ABORTION

                                BASIC R.C. BELIEF
From  A  GUIDE  FOR CONFESSION by Francis Connell, C.Ss.R. Imp Bishop Busch.
p.  24.  "(A  direct abortion) is if the living fetus is removed because the
mother  is suffering from heart trouble, kidney trouble, pernicious vomiting
or  tuberculosis.  Concerning  such  an  abortion, the Holy Father said, `To
save  the  life of the mother is a most noble end, but the direct killing of
the child as a means is not licit.'"

                               RELIGIOUS JOURNALS
From  CHRISTIAN  NEWS,  10/17/88.  "The  abortion  rate among Roman Catholic
women  is  30%  higher  than that of Protestant women, according to a recent
survey  conducted  by  The  Alan Guttmacher Institute. Evangelical women are
half  as  likely  as  other Christian women to have abortions. The  research
also  found  that unmarried women are four to five times more likely to have
abortions  than married women, and those living with their partners are nine
times more likely to have an abortion."

                                SECULAR JOURNALS
From  ORLANDO  SENTINEL,  4/10/90.  "Cardinal  John J. O'Connor defended the
Roman  Catholic Church's hiring of a public relations concern to carry on an
anti-abortion campaign.
   "O'Connor  said  last  week  U.S.  Roman  Catholic  bishops had engaged a
public  relations  concern,  Hill  &  Knowlton,  and  a polling company, the
Wirthlin Group, to do a campaign opposing abortion.
   "...  some reports have said the bishops are expected to spend $3 million
to $5 million."

                                PRO-ETERNAL LIFE
                               by Dr. Bill Jackson
   (Available in tract form from C.E.C., Box 99141, Louisville, KY 40269)

