As I prepare to go to the March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Friday, some questions linger in the back of my mind: Why is abortion even such a big political war? Why are we arguing over something where if one side is wrong they’re actually defending the murder of children? It seems indefensible to me.
But maybe that’s just it: Sometimes when the truth of something is just too horrible, we turn a blind eye to continue living in ignorant bliss.
I’m reminded of the Gospel of John where Jesus asks his debate opponents, the Pharisees, who reject what Jesus said time and time again, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.”
Lies are essential for the soul that can’t bear up under the truth. When we can’t face the fact that we’ve defended murder, we have to continue to fight for it, ignore it, twist it, normalize it, and rationalize it—lest we reach the verdict that we’re guilty and there’s no judge on Earth to pronounce the sentence.
I see parallels to the Germans who stood by and watched the Jews be taken to camps: Why did they do nothing? Did they avert their eyes? Did they not know the Jews were going to their deaths?
I know the Holocaust is an overused analogy and one that is to be used with respect and care, but I think it’s appropriate for the scale of murder we’re talking about. According to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, 6 million Jews between 1933 and 1945 were killed by the Nazi regime. In a span of 10 years from 2012 to 2022, over 7 million babies were aborted in the U.S., according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abortion surveillance reports. That data doesn’t even include the numbers for California, Maryland, and other states that don’t report their abortion statistics.
Unlike the Holocaust, which ended, the abortion death toll continues to grow. You might ask, haven’t things gotten better since overturning Roe v. Wade? Yes, but there’s still much more work to be done, and the war on the womb rages on. While some states are taking measures to save babies, neighboring states are increasingly welcoming those seeking abortions.
Abortion advocates want to keep women about to make a life-or-death decision in the dark. They do so by discouraging or not disclosing knowledge about just how developed babies are in the womb via ultrasounds. They won’t discuss alternatives to abortion like adoption or the fact that the abortion pill can be reversed if such a decision is made soon enough. They don’t want those considering abortion to know what they’re getting themselves into with the abortion pill or the various abortion procedures. They don’t want them to see what will happen to their child inside because they know when people see the ugly reality of abortion they’re more likely to choose life.
Abortion advocates repeat misguided but self-affirming phrases to themselves to assuage their guilt: “Abortion will let you have a better life,” “it’s just a clump of cells,” “it’s no big deal, everybody does it,” and “it’s your body, your choice, your right”—the same phrases they need others to believe, too.
Like that book on some sobering topic you ought to read but are never in the mood for, we run from truths that are too horrible, too inconvenient, or too damning—often because we know that if we take a moment to truly see and understand that truth, it will change us. And we don’t want to have to change. Change may mean that we have to admit that what we thought or did before was wrong.
But ignoring the truth doesn’t change reality. Once the truth is made known, you’re left with a choice. The question for our friends who support abortion is: Will you swallow the bitter pill of reality and come clean, or will you continue to live in ignorant bliss with blood on your hands? It’s only once we repent that we can be forgiven.
It’s not an easy choice, but innocent lives are at stake, and it’s not too late to change your mind.
This article was originally published at www.dailysignal.com
