Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly want to make our Commonwealth more “pro-choice” by pushing through a host of measures designed to expand and normalize abortion. But rather than offering legislation that would provide genuine care and support for mothers and their children, the “choice” being forced on Virginia is more pain and death.
One of the tactics often used by “pro-choice” advocates is to deny the humanity of the precious life within a mother’s womb. They ignore the clear scientific evidence that human life begins at conception. They use words and phrases like “fetus,” “clump of cells,” and “tissue growth” instead of “human,” “person,” or “baby.” They talk of “rights” while assaulting the fundamental human right to life.
Why this deception? Because the abortion industry and their allies don’t want anyone — especially pregnant women — to dwell on the fact that the “choice” they offer is the choice to kill an innocent human being. If abortionists are seen as killers instead of doctors, it could hurt their profit margins.
As science and medicine continue to advance, it will become harder and harder to ignore the humanity of the unborn — and the injustice of abortion.
Polls indicate younger Americans especially have been trending more pro-life over the past decade. One of them is 11-year-old Audrey Lambert, who attended the recent Virginia March for Life.
A journalist with The Arlington Catholic Herald posted a video on Facebook of Audrey marching for life on that rainy Thursday afternoon in Richmond. When asked why she was there, Audrey said, I’m here because all babies deserve a chance at life, just like my brother.”
“If my mother hadn’t been pro-life,” she continued, “what would’ve happened to my brother? He has Down syndrome and he’s deaf. Some people would say he wouldn’t have a chance at life, and I don’t think that’s fair.”
“My brother’s name is James,” Audrey said. “James always smiles. He’s always happy. He’s sort of our little sunshine.”
Audrey’s passionate testimony comes on the heels of another powerful video recognizing the humanity of the unborn being censored by Fox Sports.
The pro-life group Faces of Choice attempted to run a Super Bowl ad showing “the many faces of survivors of abortion, to put a face to the ‘choice’ of ending life.”
The 30-second video features 14 survivors of abortion procedures who look directly in the camera and ask, “Can you look me in the eye and tell me that I shouldn’t be alive? Can you tell me that I didn’t deserve to survive?”
“One ‘choice’ tried to steal our lives,” they continue. “But we survived. We are the survivors of ‘choice.’ We are the faces of ‘choice.’”
Despite spending considerable time and money to get the ad on the air, Faces of Choice Executive Director Lyric Gillett said Fox Sports gave her the run-around and refused to provide a “yes” or “no” response for airing the video.
Back in Richmond, Rev. Dr. Robert M. Grant Jr. of The Father’s Way Church in Warrenton was criticized by some elected officials as being “disrespectful” and “divisive” when, among other remarks, he reminded lawmakers about the humanity of the unborn during an opening prayer for a recent session of the Virginia House of Delegates.
“I pray that you may understand that all life is precious and worthy of a chance to be born. God is a giver of life, and people have no right or authority to take life,” he said. “The unborn have rights, and those rights need to be protected.”
“They should never be denied the right to exist, the right to develop, or the right to have a family,” Grant continued. “The Word of God has given us a warning: ‘woe to anyone who harms an innocent child.’ Every one of you sitting here today can guarantee these rights to these little, innocent children of Virginia … please do not ignore their little voices. I pray for a heart changed today, and may the Lord God have mercy upon this leadership.”
Some Democrats reportedly walked off the floor of the House while Grant was speaking. And Before he could complete his opening prayer, Grant was gaveled into silence by House Speaker Eileen Filler, who then began reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Recognizing the humanity of the unborn isn’t an act of faith, and recognizing the fact that abortion destroys a human life isn’t an expression of opinion. Both of these truths are arrived at through reason informed by science.
Through ultrasound images, DNA testing, scientific studies, etc., we can see that the life in the womb is a human being, just like us. And pictures, videos, and physical evidence show us the fatal consequences of abortion.
The bigger obstacle is convincing people to care about the humanity of the unborn in a culture that increasingly devalues the dignity and worth of human life.
People of goodwill who believe in protecting our fundamental human rights must continue to provide a voice for the voiceless unborn by educating the unaware about the reality of the “choice” offered by abortion supporters — and by firmly, but charitably, challenging those who seek to unjustly violate an innocent person’s right to life. Now’s the time to make our voices heard.