   Every  human  being  that has a true concern for the welfare of all other
human  beings  is  thankful  for every pro-life movement that exists. We, as
Christians,   who  know  something  of  the  eternal  nature  of  life,  are
especially  thankful  to  God  for  every  baby  that  has been saved from a
violent murder.
   In  any  emergency  situation  (and  the  abortion  issue is an emergency
situation)  we  cannot  require  people who are aiding the cause of right to
agree  on  all points with other crusaders. If a building were burning and a
bucket  brigade were formed, a Christian would not feel obliged to quiz each
person  down the line to be sure that all members of the bucket brigade were
Christians.
   If  a  Christian  were crusading for something he defines as specifically
and  uniquely  Christian,  he  would  only be justified in co-operating with
Christians  to  pursue  the course. While the pro-life movement is to many a
Christian  crusade, it is not uniquely Christian any more than putting out a
fire  in  a  Christian church building is a task to which we would call only
truly converted people.
   If  a pro-life organization were formed calling itself CHRISTIANS AGAINST
ABORTION,  we,  as  Bible-believing  Christians  would  not  be able to join
unless  the  requirement  for  joining  was  a  biblically-based  salvation.
Othwerwise  we  would  be  severely  compromising the person and work of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
   Even  though  we must feel an obligation to save the lives of the unborn,
there are some very definite guidelines for Christians.
   (1) DO NOT ASSUME THAT YOUR FELLOW ANTI-ABORTION WORKERS ARE CHRISTIANS.
   Roman  Catholics  were  pioneers in the pro-life movement and much of the
material  they  produce  is  excellent.  But the Bible plainly tells us that
people  can  be  very  zealous for God but not saved (Romans 10:1,2). Today,
many  progressive  and  charismatic Catholics will employ terminologies that
sound  very  Christian,  but  with all their profession of being born again,
trusting  Christ  only, being saved by grace or justified by faith, there is
still,  if  they are Roman Catholics, an adherence to a system that denies a
completed  salvation  and  the assurance that comes from this infinite work.
They  might  even  say  the  Mass has infinite value for salvation, and then
deny  this  by continuing to participate in this celebration weekly. We have
to  learn  to  look  beyond  what  is said to know what is really meant, and
thereby be able to discern the need for the Gospel message.
   I  already  hear  some  of  you saying "Judge not." Yet in the context of
this  command, we are told we should cast the mote out of our brother's eye,
and  to  do  that  we must see clearly. Further, we are told in John 7:24 to
judge  righteous  judgments. A Christian must be able to know the difference
between  a  false  gospel  and  the  true  (Galatians  1:7-9), and our whole
mission  in the world of preaching the truth must be based on the ability to
discern between truth and error (I John 4:6).
   Not  because wyou desire to narrowly judge him, but because you are loyal
to  the  Lord  Jesus and obedience to His Commission, do not assume they are
Christians because they are pro-life.
   (2) DON'T NEGLECT TO EVANGELIZE THEM.
   The  Great  Commission  is "to all men" and "to all the world." We cannot
all  go  everywhere, but wherever we go we should be proclaiming the Gospel.
One  of  the  places  we go is to a pro-life meeting, and we should consider
that part of the world Jesus spoke of.
   The  opportunities  and  methods of bringing the Gospel message will vary
from  place  to  place  and from time to time. Leaving a tract with your tip
may  be  one  way  of preaching the Gospel in the restaurant; in some places
speaking  may  be inappropriate, and there will be some situations where you
don't  have  a  relationship  that  would  lend  itself to a thorough Gospel
message.  Your  life as a Christian should still be geared to the living out
of the Conmmission of ther One you love, the Lord Jesus Christ.
   A  friend recently told of her previous lack of Gospel witnessing in pro-
life  circles.  She  stated  that  pro-life  began  to crowd out every other
motive  for  living, and even put her witnessing for Christ in second place.
What  turned  her  around was realizing that every Christian should long for
opportunity  to  present  the  Gospel message to people with whom you have a
good  relationship  and  therefore  are more likely to listen to you. At the
pro-life  meeting,  God  had  placed her among dozens of folks who needed to
hear. She is now determined to witness for Christ at pro-life meetings.
   Of  course.,  you  might say that you still have qualms about proclaiming
the  Gospel  to  these good, sincere people, but unless they hear the Gospel
and  put their trust in Christ, they will be eternally lost. Are you willing
to  let  them  go  to Hell because they are so concerned about the rights of
the unborn?
   (3) REALIZE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE CHILD YOU SAVED FROM ABORTION.
   Is  it  morally excusable to be responsible for bringing a child into the
world  and make no provision for that child's hearing the Gospel? God proved
the  fallacy  of  this  lack  by  providing for man's salvation before man's
creation.  While no one would consider desiring abortion because the aborted
baby  would go to Heaven and the unaborted chuild might live a full life and
spend  eternity  in  Hell,  this  thought  should help us get our priorities
straight.
   The  greatest  thing  that can happen is for the mother to be evangelized
and  saved.  Recently  I met a young lady who, when unsaved, was planning an
abortion.  She  was  contacted  by  Christians who persuaded her to keep her
baby  and  who  led  her  to  the Lord. Later, the father was also saved. So
instead  of  three   lives  - one wrecked, one murdered and one unsaved - we
have a Christian family with a positive testimonty of God's grace.
   If  you  are  so  pro-life  that  you don't realize, as a friend recently
said,  that  the  untimate  pro-life is pro-eternal-life, you may put saving
the  baby  as your first priority. If you continue along this line, you will
become  so  obsessed  with pro-life that evangelism will finally fade out of
the  picture. Now you are bringing babies into the world that will have even
less of a chance of hearing the Gospel. Will they thank us in eternity?
   Close  relationships develop between mothers who are saved the horrors of
aborting  their  children  and  pro-life  workers,  and  it  should  not  be
difficult  to  conduct  a  thorough follow-up program aimed at reaching that
mother  and  family for Christ. We as Christians have so much more than pro-
life  to offer. Are we going to help them receive physical life and not tell
them  of  our  blessed Saviour? Perhaps this thorough follow-up will seem to
curtail   the   numbers   involved  in  pro-life  ministry,  but  the  first
consideration  should  be  to  do  that which is right to do, and it is very
possible  our  having a more biblically-based pro-life stance will encourage
others to join the "PRO-ETERNAL-LIFE" movement.
   As  a pro-life person, you can have "the best of both worlds." You can be
actively  engaged  in  a  ministry to help bewildered, frightened mothers to
save  the  lives of their babies, so that these helpless unborn people will;
come,  through  the  ministry of pro-life, into this beautiful world God has
created for them.
   You  can  also  have  the  ministry  of helping those lost mothers, their
still  innocent babies and others who have a heart for the humanitarian work
of  anti-abortion  to  be brought, through the ministry of pro-eternal-life,
to  the  glorious  place  Jesus  is preparing for His own; a world that will
know  no sin, no sadness, no murder of the unborn - God's final home for His
redeemed creation.