2023 | Week of January 23 | Radio Transcript #1500

For nearly 50 years, we’ve been recognizing January as Sanctity of Human Life Month, primarily focusing on abortion as we mourned the US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling issued on January 22, 1973. Praise God that this year, we are for the first time in 50 years in a post-Roe world! In a state such as Wisconsin where we have a pre-Roe abortion ban in place, we are truly rejoicing in the reality that hundreds of babies are being saved now that the 3 abortion facilities in our state have not been doing surgical abortions since June 24, 2022.

The overturning of Roe is cause for celebration, for sure; but it by no means is the end of our work to bring about a culture of life in the Badger State. Doing so means we must win hearts as well as minds, and there are some very important opportunities we can promote as we build a culture of life.

First, we need to assist in every way possible pregnancy care centers around the state. These agencies are prepared to help women and men in crisis pregnancy situations get accurate information about what abortion is and what options are available, receive emotional and social support, as well as spiritual in many instances, and have access to tangible assistance in the form of diapers, clothes, car seats, and more, if they decide to keep their baby. The PRCs are simply amazing life-saving places offering help and hope in extraordinary ways from caring, compassionate people. All of these organizations need volunteers to do all sorts of things, they need money to operate, and they need prayer support, and  they need champions telling others about them.

Next, we have adoption. While the number of truly Christian agencies that have not capitulated to the LGBTQ+ agenda is dwindling , we do still have at least one. And that is the Evangelical Child and Family Agency in West Allis. They are equipped to work with both the birth parent and the adoptive parents. Supporting this type of agency also promotes a culture of life. But adoption needs to go beyond supporting a faith-based agency. We need more Christian married couples to prayerfully consider whether God wants them to be adoptive parents. It’s part of ministering to “the least of these,” and is truly pro-life. If we honestly believe adoption is an incredible life-saving option to abortion, then we need people to champion it and to engage as adoptive families.

Related to traditional adoption is embryo adoption. These are embryos that are created as a part of invitro fertilization and if not implanted are then frozen for a period of time and if not adopted within that time, then they are destroyed. This reality should make the ethical and moral issues with IVF fairly obvious. Across the country there are agencies that specialize in facilitating the adoption of these snowflake embryos as they are often referred to. This type of adoption acknowledges the biblical and scientific reality that life begins at the moment of conception.

Interestingly, embryo adoption is prolife in a couple of ways. Working with an agency that is dedicated to promoting the adoption of these embryos, a couple using invitro fertilization can set up a plan whereby any unused embryos are immediately placed for adoption. This can certainly help prevent the ethical problem of creating new life with the expectation that it will likely be destroyed.

Last, I want to mention our Safe Haven law, which allows a parent of a new born not more than 72 hours old to anonymously relinquish the baby to law enforcement personnel, hospital workers, or a 911 center. The form encourages the parent to supply information that will help make sure the baby is properly cared for, but no information has to be completed. When this law was passed a number of years ago, we were having a rash of horrible situations with people finding babies discarded in dumpsters. This law is yet another attempt to help women, to save babies, and to bring about a culture of life.

The sanctity of human life applies to all human life—the unborn, the ill, the aged, the disabled—because all life bears the image of our Creator God and has incredible, inherent value and worth—and that’s worth recognizing and celebrating every month. It’s all part of building a culture of life.

This is Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”