Will 2017 Be the Year We Finally Stand Up for This Moral Mandate?

As the nation prepares to observe 44 years since the legalization of abortion in America through the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision on Jan. 22, 1973, many pray this black mark on American history will soon be the past rather than the future.

But according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center, about 7 in 10 Americans (69 percent) oppose completely overturning Roe v. Wade, up from 63 percent in 2013 and 60 percent 25 years ago in 1992.

Religion and culture expert and author Dr. Alex McFarland says the church must defend the sanctity of life in America, especially because nearly 59 million babies have been aborted since Roe v. Wade, according to LifeNews.com. he said: 

The blood of 59 million unborn lives is not simply a dark stain on our nation, it is also a glaring indictment against the modern church. The very first chapter of the Bible clearly expresses the image of God in human beings—in other words, there is something very unique about how we are created that is different from any other living being. Scripture also clearly teaches that God is actively and personally involved in the formation and development of an unborn baby while [the baby is] still in the mother’s womb. If the church does not urge the culture to recognize the preciousness of every human life, then it is a blatant affront to the Word of God.

One argument often used by Christians to support abortion is that the practice is legal in America. To some, this fact is enough for them to justify their pro-choice position. But just because something is legal does not make it morally right, and it’s important to note that even in the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, the Supreme Court did not attempt to decide the core issue of abortion: the personhood of the unborn baby.”

In the Pew poll, religious affiliation somewhat alters the results. Among all Protestants, nearly two-thirds say the Supreme Court should not overturn the Roe v. Wade decision (63 percent), while 35 percent think it should be overturned. White evangelical Protestants are split more evenly on the issue, with 49 percent stating the case should not be overturned, compared with 47 percent who say it should.

By contrast, an overwhelming majority of those who are religiously unaffiliated (89 percent) think the Court should not overturn Roe v. Wade, while just 9 percent think the case should be completely overturned, reports Pew.

“Tragically, too many in the church have taken the easy road of neutrality,” McFarland added, “attempting to avoid conflict over the issue either by claiming it’s too ‘complicated’ to settle once and for all or arguing that it’s a matter of personal choice. But neutrality, by default, always sides with the status quo, and by remaining silent, avoiding the issue—or, worse, endorsing ‘choice’—the American church has become complicit in the greatest genocide ever carried out in our nation’s history.” {eoa}