd who have advocated for “safe and rare” abortions.  In the state of New York, a child can now legally be killed up to the moment of birth and left to die after live birth.  

When he signed the legislation, NY Governor Cuomo (D) defiantly declared, “With the signing of this bill, we are sending a clear message that whatever happens in Washington, women in New York will always have the fundamental right to control their own body.”  He tweeted to the nation, “Celebrate!”  

This action by the state of New York confirms what medical science has long proven:  the abortion of a child has nothing to do with the health of a woman.  Governor Cuomo’s statement is nothing less than a declaration of war, a willful statement of a coming genocide of undesirables rather than the protection of women’s health.  In a word, it is infanticide.  

If you need further proof, consider the fact that under this law medical personnel are under no legal requirement to save a child who survives an abortion: the child can be left to cry out, suffer, and die – even if the child is healthy, and yes, even if the mother is healthy. 

Deceitful lawmakers may have labeled it the “Reproductive Health   Act” but this law has nothing to do with health.  It puts innocent children at risk.  And as our guest blogger explains, this law puts women at risk.

New York is not the first state to enact such legislation. Currently, twenty-three states permit the killing of children up to the moment of birth – for “health” reasons.  Seven states permit full-term abortion for any reason.

The Jewish Holocaust happened in Nazi Germany and no one spoke up to stop it. As the leaders of Journey, we have made a decision to speak about what can only be called The American Holocaust.  We have to speak up.  Won’t you? 

In light of this declaration of war, we have invited a guest blogger and her daughter to address this issue.  Read her words carefully.  Gaze upon the five tiny fingers in the picture above as they reach out to you, asking you what you will do about the American Holocaust.

Allison Luna is married and is the mother of one.  She is an ESL teacher and advocate for the unborn.  She is also my daughter.  The tiny fingers you see in the picture belong to my granddaughter.  DAB

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“And if we accept that the mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another.”   Mother Teresa

This was Audrey at 20 weeks. She has grown and developed into a beautiful little toddler now. But she is no more real to me today than she was when I saw this hand pressed against my stomach.

When I caught a glimpse of her nose and pouty lips for the first time on a tiny black screen.

When I used to sit and wait for baby kicks every night.

She was a firecracker of personality already.

She could already tell the difference between English and French (she would stop kicking when I spoke to her in French).

She would react differently depending on what I ate (she would start wiggling and kicking after I ate an apple or cheese).

She knew the feeling of the cats and would press against them when they sat in my lap, but calmed as soon as they started to purr.

This was Audrey at 20 weeks.

Today, in the state of Florida, I could choose to have her physically dismembered for another two weeks after this sonogram. I could decide that she isn’t convenient for me. That she’s not a person. That she isn’t as valid as I am.

In New York, the state legislature and governor have made it legal to kill her up to the moment of her birth:  39 or 40 weeks along I could still choose to oppress this trusting and weakened individual. This child who depends on me.

It saddens me that this patriarchal move (to manipulate women into believing they are of no value in the workplace or in romantic relationships if they have a child) has been embraced and labeled as “feminism.”

I was raised to believe that a woman can do anything a man can do, even with a baby on her hip. And part of the beauty of being female has been our compassion and nonviolence. Don’t even get me started on the fact that more than 50% of the children being aborted are female and should therefore be embraced and protected by so-called “feminists.”

Abortion is anti-woman.

It has cheapened us by convincing us that we are worthless until we have the blood of our children on our hands. It has convinced us that procreation is the thief of our joy. It has sealed the fate of a war-torn world that has decided to solve its problems through violence.

Tell me about the issues of the children born to poverty and famine and lack of love. Tell me that this isn’t a heart issue that won’t be solved until we have cleansed ourselves of the violence. A mother’s love is supposed to be the compass that we all rely on and remember as we conduct ourselves among others. If mothers cease to love then we are truly lost. We must begin here.

I would like to make a simple statement to sum up. We have made this issue far too complicated by saying “What if it’s rape or the baby might have XYZ wrong with them” and “Her body, her choice.” Once we’ve decided that circumstances justify our actions or that some lives are worth more than others, our morality is nothing more than lofty self-presentation. A façade.

Don’t be surprised when your life is one day judged to be “disposable.” This is a test of our love, selflessness, and compassion. We have failed.

“The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships.”  Mother Teresa

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NOTE: Journey Pastoral Coaching provides pastoral coaching to Millennial ministers.

Saddled with large student debt, just beginning to set up homes and start families, and serving in low paying first and second positions, Millennials are those who most desire but can least afford to pay for pastoral coaching.

So we offer it to them at NO COST: Our members do not PAY for coaching; they EARN it.

We are able to do so through the faithful and generous gifts of friends who want to see young leaders not only enter the ministry, but remain in the ministry. If you or your church would like to help Millennial ministers in 21 US states and 5 nations build strong for a lifetime in ministry, please click here to contact us by email or to support Journey monthly or with your one-time gift. Thank you.

We also invite you to click and subscribe to our twice-monthly blogs at journeypastoralcoaching.com

“In the early years when I was becoming a pastor, I needed a pastor.” 

                             Eugene H. Peterson, The Pastor: A Memoir