Two hundred and fifty years ago, the great experiment of the American Republic began. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed, opening with these words:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
This sentence has been called in a recent book by author Walter Isaacson “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written.” I agree, and it certainly was a sentence that changed history. As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, we must reflect on what these words mean.
Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, was a lawyer, and his legal training is evident in this writing. These words were drawn from his study of law and the work of Sir William Blackstone, who published Commentaries on the Laws of England in 1757. This classic work established the legal framework for the common law in England, the American colonies, and eventually the American Constitution.
Blackstone states that the natural rights given by our Creator include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and he declares that the natural right to life begins in the womb. This right belongs to unborn children as well as those already born. Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers understood this clearly.
As we reflect on this powerful truth from America’s founding, we must renew our commitment to protecting life in the womb. Such life is worthy of protection and endowed with the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
At its founding, America honored all human life, born and unborn, but has lost its way. Radical feminism, far-left, woke politics, an anemic and ineffective church, and a major media with a progressive agenda have contributed to a fundamental change in the worldview of American society. Since 1973, more than 70 million unborn children have been killed by abortion. Today, with the rise of chemical abortion, hundreds of thousands more are dying through the abortion pill regimen. It is safe to say that the Founding Fathers never imagined an America where the lives of millions of unborn children would be snuffed out and abortion would be accepted by the public as simply a common medical procedure.
Why and how did we drift so far from our founding values? We have become a culture centered upon self-pleasure, and concern only for our individual lives. Regarding the value of human life, the current culture has drifted very far from what it was at the time of our founding.
As we bask in the celebration of our 250th anniversary, perhaps our nation should focus on restoring the values set forth in the Declaration of Independence. To achieve an abortion-free America, we must transform our nation into a culture of life where all human life, born and unborn, is respected and protected under the law. We have the network to accomplish this.
In our nation, there exist 2,500 pro-life pregnancy centers. Most of these charitable agencies are medical clinics providing needed services, both of a supportive nature and medical, to pregnant mothers in crisis who are contemplating abortion. These life-affirming ministries provide thousands of resources at no charge to mothers in need, saving the taxpayers millions of dollars each year. Yet, such work has been viciously attacked by a multi-million-dollar abortion industry as “fraudulent” and “deceptive.”
Led by Planned Parenthood beginning in the early 1980s, this smear campaign has resulted in various attempts by blue state legislative bodies to pass legislation to restrict the work of pregnancy centers. In cooperation with the secular pro-abortion media, this campaign has taken root in progressive woke circles. Currently, seven cases are in federal court, with the laws of these states, including California and New York, being challenged as unconstitutional. The good news is that pregnancy centers led by the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) are winning in court.
Life-affirming pregnancy centers are highly effective. They empower mothers who are considering abortion to choose life. In communities where they operate, churches join with them to provide resources and care for mothers in need. Through this support, many women choose life over abortion. This partnership between centers and local churches meets both spiritual and physical needs. Through the advent of a culture of life, our nation will restore the vision proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. It will reaffirm that all human beings, including the most vulnerable members of our society, will be protected under the law and supported in all communities as valuable members of the human family.
Achieving an abortion-free America and building a culture of life will clearly reaffirm in our nation the vision that is, perhaps, the greatest sentence ever written. It was, and remains, a sentence that has changed history.
Thomas Glessner is founder and president of National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA).
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