Margaret Sanger Speaks From The Grave

The founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was a eugenicist. While the public face of Planned Parenthood has softened over the last couple of generations, the purpose of the founding was to reduce the number of births among the poor and minorities. And, it seems, though Sanger is long dead, she is getting her way.

According to statistics released by the city of New York, nearly 40% of all pregnancies in the city end in abortion. If that isn’t enough of a bloodbath for you, the rate among black women is nearly 60%. The abortion agenda is doing what slavery never could – it is creating our own self-imposed holocaust by beginning with minority and poor children.

The study goes on to show:

The breakdown by ethnicity is, perhaps, even more startling. Almost 60% of all pregnancy outcomes in NYC for African-American mothers were abortions; among Hispanics, 41.3%. Asians and whites had relatively low percentages of abortion outcomes (22.7% and 20.4%, respectively).

And we should keep in mind that there are organizations making money hand-over-fist because of these kinds of stats.

No matter how unpopular the message seems to be in public, churches need to continue to stand for the dignity and personhood of the unborn and support efforts to stem the tide of abortion in our nation and world. This isn’t a political matter tied to R’s and D’s, it is fundamentally a moral matter tied to the health of the family and the human soul.

Who’s Afraid of Discourse?

If you have not heard of it, the Manhattan Declaration is an ecumenical public document stating the basic, historical Christian position on the sanctity of life, marriage and civil responsibility. The whole statement can be found here, and is worth your time if you are interested in these things. The document is argued well, has a reasonable tone, simply puts forth a brave and clear Christian position on a few of the more controversial issues in our culture today, and calls for civil discourse. So, naturally, it has its enemies.

Enter the cultural left.

Apple has banned the Manhattan Declaration iPhone app from their App Store. Here are some of their reasons:

Apple is telling us that the apps' content is considered "likely to expose a group to harm" and "to be objectionable and potentially harmful to others."

More and more, the cultural class that claims tolerance as its greatest virtue shows itself to be the most intolerant of all. It is not just that the bulk of the cultural left is favorable to both abortion and gay marriage, it is that they have lost all ability to discuss them with reason and civility. Instead of arguing against the details of the Declaration, its detractors want to censor it and call it bad names.

The Declaration itself, on the other hand, is a tremendous example of the Christian mind and conviction in the public square. Instead of resorting to name calling or censorship, the Christian thinks out-loud. The Christian has faith in the truth and in the practice of God-given reason.

In addition, the Declaration is a great example of Christian action in the public square. If the Christian truly believes that truth is a freeing and beautiful thing, the act of standing for the truth is an act of compassion for their neighbor. It is a weak and sickly “love” indeed that placates people with false and destructive hope.

I encourage you to engage with the Declaration, and if you feel able, sign it.