Brothers and Sisters,
I’m sure you’ve heard about the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito indicating the majority’s intent to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. This would end half a century’s worth of jurisprudence built on the false supposition that the Constitution enshrines a woman’s right to kill her unborn child.
As I’ve read the reports, listened to podcasts, and pondered this development, three (or four) words come to mind that I want to share with you. Go figure, they all start with P.
Praise for Progress
This is truly a momentous development—one for which many of us have long prayed. While I understand that the deal is not yet sealed (the tactic behind this leak was likely to sway the court’s opinion in the opposite direction), we still ought to praise God.
Moreover, we ought to praise Him for the legal progress made in many state legislatures over the past few years. If this opinion wins the day, these laws will play a huge role in addressing abortion in the states.
Godly, Bible-believing Christians can (and probably should) disagree about the particulars concerning this or that law or policy on the state level, but overall we can all join hands and rejoice in the real progress that’s been made. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Prayer
As I said, the deal is not yet sealed. This opinion was written in February and does not represent the final vote of any of the justices. It’s conceivable that things could change—especially given the firestorm of political pressure that’s sure to come.
That said, we all need to pray. Pray that the conservative majority opinion holds. More importantly, pray for God’s will to be done, even if that means something changes and we see an outcome that we, in our limited wisdom, would not welcome.
Pray also for our neighbors on the other side of the aisle. Many have been led to believe that this is an attack on women and just another step on our way to Gilead a la “The Handmaid’s Tale.” We know that’s propaganda, but most of them don’t. Pray the Lord would soften hearts and bring us opportunities to show the life, light, and love of Christ amid unrest.
Preparation
The undoing of Roe and Casey will not be the end of the pro-life battle. In many respects, it will be just the beginning. Once the Court officially recognizes that the Constitution does not grant the right to abortion, the burden will fall to the states to legislate on this issue.
Many states have been preparing for the end of Roe. In 2014, our own Tennessee amended the state constitution to deny abortion the status of a “fundamental right.” In 2019, the legislature passed the “Human Life Protection Act” to come into effect 30 days after the reversal of Roe and Casey. This law not only makes abortion illegal; it makes it a felony.
How should we, as Christians, prepare for the end of Roe?
We’ve already talked about prayer, which should be our foundation. In prayer, we ought to prepare our hearts for cultural upheaval. More importantly, we should prepare to play a more active role in ministering to women in unwanted pregnancies.
Places like the Pregnancy Care Center will become all the more vital, and they’ll need our support, but we also need to pray God would prepare us to be the church to these women. Para-church ministries can not do what only we can do—provide biblical community rooted and grounded in the Gospel.
These women often lack the financial and relational resources that any family would need to raise children—let alone a single mother. Will we become the village these women need to help raise their children? Will we become fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, and aunts to their children? Is this not what it would mean for us to visit orphans and widows in their distress (Jas 1:27)?
So, let’s praise God for what He’s done to fight back the moral nightmare that is abortion. Let’s pray that our nation will continue on this path from death to life. And let’s prepare our hearts to be more pro-life than we’ve ever been. God is on the move; let’s move with Him.
In Christ alone,
Kenny
