Innocent Blood
Since its inception in 1791, the US Supreme Court has ruled on over 30,000 cases. To their credit, most have been adjudicated fairly. Sadly, there are some that could only be characterized as a miscarriage of justice.
For example, the Dred/Scott ruling of 1857: The Court ruled that blacks were not qualified to became citizens because they were only 3/5ths of a person; or the 1927 Buck/Bell ruling, that Virginia to forcibly sterilize persons deemed unfit to reproduce.
The list also includes Roe. Most legal scholars admitted it was based on fallacious interpretations and specious science; more fad, feeling & fashion then forensics.
Many believe that you can't legislate morality. History has proven just the opposite. Justice Blackburn’s majority opinion in Roe, was more than a legal opinion. It ensconced a view that undermined the sanctity of life: Unborn children were only fetus', not babies; mere "blobs of tissue," not sacred gifts from God.
What was largely unforeseen by these "men in black" was the subtle injection of a new, diminished view of humanity. Americans quickly adopted what one writer termed, an allegiance to absolute autonomy [self-government]. It is echoed in the abortionist mantra, "My body, my choice."
Men no longer felt an allegiance to God or His Word. God was not to be feared, but footnoted. Antique notions like The Fear of God, were replaced with a fear of not being all that I can be, and not having my best life now!
A new Trinity took over the government of our lives: Me, Myself & I. Self-interest became the key decider of what was right and wrong. God was, at most, an impotent, disinterested spectator, certainly not a judge. Man was only accountable to himself, as expressed in words of Protagoras: "Man is the Measure of All Things... if there are gods... there is no way of knowing what they might want from humanity."
When Roe was overturned in June 2022, most Christians assumed it meant an end to legal abortion. They could not have been more wrong. What Dobbs did was change abortion from a federal matter, into a state’s issue. Each State could decide for itself how it would address abortion.
Twenty-four states immediately ratified laws that either significantly restricted or outlawed most abortions. Just as quickly, twenty other states began feverishly ensuring that abortion remained legal. Then last week, the citizens of the State of Ohio voted to enshrine abortion into their state constitution.
Long ago neonatal research confirmed that life begins at conception. A baby may be "in" the mother's body, but it is "not part" of her body. It is a separate, distinct being, with its own DNA and blood type. To purposely kill an unborn child, is to intentionally kill a living person. It is the consummate example of the biblical prohibition against, "the shedding of innocent blood."
If you ask the average American how he/she feels about abortion, they will probably echo Hillary Clinton's famed response: Abortion should be safe, rare & legal. It is, in fact, none of these. It is dangerous, common, and only technically legal.
In heaven, it is viewed as the most heinous of crimes. It was at the heart of His reason for destroying the Kingdom of Judah:
They built places of worship... so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do. It never even entered my mind for them to do such a thing!
Three times in Deuteronomy God warned that the shedding of innocent blood was a "last straw" issue, which would lead to His destruction of a nation.
If the great kingdoms of the past did not escape God's judgment for the shedding of innocent blood, do you think America will. Do you think He hasn't noticed our silent genocide?
If you sow to the wind [vanities of life], you will reap the whirlwind. [Hosea 8:7]
For a fuller discussion of this issue, click here to listen to the latest episode of the “What’s the World Coming To?” Podcast.