ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) -- On Friday morning, Dec. 14, a gunman shot his way into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. He gunned down 20 precious children and six adults before taking his own life. Earlier that same day, the shooter fired several shots into his mother, killing her while she slept in her home.
The death toll of the murderous rampage that shocked the nation was 28. In the ensuing days memorials were held all over the country. People wept and wondered how someone could be so calloused as to murder children in cold blood.
Amid all the discussions, one question is repeatedly posed: "Why?" Pundits, psychologists and politicians all have suggested possible reasons or motives for why Adam Lanza, the shooter, went on his deadly rampage. But the truth is that no one really knows what motivated Lanza to perpetrate his crime; it was probably a combination of factors. One of which is that sin, the selfish, self-centered reality that stains human DNA, was part of his makeup.
On that same Friday, throughout the United States approximately 3,500 babies' lives came to an end while the children were still in their mothers' wombs.
Some of the 3,500 were injected with a saline solution and killed before being extracted from the womb. Others were killed by means of suction methods that pull the baby from the womb. Still others were forcibly removed by forceps with jagged teeth that resulted in the baby being torn to pieces.
The above gruesome and grisly procedures occur all across America at a rate of 3,500 a day. In each calendar year 1.3 million babies lose their lives due to abortion. The aforementioned procedures are protected by law.
The outrage over abortion in America is, at best, muted. Some citizens, some activists, and some politicians decry it as an immoral cancer on the soul of the United States. But most just try to pretend they don't know it is happening.
There are some who defend abortion. As a politician, President Obama has supported legal abortion at every stage of a baby's development, including the insidious practice of partial-birth abortion. His support of abortion remains unwavering.
Once upon a time people justified abortion as nothing more than removing a mass of tissue. Medical technology has dispelled that notion. With advances in ultrasound -- now even 4-D ultrasound -- no one can deny the baby developing in the womb is alive. Surgeons now even perform procedures on preborn children in the womb.
Unlike the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where the motive for the tragedy is not known, the reasons why women choose to abort their preborn children are well known.
The Guttmacher Institute is an independent research firm established that, according to its website, "advances sexual and reproductive health and rights through an interrelated program of research, policy analysis and public education." In 2005 the Institute made public the results of a study it conducted in 2004 titled, "Reasons U.S Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives."
The Institute found that in 2004, 90 percent of all abortions were sought because of some form of convenience. Among the top three reasons given were: not ready for another child/timing is wrong; can't afford a baby now; have completed childbearing years and do not want another child.
Rape accounted for only .5 percent of abortions, and incest wasn't listed.
Many, many women have been deceived, having bought the lie that abortion is a simple, uncomplicated procedure that will solve their situation. As a result, they have been scarred emotionally and spiritually. Thankfully, Jesus stands ready willing and able to heal and forgive.
The shooting in Newtown, Conn., where 26 people lost their lives -- 20 of them precious children -- was and is a horrible, devastating, unthinkable tragedy. Is the premeditated killing of 3,500 innocent pre-born babies each day any less of a tragedy?
We should cry out to God and do our part so that both become nothing more than bad memories.
Kelly Boggs is a weekly columnist for Baptist Press, director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention's office of public affairs, and editor of the Baptist Message, www.baptistmessage.com, newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
Copyright (c) 2013 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net
Join the conversation as a VIP Member