The Scarlet Letter

Legal Genocide

Since the Supreme Court’s historic 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the U.S., 45-million-plus unborn babies have been aborted. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, about 19 percent of women having abortions in the U.S. are teens; 33 percent are between the ages of 20 and 24; and 48 percent are ages 25 and older.

Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest provider of abortions, made more than $1 billion last year, according to the agency’s 2007-2008 annual report, providing 305,310 abortions to its clients. The not-for-profit agency says it “provides and protects trusted health care services and medically accurate sexuality education,” but Jamie Matthews, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, says Planned Parenthood preys on young women.

“They told me ‘the fetus’ was not yet a baby and my career would be ruined if I continued with the pregnancy, so I consented to the abortion. When I returned to the clinic a few days later complaining of sharp pains, they gave me a second abortion-and I wasn’t even pregnant!” she blurted while weeping over the ordeal.

One woman who asked Charisma not to disclose her identity said the doctor who aborted her baby when she was 14 misled her. “He led me to believe there would be no negative consequences to having an abortion since a ‘fetus is nothing.’ But he never told me I would be depressed, fearful and suffer from anxiety for years to come. He lied.”

King knows all too well the lies the “pro-death” industry tells desperate, unsuspecting women. “I told my doctor I hadn’t had a menstrual cycle in three months, and he said, ‘You don’t need another baby,'” she claims.

King says he dilated her cervix and performed what he called “a menstrual extraction.” “I heard a pop, and blood gushed out. I didn’t ask for it, but he gave me an illegal abortion with no anesthesia.”

Abortionists may use many of the same tactics today, but pro-life groups are initiating new legislation that will stem the tide of abortion in the United States. When voters in South Dakota, Colorado and California went to the polls in November and said no to legislation that would have redefined or restricted abortion-or in the case of Colorado, put it on a par with first-degree murder-pro-life advocacy groups went to work on new legislation.

Observers credit the pro-life surge to President Barack Obama’s staunch pro-choice voting record and recent actions that support abortion. In January, he struck down the Mexico City Policy, which would have prohibited U.S. dollars from being used to fund family-planning clinics in other countries. And his selection of Kathleen Sebelius as Health and Human Services Secretary is a sure sign, say observers, of his commitment to “rescind the abortion conscience clause,” which allows doctors and other medical personnel to refuse to participate in abortions for ethical reasons.

The president’s decisions have brought strong reactions from conservatives, who believe their views represent those of the majority of Americans. A Gallup Poll released in May confirms that more Americans are pro-life. The data revealed that 51 percent of Americans polled consider themselves “pro-life” compared to 42 percent who identify themselves as “pro-choice.”

The research company says “it was the first time a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as pro-life since Gallup began asking the question in 1995.”

The shooting death of prominent late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller by a lone gunman in late May brought to light the hailstorm of controversy that continues to drive the abortion fight. Advocacy groups quickly denounced the shooting but said the president would use the shooting as an excuse to restrict pro-life activities protected by law.

“The Obama administration will use this [murder] as a means to try to punish the pro-life movement,” Mathew D. Staver, founder of the pro-life legal firm Liberty Counsel, told Charisma News Online.

“We will diligently and aggressively resist the administration’s attempt to use this or any other matter that does not represent the pro-life movement to trample on the constitutional rights of pro-lifers.”

Americans United for Life (AUL) launched an aggressive campaign to counteract the efforts and influence of pro-choice organizations such as Planned Parenthood. Denise Burke, vice president of legal affairs, called for “common-sense, medically appropriated regulations of abortion, including informed consent, ultrasound requirements, parental involvement and abortion clinic regulations.”

Christians across the country are using their influence to protect the lives of unborn babies and say believers have a biblical mandate to protect human life. Lou Engle, visionary and co-founder of TheCall solemn assemblies, posted an open letter to the president criticizing his actions concerning the unborn.

“This debate over abortion will only intensify and be inflamed if President Obama, the Congress, and Senate keep pushing the issue of abortion over to the far side of where millions of Americans refuse to go.”