By This column ran in the Washington Post online yesterday and the writer, Sally Jenkins, had some pretty good thoughts on NOW’s aggressive campaign against the Tim Tebow, pro-life, Super Bowl ad. I recently wrote about NOW in our “Getting to Know the Pro-Abortion Movement” series, still in progress, and it seems that NOW is living up to what I found out about them in my research. I’ll let Sally fill you in, here’s a clip:
Tebow’s 30-second ad hasn’t even run yet, but it already has provoked “The National Organization for Women Who Only Think Like Us” to reveal something important about themselves: They aren’t actually “pro-choice” so much as they are pro-abortion. Pam Tebow has a genuine pro-choice story to tell. She got pregnant in 1987, post-Roe v. Wade, and while on a Christian mission in the Philippines, she contracted a tropical ailment. Doctors advised her the pregnancy could be dangerous, but she exercised her freedom of choice and now, 20-some years later, the outcome of that choice is her beauteous Heisman Trophy winner son, a chaste, proselytizing evangelical.
Pam Tebow and her son feel good enough about that choice to want to tell people about it. Only, NOW says they shouldn’t be allowed to. Apparently NOW feels this commercial is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikini selling beer is the right one. I would like to meet the genius at NOW who made that decision. On second thought, no, I wouldn’t.”
Sally Jenkins is pro-choice and I personally think the pro-choice position is pure evil. It’s an on-the-fence, ignorant, and back-handed approval of the slaughter of innocent children, yet, there is some truth to what she says in this article. Give it a read and give us your thoughts, here’s the link again.
I am adamantly pro-life and although I don\\\’t agree with Jenkins\\\’ point of view, I do respect her courage in speaking out. I am certain that she will be given a very hard time for her article in which she defended someone that she fundamentally does not agree with. A rare thing in our society.
I am grateful for this blog and I agree with your point of view. I do think though that we have to remember that all sin is pure evil. And we are as well until we are redeemed by Christ. I think that in light of our salvation our Pro-Life cause needs to be fueled with compassion, not judgement.
We don\\\’t know what brings women to the place where they are to consider an abortion. We can\\\’t assume malicious intentions and doing so is not done out of love.
I believe that some women truly do it because they think it is best. And I think it\\\’s incredibley sad and a result of our fallen world. It\\\’s absolutely heartbreaking. I met a woman who aborted her baby because it was diagnosed in the womb with a defect and there was a 95% chance that it would not survive for very long outside of the womb. She truly thought that having an abortion was the best thing because she believed it would spare her baby from unnecessary pain. Do I agree with her? No. Not at all. But I cannot begin to understand the agony she felt. And I have no right to judge her. She believed what society and her doctor told her. She didn\\\’t know anything other than to do so. Not every woman has an abortion out of intentional, blatant selfishness. Some do. But not all. And it is unkind to respond to all women as if it is so.
I believe that approaching women who are considering abortions or believe that abortion is right with an attitude of compassion and with the desire to share the truth will go much farther because it is rooted in love, not indignation over their sin. We have no right to be indignant. None. Our salvation gives us no right to look down upon others. I live in Christ\\\’s mert…not my own.
I believe that abortion is wrong but I also believe that any hint of self-righteousness or disgust in my heart towards those that have abortions is wrong as well. I pray that the Lord would rid our nation of abortion. I also pray that I will be able to show love and compassion to those who support it. That I would be able to show them facts that support the idea that life begins at conception. That I would be able to show them the hope that is found in Christ in a situtation where they might truly believe abortion is the only answer. That the Pro-Life movement would be marked in our country by overwhelming kindness and compassion, not by self-righteousness.
I truly do see this blog as a platform for Christ in the Pro-Life movement and I respect your bold and unashamed stance. I hope that it can be a beacon of the love of Christ on an issue that is filled with anger, pain, and suppression of the truth.
First of all, thanks so much for reading and commenting. I’m grateful for your support and it’s deeply encouraging to hear you articulate your stance with regards to the need for compassion and humility in the pro-life movement. I agree with you!
I hope that my comments in the article did not convey self-righteousness or arrogance toward those considering an abortion or those who hold a pro-choice position. I certainly do not think myself better than them in any way as I once held a pro-choice position myself and consider myself a sinner saved by the grace of Jesus Christ alone.
I do however, believe that the pro-choice position, as a position, is pure evil. Whether a person holds it with a willful knowledge of what they are claiming or whether they are deceived (i think it may be both at the same time), it is none the less evil and deserves only to be refuted.
Sally Jenkins did demonstrate courage in her article and I’m so glad to see it, but as she said herself, she is adamantly pro-choice and I think her position deserves only to be critiqued. I do think it should be critiqued humbly but with the force of truth.
While Sally’s article was good, she is still a supporter of abortion. I think the pro-life movement will do well to congratulate this kind of courage but we must be careful not to accept the premise of the pro-choice position.
I’ve heard a few pro-lifers use the same argument Jenkins uses, namely, that Pam Tebow was simply exercising her choice, therefore the pro-choicers should be happy, but Pam Tebow’s “choice” is not a validation of the pro-choice argument and I do believe we expose ourselves to that misunderstanding if we are not careful here. Of course Pam Tebow made a choice, but this in no way means that women should consider themselves free to take the life of their preborn child. This is my concern here.
This being said, if you think I am writing something in arrogance at any point I welcome your thoughts. I also welcome your disagreements with any of the stances I might take here. I think there is a place for compassionate, humble, outreach to women and a place for courageous and forthright even forceful argument. My hope is to do both with this website.
Thanks again for reading, can’t tell you how encouraging it is to know you’re out there.
I’ve got to say that I mainly agree with JP here. While I was not a high-risk medically, my dad wanted nothing to do with my mother after she was pregnant. She could have easily gotten an abortion. While I’ll always be grateful that she chose not to, she still defends the idea that someone in her position has the “right” to do so, so I’ve grown up experiencing that idea in the home.
I am convinced that while abortion is the sickest form of murder out there. Furthermore, I’ve never met a woman who thought she was doing a good thing in taking her child’s life. I believe many women think they can make the hardship and pain of a tough situation go away like that, but I’ve never seen it work.
What makes Pam Tebow’s story so great to me is that she was told by medical professionals that the pain could be taken away, and she saw through the lie. She understood, that killing her child would not make anything better, regardless of circumstances.
Aside from everything I’ve seen urged (in the way of political demonstration, prayer, etc.) I feel men have a special responsibility of our own. We cannot directly experience the pain of a pregnancy or “tough situation” of some sort, as we cannot become pregnant. However, our responsibility needs to include being good husbands and fathers. Not just leading by making decisions in a biblical way, but in this case helping women to raise children properly. I don’t want to sound “preachy” in any way, but when statistically half of all marriages end in divorce, we as men collectively are not holding up our responsibility.
I think this extends to women who for whatever reason are pregnant and in a tough situation and alone; we need to help places like pregnancy crisis centers as much as possible. Women who are left alone become desperate. If we are to end abortion, I think it takes a major push from men in this capacity.
I can certainly agree with Ms. Jenkins on one thing: “Here’s what we do need a lot more of: Tebows.”
Thanks for running this blog. It takes such commitment and strength. God Bless.