| |
At the start of the
sermon, I asked for a volunteer from among the
youngest, smallest members of the congregation.
Sharon, who was about six, came forward. I had her
stand next to me facing the people and asked her,
"Sharon, are there people out there who are bigger
than you?" "Yes!" she exclaimed. "Are there people
out there who are older than you?" "Yes!" she
exclaimed. "Are there people out there who are
stronger than you?" "Yes!" she exclaimed. "Are there
people out there who are more important than you?"
"No!" she declared, with even more conviction in her
voice. All the other children understood the same
thing.
And thus they
understood the key problem in the abortion tragedy.
Abortion builds on the lie that the smallest and
weakest among us have less value and can even be
discarded.
Teaching children
about abortion is not as difficult as many think.
Children are particularly receptive to the message
of equality of all people, and to the truth that
might does not make right. They have a keen sense of
justice and fairness. They know what it means to
need protection from dangers they can neither
withstand nor understand. They know what a baby is,
and they know it is wrong to kill a baby.
Furthermore, they
have not been around long enough to practice the
mental gymnastics and exercises in denial that are
necessary for developing and maintaining a
pro-choice position.
It is not necessary
to teach children the details of reproduction before
they learn that abortion is a bad thing. The basis
for teaching about abortion is not the reproductive
system, but the dignity and worth of every human
person, whether that person is big or small, young
or old, healthy or sick, wanted or unwanted,
convenient or inconvenient.
The basis for
teaching young people about abortion is the same
basis on which we teach that the commandment "Thou
shalt not kill" applies to any other category of
people.
Some may be afraid to
use the word "abortion" with children, reasoning
that as someone once told me, "they don't understand
all the aspects of it." Let's face it -- nobody
does. We do not aim to teach them "all the aspects."
The key point with children is that when they hear
the word "abortion," they know it is something bad,
something that kills, something to be avoided.
Education is not just concepts. We influence
children not only in how they think about abortion,
but in how they feel about it. They should be
trained to reject it, and to see it as a part of the
list of injustices and evils in the world rather
than part of the list of rights, freedoms and
choices. Even before adolescence, the immoral nature
of abortion, surgical or chemical, can be
gradually explained in terms of Biblical morality
and the sanctity of human life.
Some express a
concern that children will be traumatized if we tell
them that abortion kills babies. I once sat in on a
staff meeting at which a proposal was made to set up
a sign on church property that said, "Abortion Kills
Children." The staff voted down the proposal on the
basis that it would give nightmares to the school
children who would see it. A few days later I was in
that same school, and in the corridor of the first
and second grade students I saw posters on the wall,
made by the students themselves. The posters had
skeletons coming up from the grave, people falling
off an abyss, and various other nightmare scenes,
with the message: "DRUGS KILL." "SAYING YES TO DRUGS
IS LIKE SAYING YES TO MR. DEATH."
Isn't it curious how
selective we can sometimes be about which messages
we think will frighten our children…
The pro-life message
will not harm our children. What will harm them,
however, is the "pro-choice" mentality, which will
train them to think that human life is a disposable
item, and which, if unchallenged, may lead them to
an abortion mill someday.
The Partnership for a
Drug-Free America has a television commercial that
says, "The perfect time to talk to your child about
using marijuana is when you think he's too young to
talk about using marijuana. Talk to your child
before someone else does." Abortion is a clear
parallel. To a parent who once objected to my
pro-life preaching because her children were
present, I gently pointed out to them that I share
her concern for her children’s welfare. I then told
her that it is better that they hear about abortion
from me, in the presence of their parents who can
discuss their questions and calm their fears, than
if they hear about abortion from pro-choice people
who will tell them the false and dangerous lie that
abortion is "no big deal," and to avoid discussing
it with their parents! Worse yet, of course, is if
the first time they hear anything substantial about
abortion is from the "counselor" who is trying to
sell them one.
