The Encourager
“An Unwanted Baby”
An Unwanted Baby
by Jeff Curtis
Many years ago, in a small village, a child was born. He was born to a mother who had become pregnant out of wedlock. In her culture, that could have resulted in a death sentence. Her fiancé, who loved her in spite of her predicament, went ahead with his plans and married her. Today, some would have counseled this young woman not to go through the shame and embarrassment of an unplanned pregnancy. They would have encouraged her to keep her secret, even from the child’s father, and to have an abortion. No one would ever have to know.
Every single day, a silent horror kills more Americans than were killed on 9/11. Every single year, this silent horror kills about as many Americans as have been killed on all the battlefields in all of the wars in U.S. history combined. This silent horror is called abortion, and it is a national disgrace. Overall, more than 50 million babies have been slaughtered since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. We have become a nation with so little regard for human life that nobody even really talks that much about this issue anymore. But the truth is that it is at the very core of what is wrong with America.
The following are a few facts about abortion in America that should make you very sick….
#1 There have been more than 53 million abortions performed in the United States since Roe v. Wade was decided back in 1973.
#2 When you total up all forms of abortion, including those caused by the abortion drug RU 486, the grand total comes to more than a million abortions performed in the United States every single year.
#3 The number of American babies killed by abortion each year is roughly equal to the number of U.S. military deaths that have occurred in all of the wars that the United States has ever been involved in combined.
#4 Approximately 3,000 Americans lost their lives as a result of the destruction of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. Every single day, more than 3,000 American babies are killed by abortion.
#5 It has been reported that a staggering 41 percent of all New York City pregnancies end in abortion.
#7 One very shocking study found that 86 percent of all abortions are done for the sake of convenience.
#8 According to the Guttmacher Institute, the average cost of a first trimester abortion at the ten week mark is $451.
(Let me add here that the average cost for an adoption in the United States in 2019 was $40,000.
The devil wants to make sin as enticing as possible. Even in the price you pay here and now.)
(19 Facts About Abortion In America That Should Make You Very Sick; February 10, 2012 by Michael Snyder; endoftheamericandream.com). (This is not his complete list, just the first 4; JC)
The mother in the story at the beginning of our article is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Abortion has been around for a long time. It may have been available to Mary then. What if she had chosen to abort her child? What if Jesus had never been born? Was He any less the Son of God and the Savior of the world in Mary’s womb? Of course, Mary knew who Jesus was (Matthew 1:20-23; Luke 1:26-38), and she would never have aborted her baby; but suppose she had.
Unwanted babies are not a new phenomenon. When Jesus was born, He was unwanted, except by His parents and perhaps a few others.
Herod the Great did not want Him. He was fearful of someone trying to take his throne. When Herod heard about the birth of this baby who was born to be “the King of the Jews,” he sought to kill Him (Matt. 2:7-18).
When He was grown, many in Jesus’ own family rejected Him at the beginning of His ministry (Jn. 7:5). None of His brothers were believers until after His resurrection (Jn. 7:5; Acts 1:14; 1Cor. 15:7).
The Jewish religious leaders did not want Him. John wrote, “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him” (Jn.1:11; Isa. 53:3-9).
We should cherish life as a gift from God. This should be evident in the way we treat our children, both in and out of the womb. We should take a firm stance against abortion – the destruction of innocent and indefensible unborn children. In addition, we should show compassion toward those children who have been neglected or abused
