Quoting the Family Research Council, “It has all the makings of a riveting courtroom drama: The man on trial is charged with killing seven children and a young mother in a filthy, blood-splattered building near Philadelphia. Over the course of several years, he preyed on his victims as a ‘doctor’ who relied on staff of teenagers posing as licensed anesthetists. Together, they stashed the bodies in the basement freezer, until authorities raided the office and arrested the man known to many as a ‘human butcher.’
Normally, the media would be tripping over themselves to report every grisly detail of this ‘house of horrors’—unless, of course, the accused is an abortion doctor named Kermit Gosnell and his victims were the babies born alive in his filthy clinic. As the gruesome testimonies spill out of former employees in Gosnell’s real-life trial, the bright lights of the network cameras are nowhere to be found. And the keyboards of reporters, who race to recount the nightmarish details of every other tragedy, have fallen silent.
It’s not because the story lacks jaw-dropping revelations. This week, two of Gosnell’s staffers described the monster they worked for and the evil that penetrated every inch of his Women’s Medical Center. Sherry West, who had been with the office for years, told the court about a screaming baby that had been born in the clinic and then murdered. With tears streaming down her face, West said the tortured cries of the child ‘really freaked me out… I can’t describe it.’ She says that she called the aborted babies ‘specimens’ because ‘it was easier to deal with mentally.’ Then, trying to collect herself, she told prosecutors, ‘I’m trying to block a lot of this out’.”
This article had me visibly shaken and emotional stirred. The secular media is obviously trying to protect their own. They slant the truth, justify sin, and avoid taking responsibility.
The reason why many do not want to address this issue is because it’s controversial and unthinkable. They don’t want to “offend.” Sadly, the majority of the pulpits are silent on this issue as well. As the pulpit goes so goes the pew. Many prefer the Joel Osteen approach to ministry (don’t offend and always be positive), but sometimes we need the prophet Isaiah approach, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). The judgment hand of God is not a metaphor; it’s a biblical reality for a nation that has the blood of innocent children on her hands. Repentance, prayer, and humility are the only remedy.
This type of information is extremely difficult to write. This was the hardest article I’ve written thus far, but I cannot, and will not remain silent, nor should you. To my shock, one so-called Christian leader actually said, “The topic of abortion is so 1980s. We need to get over it.” Did I miss something? When a physician can legally puncture the back of a child’s skull before delivering the baby, and when people carelessly fill trashcans with mutilated babies day after day in medical facilities without concern from the public, consciences have been seared. When human life is devalued, atrocities such as the holocaust, the slave/sex trade, and abortion occur. God help us when we destroy what He has created.
Partial-birth abortion is a process where an unborn, often healthy (near full term), baby’s body is delivered feet first, until only the head remains inside the womb. The physician then punctures the back of the child’s skull with a sharp instrument and removes the child’s brains before delivering the dead baby. Christians will never be reconciled with one another in this area until we acknowledge that the sanctity of life is a top priority that comes before preference and personal liberty. This is not a Democrat or Republican issue; it’s a biblical issue with tremendous ramifications.
Again, it is extremely painful to mention any of this. I wish this message could be positive and uplifting, but abortion is a travesty, and our nation is slaughtering innocent children. If you think otherwise, I’d encourage you to research this topic. The truth will change your life. It’s been estimated that hundreds of these types of abortions, including D & E and saline abortions, are performed every day in America after the third month of pregnancy. We can no longer remain silent while silent screams go unheard. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words still echo with resounding clarity: “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.” I hold the same opinion today.
But there is also hope for those who have participated in or who have had an abortion. If this is you, I encourage you to read Psalm 51. Both personal experience and the Bible have taught me that God’s unfailing love and compassion will see you through.
The secular media and most of the nation has drifted from God, but it does not follow that we should: “‘Return to Me,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will return to you’” (Zechariah 1:2-3).
As the moral and cultural war rages between our shores, the need to be awakened from our spiritual slumber has never been greater. “Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is tested” (Martin Luther). This battle is for the very soul of our nation. It’s our choice—stand or fall.
Shane Idleman is the founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Lancaster, California. He can be reached at www.wcfav.org
