Like many Americans, I was disappointed this week when a handful of its Members temporarily delayed the House’s vote on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.  The delay wasn’t based on principled objections to any of the bill’s provisions.  It was no more than a CYA political move by individuals more concerned with getting reelected than saving innocent children.  House leadership assures us that the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act will be voted on and passed in very short order.  I’ll take them at their word, and trust but verify.

I’m convinced more every day that the end of abortion will not be brought about by legislation, but by a change in the hearts and minds of my fellow human beings.  As parents, grandparents, and mentors, we are on the front lines in the battle to end the elective killing of our unborn children.  It’s up to us to instill within all those in our sphere of influence the values that hold the right to life as the most priceless gift in the universe.  It’s our job to remind our fellow human beings that the same God that created the infinite universe, with countless stars, planets, and galaxies, still knows each of us by name and grants each of us the gift of life for a reason.  As I’ve written on previous occasions, I don’t claim to know His reasons for granting every life, but I accept on faith that every time He grants the gift of life He does so with the intent that it be held as equal in value to every other life He has ever created.

Science has irrefutably proven that life begins at conception, so arguing among ourselves as to when it should be legal to abort an unborn child is illogical.  Conferring legal status to the killing of another human being, whatever its stage of development, does nothing to void the moral obligation we all have to protect every human life.  Abortion giants like Planned Parenthood will cease to exist as soon as there is no longer a demand for their deadly services.  And the demand for abortion will exist no matter how many bills are passed, if we fail as a society to reaffirm the sanctity of every human life.  We will also set ourselves up for failure if we underestimate the money and influence wielded by the abortion industry.  They won’t give up the billions they make by killing our children without a fight.

Like a tourniquet temporarily staunches the flow of blood until a more permanent fix can be implemented, the repeal of Roe v Wade and the passing of bills placing restrictions on abortion will do much to stop the bleeding in the short term.  The only permanent solution will come from a reassessment of our core values, universal acceptance of every human being’s basic right to life, and the willingness of all of us to serve and protect our fellow man.