Parents are the
primary educators of their children. This requires
that pastors, church leaders and other educators
cooperate closely with them. It does not mean,
however, that either the parents or other educators
have the right to keep their children from the
truth. In one instance when I spoke to seventh
graders about how abortion harms women, one set of
parents objected because I had not received their
permission to bring up the topic in class. I assured
them that I had no intention of bypassing their
parental authority and that, in fact, I welcomed
their input. I pointed out that people differ in
their judgment of which matters require special
parental approval and which do not. I then invited
them to be at least equally upset over the fact that
their daughter can actually obtain an abortion and
be harmed by it without their knowledge or consent,
as they were upset that their daughter had heard
about abortion and its harmful effects without their
knowledge or consent. Public health records in New
York State have shown as many as 231 abortions on
thirteen-year-old girls in one year.
I know of another
case in which parental permission was obtained for
all the students in the class, except one, to see a
photo of an aborted baby. After school the student
whose parents had denied permission insisted that
her friend let her see the picture. On returning
home she passionately challenged her mom, "Why did
you not want me to see what is really happening to
these babies! Why was I not allowed to see the
truth?"
It is particularly appropriate that children share
our concern about abortion. After all, they are
closer in age to those who are being killed.
Furthermore, they were considered "non-persons"
before the law during the first nine months of their
existence! If I were born after the Roe vs. Wade
decision, I would take that as a personal insult!
What loss today's children have sustained from
abortion! Those aborted would have been their
classmates, their friends, their husbands and wives!
Psychological research is being done on the impact
of this tragedy on those whose lives might have been
taken, had they not been "wanted." The International
Institute for Pregnancy Loss and Child Abuse
Research and Recovery has identified ten types of
"abortion survivors" and has published evidence of
how damaging it is for a child to grow up in a
society in which he/she could have been aborted.
I once spoke at a
cemetery service at a grave containing the aborted
bodies of several hundred babies. At the end of the
service, each person present placed a rose on the
grave and departed. Most people missed the scene at
the very end. A very young girl, just able to walk,
took a rose to the grave by; herself and placed it
there. She was, indeed, closest to her brothers and
sisters in that grave. The youngest had compassion
on her peers, who might have seen the sun that day
as she did.
Children will respond
actively to the pro-life message, as did the two who
wrote me and said, "Hi, I'd like to begin this
letter by thanking you for last week's sermon. I was
deeply moved and so was my younger brother. Although
we are both young, I'm 17 and he's 12, we've been
taught how precious life is. But we did not fully
understand what goes on in abortion till your
sermon…We both want to get on the mailing lists of
pro-life organizations."
Children particularly
like to wear the Precious Feet pin, showing the
exact size and shape of a baby's feet at 10 weeks
after conception. It was a child's idea to put those
feet on top of pink and blue ribbons. A major
pro-life organization then made the combination into
a pin!
I once met a 7-year
old named Nick among a group of young people
peacefully demonstrating outside an abortion mill.
"This must be your first time taking part in
something like this," I said to him. "O no,
Reverend," he exclaimed. "I've protested abortion in
New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and other places…"
A group of summer
campers I once served, ages 8 to 10, sent a joint
letter to the local paper to speak up for preborn
children.
These and many other
projects can be organized in churches and schools,
or as part of Christian Education projects.
Preaching and teaching will lead even the young to
action. Silence will only allow the killing to
continue.
I will allow a fourth
grade girl to finish this article with her letter to
us.
"Dear Christians,
I was so excited
about what my life in this world would be. I thought
about all the things I would like to do like playing
with toys, riding a bike, going to the zoo, and
having a dog. I wanted to see movies, go to school,
make friends and go to the park and the circus. I
wanted to celebrate Christmas and sing praises to
Jesus. I looked forward to listening to music,
dancing, swimming in a pool, playing soccer, and
having dolls.
I am very sad that I
never got to do any of these things. My mother did
not let me be born. I just don't understand one
thing. Why didn't any of you help me? I wish you
had. No one heard my crying voice.
From,
An unborn baby"
"Let the children
come to me," the Lord declares. Let them come to His
Church; let them come to us, that we may love them
and teach them the dignity and greatness of all
human life.
Back |
