Dr. James Dobson: A Moral Alarm Against the Legislative Death March of 2020

Now and always, all human life is sacred, from the womb to the grave.

Nothing grieves me more than knowing our nation has legalized the massacre of more than 60 million babies. In some states, elected officials are now seeking to legalize the nefarious acts of infanticide and euthanasia.

We destroy our most vulnerable through abortion and euthanasia, and we compel our health care professionals to participate in the taking of human life. We reject even the most basic legal protections for the unborn, the disabled and the sick.

Lest you think I overstate the matter, consider this: In 2019, our U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation making animal cruelty a federal crime. But in February of this year, our elected officials wouldn’t extend to an unborn child the same protections they give to a dog!

The Senate failed to pass one bill that would have banned abortions when unborn babies are at the stage they can feel pain and dismissed another that would require health care professionals to provide medical care for babies who are born alive after an unsuccessful attempted abortion. This is unadulterated evil.

Incidentally, the votes on both bills were almost entirely along party lines with nearly all Republicans voting to advance a culture of life and almost all Democrats voting to advance a culture of death.

For years, Democrats claimed they wanted abortion to be “safe, legal and rare.” Now, women are encouraged to “shout your abortion,” and the Democrats’ platform calls for the legalization of abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. So much for rare. And safe? Any supposed commitment to safety went out the window when abortion advocates turned a blind eye to abortionists like Kermit Gosnell and Ulrich Klopfer—both men whose parade of horrors were the embodiment of pure evil.

But our moral depravity doesn’t end there. We’ve turned abortion into a high-tech eugenics device. So seared is our conscience that in the United States today, approximately 70% of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. After all, if inconvenient children don’t deserve to live, why should “flawed” children fare any better?

The thirst for death continues even after birth. I have long believed that Roe v. Wade was perhaps the greatest evil perpetrated by our society. Still, I never imagined that a major political party would advocate for the killing of children after birth—infanticide! Yet, that is exactly what is happening.

Last October, the Family Research Council released data demonstrating that only 15 states offer strong protections for babies born alive after an abortion. In contrast, 16 states have no laws defending these precious children. Last year, New York passed a so-called “Reproductive Health Act.” This direct assault on life amounts to infanticide. It allows for the murder of a child by abortion any time up to the very moment of delivery. And if that child should manage to survive the assault and the effort to kill him or her, the law allows the abortionist, who may not even be a physician, to leave the infant to die on a table on a porcelain plate. This is beyond belief. It is the absolute worst kind of evil imaginable, and some of our government officials want to export this law to every state across the country. This one issue alone should compel every Christian to vote in this election!

Not content to attack life at its inception, we’ve begun to embrace euthanasia, which continues the horrible targeting of the most vulnerable among us. The so-called “right to die” movement permits the elderly, the sick or the mentally ill to end their lives, often aided by the very medical professionals sworn to protect them. A 2018 Gallup Poll found that 72%of Americans think euthanasia should be legal.

What is the answer to this horrible disregard for life? Our Declaration of Independence proclaims the unalienable right of “life.” But too often, our government officials fail to uphold even this most basic ideal. We need politicians who stand for life and policies that protect life. We also critically need a societal change of heart. One by one, the lies of abortion and euthanasia have been exposed. Now the truth about the God-given value of human life must be proclaimed! The church must find its voice. And you must find your voice.

We can still change this nation and return to being a people who recognize the sacredness of life. But it won’t happen unless we act now. Start by being a voice for life, by offering love and support for single moms, funding or volunteering at local pregnancy centers and demonstrating in word and deed that the elderly, the sick and the disabled are all precious in the sight of God. But don’t stop there. Learn about the political party platforms and candidates running for office.

Vote for public servants who respect the sanctity of life at every stage, and who aren’t afraid to govern accordingly.

From conception to our last breaths on this earth, all life is a sacred gift from almighty God. It must be cherished in our hearts and protected through our actions, both in our capacity as individuals and also through our laws and policies as a nation. {eoa}

Dr. James Dobson is a celebrated psychologist, Christian leader and founder and president of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute (JDFI), which is dedicated to preserving the biblical institutions of marriage and family by encouraging, inspiring, supporting and leading parents and children to build their lives on God’s Word. Dobson is the author of 71 books dedicated to the preservation of the family.