40 years.

I had the honor of being asked to speak to a church body today about the Sanctity of Human life. This was the first version of my message, and I wanted to share it with you. Its a pretty strong message...but its what I believe and what I stand for.

I am the development director for Life choices clinic in Lewiston. My job is to create relationships with people in our community and to build awareness of what we do. Many of you might not know what we do….we used to be known as the Crisis pregnancy clinic…now we are known as life choices, and our goal is to save babies, help moms, and break cycles. I want to tell you about all of the wonderful things that God is doing at Life choices…but first I want to tell you why I am here on THIS day.

Well today seems like any normal day…we all got up…got dressed…some of us ate breakfast, some of us drank coffee….but I would be willing to bet that not very many of us knew that today was an anniversary. Not the kind of anniversary that you want to celebrate though. Today is the 40^th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision. Since 1983 there have been over 54 MILLION babies aborted.

54 million.

Let me give you a comparison….in our history of war there has been an estimated 1,043,569 American war deaths…

Gulf War  458
Vietnam War 58,151
Korean War 54,246
WW II 407,316
WW I 116,708
Civil War 498,332
Revol. War 25,324
Total War Deaths 1,043,569

The total deaths of Jews during the holocaust is around 6 million. The holocaust was a horrible HORRIBLE time in history. Many people lost loved ones and many people lost their lives because of a decision that one person made.
 

So in comparison to ALL of the American deaths from war and all of the Jews killed during the Holocaust....the numbers of babies aborted since 1986 is still about 7 TIMES that number. No flags flown at half staff...no tears from the president...no gun salute. Just 54 Million babies...gone.

Today…in our little area…in the LC valley…in our backyard every three days a baby dies because of a decision that 1 person makes. And in the US...1.5 million babies die every single year..because of a decision that one person makes.

There is an abortion every 3 days performed on a women from the LC valley. But that doesn’t even include the number of plan b pills taken, or the number of RU486 pills taken. Our society tells us that its ok to cover up a mistake, and get rid of a problem with a pill or a procedure. Its scary. And the worst part of all of this is that its scary for the women who are making these choices.

Women walk through our doors…but not just the women that you are thinking…its not just the 17 year old who slept with her high school boyfriend and ended up pregnant. It’s the 37 year old married woman who has 3 kids, a good job, a loving husband, and a wonderful home life. It’s the 22 year old whos husband was just sent out on active duty overseas. It could be the women sitting in front of you or beside you. The fact is…1 out of every 3 women that come see us claim to be Christians. But think that abortion is their only choice…they think that their parents will kill them, their husband will leave them, their boyfriend will break up with them, their family will disown them, their friends will think they are a slut. The list goes on and on. They are hearing ALL of the voices around them telling them that abortion is the only choice. The choice to cover up their mistake, make their life easier, or hide a secret.

But abortion doesn’t do ANY of those things. It destroys families, it crushes dreams, it creates cycles of destruction, and it breaks up relationships.

The good news about this…yes…there is good news. The good news is that Life choices clinic and other centers like us exist to help these women. We break through the lies, deception and death of this world…to show them the life truth and hope of Jesus Christ. We let them talk, with out judgement. We let them have a voice. We help them heal. We save babies, help moms and break cycles.
 

We want this place, this Valley…to be a place of Life, a place of hope…and a place of Truth. And God is doing it…in 2011 we saved 100 babies…and in 2012 we saved 140 babies. That means that 140 women made a choice for life AFTER coming to Life choices Clinic. All of those babies were in danger of being aborted. 1 out of every 6 babies born at St joes is born because their mom came to life choices. We are making a difference. Yes it has been 40 years of death. 54 million babies gone. 54 million lawyers, doctors, scientists, coaches, teachers, singers, dancers, moms, dads, aunts uncles. But we have something that the enemy doesn’t. We have God, and we have HIS strength, HIS mercy and HIS love. We are making a difference in this place.

It starts with you..its starts with the church…with the parents...talking to our kids about sex, about good decisions and healthy relationships. Talking with them about abortion. Its scary, but I know it would be better coming from you, then from us when they come into our center for a pregnancy test.

 Imagine what your life would be like with out your children…without your grandchildren. Without their smiles and laughter. Without their hugs and kisses. All those drawings and paintings stuck on your refrigerator…Imagine them gone.

So many women have a refrigerator with nothing on it…and a heart that is broken because they thought that abortion was the only answer. Its is our time to help them, and to help their hearts.