Amazing Grace & Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

“Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way … but you can never say again that you did not know.”

- William Wilberforce 1759-1833

When I first saw the movie Amazing Grace, I was moved to tears not only by one man’s extraordinary courage and determination in the face of decades of opposition - but also by the realization that almost 200 years later our own society continues to wage a similar debate about the lives of humankind.

William Wilberforce tirelessly campaigned for over 40 years to see the slave trade abolished in Great Britain. Despite the loss of health, support, and friendships he never wavered – and finally, three days before his death at the age of 74, he received word that his Bill for the Abolition of Slavery had passed at last.

Throughout the movie, those who opposed Wilberforce presented various arguments in favor of the continuation of the slave trade. As I listened, it seemed that each of those arguments echoed a modern-day argument in favor of the trade in human lives that our nation carries out today.

That trade, of course, is abortion. Here are some of the quotes that stood out to me:

“There is no evidence that the Africans themselves have any objection to the trade.”

- This one reminded me of the debate regarding whether a fetus can feel pain. Those in favor of abortion like to claim that there is no evidence to support fetal pain; yet scientific evidence reveals otherwise. (For more information, click on this link: http://www.silentscream.org/)

“…slaves consume that part of the fish that is good for no human consumption.”

- This argument reminded me of the debate regarding stem cell research – i.e., why let those aborted fetuses go to waste, as many people argue, completely ignoring the reality that these are human lives we are discussing!

“Most slaves in the Indies have a snug little garden with plenty of pigs and poultry.”

- Arguing that the slaves were better off in the Indies than in Africa, this resonates with the popular pro-abortion rhetoric that abortion is better than being born into poverty, or that it reduces child abuse. In reality abortion is the ultimate child abuse, and creates a pattern of abuse – because once the sanctity of the only truly safe place for a child is violated, abusing children outside the womb is the very next step.

“The ordinary people of Britain are not at all exercised by the whole issue apart from a few mendicant physicians and itinerant clergymen.”

- This echoes the sentiment that many believe abortion is a religious issue. It is not a religious issue, it is a human being issue.

“There is no doubt in my mind that this trade in human beings is an almighty calumny …”

- One fence-straddling politician began with this statement and went on to oppose the bill abolishing slavery because it was something that should be done “gradually” so as not to upset the economy of Britain. This sounds exactly like those who say, “Well, I don’t agree with abortion and I would never do it, but I think everyone should have the right to choose for themselves.” Only, not everyone does … the child murdered in the womb has no such choice.

January 20, 2008 is a day set aside to pray and remember the Sanctity of Human Life. It took 40 years for Wilberforce to see slavery abolished, yet he did not stop fighting. It has been 35 years since abortion was legalized in the United States. We must follow Wilberforce’s example and not stop fighting – because just as the color of a person’s skin does not determine his humanity, neither does his SLED (size, level of development, environment, degree of dependency – see www.prolifetraining.com/Articles/Five-Minute-Prolife.htm)

For the sake of the unborn, we must not give up.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.