It’s official. The holiday season is over, a new year has begun, cabin fever has set in, and most of us have about 1.5 weeks left before all those ambitious resolutions we set for ourselves become a distant memory. And to add to it all, John Lennon’s haunting chorus still reverberates in our eardrums: “So this is Christmas/ And what have you done? / Another year over/ And a new one just begun.” It’s enough to make anyone despair. But the thing is we don’t need to. Not because we’re guaranteed to shed those extra few pounds or receive a promotion or John Lennon’s utopian vision for society is likely to come true any time soon. But because that year-end event that so many of us wait so long for has come and gone, which can only mean one thing: Jesus Christ is born.
Jesus’ birth has some pretty profound implications. There’s one, in particular, I’d like to focus on in light of the recent anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, which effectually legalized abortion throughout the United States: like every human being who has ever lived, Jesus was a child in the womb once as well. He could have chosen to enter the world on an asteroid or a comet or to have just appeared out of thin air, like Mike T.V. in Willy Wonka. But He didn’t choose any of these methods. Instead, He spent nine months growing and forming inside His mother, just like each one of us. How sacred must our time in the womb be, then, that God Himself would choose to dwell there? Sadly, it is a very unsafe place to be in 21st century America. Why not make this the year to do something about it?
For those of us who don’t celebrate Christ’s birth or who still aren’t convinced of the worthiness of the pro-life cause, consider the scientific facts about the pre-born child. The very second a human sperm penetrates a human egg a new single-cell entity, called a “zygote,” comes into being. Consisting of human DNA, the zygote is undeniably and irrefutably human. In fact, its genetic makeup is 100% unique from that of every human that has ever lived, including its mother. It easily meets the four criteria of biological life (metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction) and the definition of an independent organism. Once formed, the new zygote immediately initiates a process of development that will, if uninterrupted by disease or external intervention, continue until a ripe old age. So the science is clear: from the very moment of conception, we are living, fully human beings. If you believe that innocent human life deserves protection –that we truly are “endowed by [our] Creator with… [the right to] Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” - why not make this the year to do something about it?
Thankfully, Ohio and Madison County are relatively pro-life. Consequently, those of us who live here might view the abortion with less of a sense of urgency. But abortion and its harmful effects have no respect for state or county lines. In 2012, the latest year for which statistics are available on the Ohio Department of Health website, the number of abortions in the state of Ohio was 25,473. Among Madison County residents, 40 children were aborted in 2012. In neighboring Franklin County, 3,771 children will never see the light of day. This must change. That’s why my wife Lisa and I recently started a local chapter of Right to Life right here in Madison County.
We hope to fundamentally transform the way we think and speak about the child in the womb. Because language matters. Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines the word child as “an unborn or recently born person,” and the word itself is actually derived from words meaning womb and pregnant. But how many times do we say things like “we have a little one on the way” or “when are you expecting?” I know I’ve done it, and it’s completely innocent, but when a couple is pregnant, their little one is not on the way, he or she has already arrived. That couple is not expecting to become parents. They are parents.
So in the wake of the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we cordially invite you to join our movement and unite your voice to the hundreds of thousands that marched for life in Washington, D.C. on January 22nd. This year, why not take a stand for life? Maybe that’s how we’ll answer Mr. Lennon’s question next time around. Christ is born indeed—in 2014, let the celebration continue.
Brendan Shea and his wife Lisa live with their daughter Roselyn in London, Ohio. They recently founded Madison County Right-to-Life. Brendan can be reached at 401-996-6289 or [email protected].
Jesus’ birth has some pretty profound implications. There’s one, in particular, I’d like to focus on in light of the recent anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, which effectually legalized abortion throughout the United States: like every human being who has ever lived, Jesus was a child in the womb once as well. He could have chosen to enter the world on an asteroid or a comet or to have just appeared out of thin air, like Mike T.V. in Willy Wonka. But He didn’t choose any of these methods. Instead, He spent nine months growing and forming inside His mother, just like each one of us. How sacred must our time in the womb be, then, that God Himself would choose to dwell there? Sadly, it is a very unsafe place to be in 21st century America. Why not make this the year to do something about it?
For those of us who don’t celebrate Christ’s birth or who still aren’t convinced of the worthiness of the pro-life cause, consider the scientific facts about the pre-born child. The very second a human sperm penetrates a human egg a new single-cell entity, called a “zygote,” comes into being. Consisting of human DNA, the zygote is undeniably and irrefutably human. In fact, its genetic makeup is 100% unique from that of every human that has ever lived, including its mother. It easily meets the four criteria of biological life (metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction) and the definition of an independent organism. Once formed, the new zygote immediately initiates a process of development that will, if uninterrupted by disease or external intervention, continue until a ripe old age. So the science is clear: from the very moment of conception, we are living, fully human beings. If you believe that innocent human life deserves protection –that we truly are “endowed by [our] Creator with… [the right to] Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” - why not make this the year to do something about it?
Thankfully, Ohio and Madison County are relatively pro-life. Consequently, those of us who live here might view the abortion with less of a sense of urgency. But abortion and its harmful effects have no respect for state or county lines. In 2012, the latest year for which statistics are available on the Ohio Department of Health website, the number of abortions in the state of Ohio was 25,473. Among Madison County residents, 40 children were aborted in 2012. In neighboring Franklin County, 3,771 children will never see the light of day. This must change. That’s why my wife Lisa and I recently started a local chapter of Right to Life right here in Madison County.
We hope to fundamentally transform the way we think and speak about the child in the womb. Because language matters. Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines the word child as “an unborn or recently born person,” and the word itself is actually derived from words meaning womb and pregnant. But how many times do we say things like “we have a little one on the way” or “when are you expecting?” I know I’ve done it, and it’s completely innocent, but when a couple is pregnant, their little one is not on the way, he or she has already arrived. That couple is not expecting to become parents. They are parents.
So in the wake of the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we cordially invite you to join our movement and unite your voice to the hundreds of thousands that marched for life in Washington, D.C. on January 22nd. This year, why not take a stand for life? Maybe that’s how we’ll answer Mr. Lennon’s question next time around. Christ is born indeed—in 2014, let the celebration continue.
Brendan Shea and his wife Lisa live with their daughter Roselyn in London, Ohio. They recently founded Madison County Right-to-Life. Brendan can be reached at 401-996-6289 or [email protected].