It’s a story that’s intertwining two contentious issues of our day: abortion and immigration.
I’m talking, of course, of the case out of Texas involving a pregnant 17-year-old girl being held in a federal detention center since crossing the border illegally in September. This unaccompanied minor, “Jane Doe,” is 15 weeks pregnant and is trying to get an abortion.
Her case ended up in the court system, with the government arguing in court that it does not have a duty to “facilitate” an abortion. On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the teen. (The Trump administration can still ask the Supreme Court to review the full appeals court’s decision.)
The fact that this girl came into the country illegally complicates the case on a variety of levels. But let’s be perfectly clear: this preborn baby is entitled to life and I’m encouraged that administration officials are not cooperating or complicit in an abortion.
Besides asking you to join me in praying for this woman and her baby, I want to make a couple of observations.
First, it’s interesting to see how honest those on the left have been about the inherent dangers of abortion when it suits their cause.
For example, Dr. Hal C. Lawrence, the executive vice president of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told the New York Times that
“The sooner the teenager can have the abortion, ‘the safer it will be for her.’
“As the uterus gets bigger, he added, the walls of the uterus get thinner, which increases the possibility of perforation and puts women at risk of additional blood loss during an abortion.”
And besides the dangers to the mother, abortion is obviously never safe for the baby.
Secondly, abortion advocates were accusing the Trump administration of “running out the clock,” because Texas law bans abortion after 20 weeks’ gestation unless there is a medical emergency. One unsaid opinion behind that allegation is that the 20-week limit is unreasonable – indeed, many groups, including Planned Parenthood, explicitly advocate for legalized abortion through the ninth month of pregnancy.
But the reality is most countries are much more conservative than the U.S. when it comes to abortion – something that recently surprised the fact checkers over at The Washington Post.
After the White House said the U.S. was “out of the mainstream in the family of nations, in which only seven out of 198 nations allow elective abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy” in a policy statement, the Post looked into the “dramatic statistic.”
They found that it was true.
Of the 59 countries that allow abortion “without restriction as to reason,” or “elective,” or “abortion on demand,” only Canada, China, Netherlands, North Korea, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam allow elective abortions after 20 weeks.
“This statistic seemed dubious at first, because it seemed extreme for just seven countries out of 198 to allow elective abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. But upon further digging, the data back up the claim,” the fact checkers wrote [emphasis mine].
Of course this would be surprising for insulated elites like those at the Washington Post. Little did they realize that their position on abortion is the extremist one.
To all who continue to champion the protection of the preborn, please do not grow weary in doing good, in defending the preborn, and in coming alongside women who are grappling with an unexpected pregnancy. I am confident that “at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
I welcome your thoughts.
**
Sadly, news broke this afternoon that, aided by the most recent court ruling, Jane Doe was able to have an abortion. We grieve for the life lost, and for this girl who will forever think back on what happened today and know she ended her baby’s life. Please pray that God will surround her with strong Christians who can minister to her and that this teenaged girl will ultimately come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. -J.D.
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