We Cannot Settle on Abortion

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Christians and pro-life groups through out the United States saw last week as a victory for the movement.  The US House of Representatives passed a bill (237 yes, 189 against) banning abortions after twenty weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions of rape, incest, and life of the mother.  In addition to this, the Trump Administration ended “the federal requirement that employers violate their consciences to participate in the provision of employees’ contraceptives and abortifacient drugs.”  These two combined make a big win for us pro-lifers here in the US.

Going forward though we face a few obstacles.  I’ll start with the abortion ban.  This bill passed in the house, mainly on party lines.  Meaning, primarily Republicans voted for the ban, and primarily Democrats did not (let’s be careful not to lump everyone into one side or the other).  Now, it is going to face the Senate.  Right now, Republicans have slim majority with 52 seats, Democrats have 46, and there are 2 Independents.  With the current platform of the Democrat party, it will be unlikely that many of them will vote for this bill.  The Independents are unlikely as well.  Back in 2015, Senate Democrats blocked a bill that would ban abortion after twenty weeks (the vote was 54-42).  They way our government is set up, the vote has to have 60 votes for it in the Senate.  If the Senate amends or changes the bill, it will have to go back to the House (the House and Senate have to pass the exact same version of the bill before it can be signed into law).

Still with me?  This bill is likely to die in the Senate.  Now I can tell you as much as I want to write to your senator and tell him or her that you, their constituent, wants them to pass this bill.  Go ahead and do that, it won’t hurt at all.  But, there is someone upstairs who can get more done than they can.  Pray.  Pray that God will change the hearts and minds of those in government to support all human rights and the right to life.  This is extremely important.  Pray for the pro-life movement and for those that devote their lives to it.  It is this way that we can get things done.

The House ban is a victory and we should celebrate, we should not forget our end goal.  This goal is to outlaw all forms of abortion and euthanasia.  Yes, less abortions happening is good, but that implies and means that there are still abortions happening.  The purpose of our movement is to protect all unborn children and everyone that is weaker and needs our help.

So, pray that God might change the hearts and minds of those in government, but also remember to pray for all those who seek our help: the unborn, the sick, the elderly, everyone who is dependent on us.  And absolutely do not for get our end goal.  If we settle, our movement will lose momentum and die.

A brief note on the HHS mandate.  We should celebrate this victory as well but also keep in mind that we shouldn’t settle for this as well.  Our healthcare system is broken and healthcare should be made affordable to everyone who needs it.  We also need to make sure that our government keeps religious liberty in all of its laws and mandates.  This is one of the founding principles of our government.  In addition to the prayers for the dependent, we should also pray for those who have no one to turn to and are needy and ask that God may grant them grace and comfort.

Here is a link to the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops list of intercessory prayers for public servants.

Here is a link to  a prayer for the unborn and here is a link to a list of our prayers and novenas.

Note: the links in this article are links to which I got the information on some of these news stories from.

This post is sponsored by Audible.com.  Just for reading our blog you can get a 30 day free trail and a free audio book download.  Each trial generated using our link supports our efforts to evangelize the Catholic faith and share Jesus’ love, mercy, and message.

Check out Matthew’s Podcast Exclusive!

Matthew Handley is a freshman at Aquinas College and is one of the original members of EPIC Radio.  He is also a contributor to epicdmr.org.

You can follow him on Twitter (@realhandlez) or email him at mhandley@epicdmr.org.  He also invites you comment and share these articles!