June 2013 Newsletter
Posted By cmbuuck on June 21, 2013
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him . . . Psalm 103:13 (NIV)
We Should Have Been There
Pastor Robert Fleischmann – National Director, Christian Life Resources
His name is Kermit Gosnell. He operated a Philadelphia abortion clinic called the Women’s Medical Society. The center reeked of animal urine and feces from cats permitted to roam the facility. Photographs reveal a gruesome collection of the severed body parts of aborted children.
In January 2011, Gosnell was arrested and charged with eight counts of murder. One death came as a result of a patient seeking an abortion.The other seven deaths involved children born alive and then killed. In addition, the abortionist was charged with illegally prescribing medication.
The manner which he aborted late-term babies is to disturbing for me too describe. Suffice it to say, these children could feel pain and had been moving. The intent was to born them dead. In at least seven instances he apparently failed, and additional measures had to be taken.
It is a small leap in logic to go from taking life in the womb to taking life outside the womb. The horrible nature of late-term abortions and the deplorable conditions of the Gosnell abortion clinic certainly captures our attention. But even if the clinic had been pristene and had Gosnell only performed abortion procedures legal under Pennsylvania state law, the deafening silence of each child who dies in an abortion is still lost in the discussion.
Since 1983 Christian Life Resources has been proclaiming the humanity of unborn life. We have shared Psalm 139 and Psalm 51. We talk about the eternal consquences of sin and share the account of a Savior who died for all people – born and unborn.
We did not reach the women of Philadelphia who entered the Women’s Medical Society. We were not there to tell them about God’s Word on unborn life. We were not there to offer the alternative for single mothers that we operate in Colorado. There is much more to do.
The story about Kermit Gosnell is a bitter reminder of what is really happening in the arena of abortion rights. We know better. We have the truth of God’s Word, and we need your help right now to reach more, do more and help more.
Gosnell Response: Guilty as Charged is Not Enough
By James Lamb – Lutherans For Life, May 14, 2013
Somehow it seems insufficient just to make a statement that Lutherans For Life is “pleased with the guilty verdict in the Gosnell trial” as if it is now over and we can move on. While we certainly give thanks that the crimes were acknowledged for what they were, “guilty as charged” does nothing to erase the horrors of mutilation and death that took place in his “butcher shop.” “Guilty as charged” does nothing to stop the murder of born babies that continues to happen in other abortion mills around the country. As Patricia Heaton tweeted, “Gosnell is just the less sanitary version of what goes on every day … the cheapening of human life. Lord have mercy.”
“Guilty as charged” does nothing to stop the murderous mutilation of unborn babies which society labels just the opposite of the Gosnell atrocities—“legal,” “a right,” and “good.” What a testament to the devil’s duplicity and man’s idiocy that the distance between “good” and “grotesque” is the few inches of a birth canal.
Lutherans For Life prays that the Gosnell case and verdict will raise people’s awareness, not just of one horrible crime that is now over, but of the continuing crimes against the sacredness of human life. The murder of children is still the murder of children whether born or unborn, whether in a squalid environment or a septic one.
And we need to raise more than awareness. We need to raise our voices as Christ’s people. For abortion does not just destroy someone, but someone created by God, someone for whom Jesus died, and someone God desires to call into an eternal relationship with Him. We need to raise our voices, not just because these children are precious, but because they are precious to God.
We need to raise our voices for those deceived by the great evil of abortion. The Gosnell trial reminded us that women die having abortions. For thousands more, something dies within them, something that is replaced with hopelessness and a deep-seated regret. We need to raise our voices so that those so wounded will know that the cross of Jesus paid for their sin, that the empty tomb of Jesus gives them victory and a living hope, and that the ascension of Jesus means He rules over all things and will never forsake them.
“Guilty as charged” is not enough. Lutherans For Life will continue with its mission “to equip Lutherans to be Gospel motivated voices For Life.” We will continue to provide Word-based resources so that hearts and lives will be changed. We will continue to pray that lives so changed will influence our culture by calling wrong things wrong, by loving our neighbor, and by pointing people to the Lord of Life not the god of death for rescue from their problems.
Will you Stand with Shepherds United in Defense of Traditional Marriage?
Shepherds United will host a traditional marriage rally at the Allen County Courthouse lawn on July 1 at 12:00 p.m. The rally will feature local clergy members speaking on the Biblical, societal and religious liberty implications of governmental attempts to redefine marriage. The rally will also include a reaction to the Supreme Court decision on marriage cases, expected to be handed down the week prior. The Allen County Courthouse lawn is at the corner of S. Clinton St. and East Berry St. in Fort Wayne, Indiana. For more details visit: www.shepherdsunited.org.