Two weeks ago, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren told reporters, “In Massachusetts right now, those crisis pregnancy centers that are there to fool people, who are looking for pregnancy termination help, outnumber true abortion clinics by three-to-one. We need to shut them down here in Massachusetts, and we need to shut them down all around the country. You should not be able to torture a pregnant person like that.”
In one quote, Senator Warren revealed that the abortion debate in our country has nothing to do with caring for pregnant women and everything to do with ideology. In fact, “ideology” may be too weak of a word. Senator Warren sounds like a religious fanatic willing to wage a crusade against all rivals. Abortion proponents claim that they support abortion out of concern for women, but Warren’s comments reveal her highest priority is seeing her side win the culture war.
Let’s consider some facts. Senator Warren is angry because crisis pregnancy centers counsel women who are considering abortions by giving them alternative options like adoption and post-delivery support. They provide tangible care for those mothers who freely choose to have their babies and counsel for women who choose abortion. For the abortion-fanatic, such options are anathema. We have shifted dramatically from “abortions should be safe, legal, and rare,” to “abortion is the highest good and we should encourage as many women as possible to have them.”
Senator Warren believes that offering such counsel and care is “torture.” Here again, we see religious fanaticism. The greatest threat for fundamentalists like Senator Warren is the alternative viewpoint. Open-mindedness and toleration are lost ideals. To offer someone alternative options is tantamount to violating them. To truly love and care for people in need is to inflict agony. Does this make sense?
Let’s compare an abortion clinic to a crisis pregnancy center. An abortion clinic seeks to make profit off providing a service. Women are encouraged to have abortions because doctors, nurses, and staff can earn more income if the number of abortions increases. There’s a reason why Planned Parenthood clinics, which claim that abortions are just a small percentage of what they do, close shop when abortion is outlawed in a given locale. Abortions keep the lights on.
A crisis pregnancy center runs off donations and volunteers. Nothing extra is earned when a woman decides to keep her baby. There is no quota that needs to be met. They typically operate off shoestring budgets and are forced to promote their work to keep donations coming. They do what they do because they love women, and they love babies in wombs. No one is getting rich off the work of crisis pregnancy centers.
Who do you really think is trying to manipulate? Who do you really think is caring for women?
Senator Warren is not angry because she loves women and wants what’s best for them. She’s angry because she’s an adherent to a radical ideology that celebrates abortion as a highest good. She’s angry because she’s a worshiper of a god, and her religious system is being threatened. She’s angry because she doesn’t want to lose an ideological battle. Pregnant women are merely pawns to help her side win the war. Dismembered babies are collateral damage, sacrificed on the altar of convenience and sexual liberation.
I don’t know about you, but her words make me angry. The Bible teaches us that there are times when anger is appropriate. When we are angry because of injustice, we are following God. Paul writes, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph 4:26). When we look at the world and see violence, bloodthirst, injustice, and oppression celebrated, there is something wrong with us if our response is anything but anger.
How should we respond to such sentiments? I think for many of us, our first impulse is to jump online and vent our frustration on any number of social media platforms. We feel better when we get it off our chests. Let me suggest a better outlet for your anger. We have a crisis pregnancy center right here in Oldham County, called Crossroads. This organization does remarkable work in caring for women with unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. They offer a variety of services at no cost for expecting mothers and fathers. I can’t think of a better way to respond to Senator Warren than to donate in support of their work. Here’s their website: https://mycrossroadsoc.org/.