Flurried activity seems to be the order of the day of late. And as I've said previously, I can't seem catch myself coming or going. This past weekend was no exception. But we're back for another week of commentary, and the topics begging to be blogged are increasing to the point of inundation. Many of you have offered suggestions, and/or made inquiries, about different topics you would like me to touch on, and I appreciate the input very much. I promise I'm working to accommodate those suggestions and requests as quickly and responsibly as possible. And in the meantime, keep 'em coming.
As I mentioned last week, we were able to go to the Life Centers (formerly CPC) annual "Celebration of Life" banquet here in Indianapolis last Thursday. Governor Mike Huckabee brought the keynote address, which proved compelling. It was a great evening all the way around, and the work that the Life Centers are doing is significant (with literally hundreds of babies saved from abortion this past year alone).
I want to pass along a couple of highlights from Gov. Huckabee's speech that were thought-provoking. One of the first points in his talk which caught my attention was his equating abortion with slavery. I certainly don't want to misrepresent his argument, so I'll do my best to articulate it as accurately as I can. (Next time I need to take better notes, because the fatigue factor with this newspaper route is currently wreaking havoc with my brain. :) He pointed out that the overriding rationale from the pro-choice crowd regarding abortion is centered on a woman's right to choose. That is to say, it is believed that a woman has a right to choose whatever course of action best serves her own interests. In that sense, she essentially owns the child in her womb, because as the abortion lobbies suggests, she has the right do what she wants with her body. I've postulated before that there is a fundamental assumption being made with this rationale that always seems to go unquestioned and unchallenged--namely, that the fetus is indeed a part of the woman's body. And that same question raises itself again here.
From a Christian point of view, there is a clear distinction between the woman's body and the unborn child within her body. To Huckabee's point, the decisions she makes with that child are analogous to assuming ownership over that child--much like one person may own another as they did during the days of slavery. But can we make a case that it is ever morally permissible for one person to own another? We cannot. And as Huckabee pointed out, even the most radically liberal pro-choice advocate would never suggest such a thing.
The other main portion of Huckabee's speech which caught my attention had to do with another point that I've raised here from time to time. He shared a number of anecdotes from the presidential campaign, including the time he was asked by a member of the media, "What is the most pressing issue facing America today?" He unequivocally answered that he believed the greatest issue facing this country was abortion. His rationale for such a position focused on the contention that unless we maintain a belief in the inherent dignity of all people, regardless of physique, race, religion, mental capacity, age, etc., we will begin to sow the seeds of our own eventual demise as a society. I couldn't agree more, and I was reminded of a quote from Drs. Francis Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop which I have referenced here before. It is the opening lines from their seminal book, Whatever Happened to the Human Race?, which while written over 30 years ago, is proving as applicable today as it was prophetic then:
Cultures can be judged in many ways, but eventually every nation in every age must be judged by this test: How did it treat people? Each generation, each wave of humanity, evaluates its predecessors on this basis. The final measure of mankind's humanity is how humanely people treat one another.
And indeed, this is the case. How do we treat humanity--and not just the more mature members of our human race, but especially the most vulnerable among us? If some of us have less rights than others, what does that say about us as a people? Taken to its logical conclusion, we have no moral or philosophical means to prevent the next genocide (e.g. Nazi Germany, Rwanda, Darfur, etc.).
As someone once asked regarding this pivotal issue of abortion, "Who determined that the rights of the mother supersede the rights of the child?" Our ability to recognize, and reconcile, this glaring inconsistency is one more critical step toward reclaiming the true worth of all human beings. This recognition is something that Governor Huckabee is championing across the country. It was good to hear him do so last Thursday night. 