Author’s note: The following is an actual letter I sent to my pastor. If your church is involved in the fight against human trafficking but silent on the issue of abortion then, please, feel free to plagiarize this letter and send it to your pastor. My sole motivation in republishing this letter is to help those who wish to approach their pastors on this issue but have difficultly framing the issue in a respectful manner.
Mike, it is good news to hear that our church getting involved in the issue of human trafficking, which is evil for one very simple and obvious reason: it justifies treating people as commodities by first denying their humanity. In that sense it is analytically indistinguishable from abortion.
For years, doctors have denied the humanity of the unborn so they can profit from the practice of performing abortions. Many of those who seek abortions on the basis of financial considerations share the same moral culpability. However, some are just scared and alone and honestly believe they cannot afford to have a child. Those are the people our church should be helping. To my knowledge, we are not.
We need to ask ourselves why we are openly boasting of our efforts to end human trafficking while remaining mute on the issue of abortion. Are we attacking human trafficking because we are broadly opposed to those who would deny the humanity of the people they wish to treat as commodities? Or are we only opposed to the evil things that are not happening right here within our own congregation. I’ve never seen a human trafficker at our church. But I’ve seen a Planned Parenthood employee at our church. Is our silence a courtesy to her and to any of her clients who happen to attend our services?
I believe we need to act immediately to remedy the moral inconsistency of attacking the issue of human trafficking while remaining mute on the issue of abortion. We need to open our doors to people who work for Planned Parenthood as well as their clients who seek abortions – even if they do so because they see nothing wrong with abortion, or merely abort for purposes of convenience. But we need not accommodate such people to the point of turning our backs on those who need our help when faced with the prospect of having an abortion against their better judgment – whether due to financial or other forms of pressure.
The time has come for us to start a rescue fund for these women. We need to make funds available to help them avoid the abortion choice – and we need to explain that we are doing so because it is not a morally neutral choice. The church, of all places, cannot remain a zone of moral neutrality when it comes to this issue.
Years ago, when a pastor asked us to help rescue street children in Africa some thought we could not afford to do it. Thankfully, at least according to legend, one of the pastors at our church asked this crucial question before the staff decided to commit financially to helping the pastor with his ministry: Is God really going to punish us for helping to save homeless children?
That question is once again before us: Is God really going to punish us for helping to save the unborn? I do not believe He is. In fact, I believe that He will richly reward us for taking a stand.
I share your vision of growing to be a church of 20,000 people. We will get there if our vision is bold and if we commit to simply doing the next right thing, Getting involved in reducing human trafficking was the right thing to do. Reducing abortion is the next right thing to do.
… To be continued.
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