Friday, April 25, 2008

Ronald Reagan on Abortion


PLANNED PARENTHOOD AND YOUR TAX DOLLARS

Two news stories surfaced recently about Planned Parenthood that generated much discussion in the media, that is, the conservative media. The first story was part of an investigation into the fundraising practices of Planned Parenthood and their acceptance of donations from donors who stipulated that the money donated would be used specifically for the abortion of blacks. The second story that surfaced was the source of funding for Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood accepting donations designated for the aborting of black children is truly despicable. Surely there will be outrage about the targeting of blacks for elimination, and hopefully a larger segment of our society will rise up and denounce this practice. But we should not lose sight of the greater transgression of Planned Parenthood in that it performs abortions not only on blacks but children of all colors.

As despicable as the first news report is, the second is even harder to accept. As horrible as abortion is, I used to take some comfort in that no U. S. Tax dollars were used to perpetuate this atrocity. Sadly, that is not the case. An email newsletter, Citizen Link, reported the following:


A record 289,650 preborn babies were killed at Planned Parenthood clinics in fiscal year 2006-07, an increase of nearly 25,000 from 2005-06. The nation's largest abortion provider, which received $336 million in taxpayer money last year, is responsible for 25 percent of all abortions in the U.S.[1]

The story goes on to report that Planned Parenthood receives one third of its financial support from tax payer dollars. If you pay taxes, then you have a part in supporting this agency of evil.

One of the reasons cited for our involvement in World War 2 was the stopping of Nazi Germany who was committing mass murder of Jews, Poles, Slavs, and others whom they deemed as undesirable. An interesting event occurred as U. S. Forces discovery of the concentration camps and mass graves were being made. General Eisenhower ordered to have the crimes of the Holocaust documented as proof of the Holocaust because he believed there would be a day when there would be those who would attempt to deny it ever happened. Ironic! Eisenhower also ordered the citizens in towns of Nordhausen and Arnstadt, which had these camps in their vicinity, tour the camps and bury the murdered dead. The Holocaust was truly a horrific chapter in the history of the world, and I am thankful for those who fought to bring it to an end in World War 2. But quantitatively and qualitatively the holocaust we have going on in our nation is far worse. It is estimated that 11 million died in the Holocaust--six million Jews and 5 million others. Of course, the exact number of those murdered by Nazi Germany may never be known. It is more likely far shy of the estimated nearly 50 million babies aborted in the United States since 1973!
[2] I often wonder what the reaction would be if we were made to tour the trash dumpsters of children that have been discarded? Just the thought of it nauseates me!

All of us should be interested in eliminating the evil of abortion from our land forever. When Ronald Reagan was President he authored a significant book, Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation, that was championed because it was the first book by a sitting President to call the American people to the duty of elimination this holocaust in our country. An interesting statement President Reagan made was:

Abortion concerns not just the unborn child, it concerns every one of us. The English poet, John Donne, wrote, "...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

We cannot diminish the value of one category of human life--the unborn--without diminishing the value of all human life...
[3]

If you follow stories in the areas of population trends, entitlement spending, and the push for illegal immigration, then it will paint a disturbing picture. One of the reasons there are those pushing for illegal immigration is to close the population gap created because of the citizens our nation threw away! There are real concerns about our nation having the population required to sustain itself as some 77 million of the baby boom generation goes onto Social Security. In 2005 the ratio of young (ages 20 to 64 years) to the elderly (65 and older) is reported to be 20.5 percent; however, it is estimated that the number will be nearly 40 percent.[4] It is estimated that the amount spent on Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid will climb from 8.4 percent of GPD in 2005 to 18.1 percent in 2050.[5] Another way to look at this--by 2052 it is estimated that all the tax money collected today would be required just to fund these three entitlements alone![6] Some are tempted to say "raise taxes on the rich" as a solution; however, it is estimated that the top 10 percent of Income Earners already pay 70 percent of all income taxes today.[7] How much more can the government tax before the producers of our nation stop producing? Also, people need to be aware of the difference between a federal deficit and the federal debt. The Federal debt is the accumulation of Federal deficits (and surpluses) year by year. It is estimated that the federal debt in 2006 was $8.6 trillion dollars. To help put these dollars in perspective, U. S. Senator George Voinovich reported:

In addition, the national debt has increased from $5.6 trillion when Senator Voinovich came to the Senate in 1999 to $8.6 trillion in 2006 – an increase of over 50 percent and almost $29,000 for every American alive today. But these numbers pale in comparison with the budget problems looming as the Baby Boomers retire. In today’s dollars, we face a long-term fiscal imbalance of $61 trillion; that’s $203,000 for every citizen or $485,000 for every worker.
[8]

As the government continues to spend itself into oblivion, I often wonder if it has occurred to this generation that the main reason cited for abortion is convenience. The Central Illinois Right to Life reports that only 1 percent of abortions are due to rape or incest, 1 percent are because of fetal abnormalities, 3 percent are to preserve the life of the mother, but 95 percent are done as a means of birth control.
[9] What will happen when it becomes inconvenient for tax payers in the future to pay the heavy burden of taxes to support the soon to be elderly baby boom generation? Some think it would be unthinkable that our nation would support the euthanasia of the elderly (another term for murder) to relieve the strain on the tax payers. Question--if our nation is willing to murder the purest, best, sinless, most natural resource for the sake of convenience then how can one be certain it would not be willing to do so on the other side of the "spectrum of life"? I say these words not to indict the baby boom generation, but to motivate that great generation and all generations to rise up and stop this practice once and for all. Our nation would be better served if it invested its money in the rearing of these unexpected children to be productive citizens than permitting potentially law-breaking illegal immigrants.

Outraged that the money you pay in taxes is being used to support this heinous practice? Let me encourage you to take action! There is an amendment being introduced by U. S. Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, known as H.R. 4133 The Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act which prohibits any organization that promotes or practices abortions from receiving federal funds. Write your U. S. Representative at www.house.gov. Write your Senators at www.senate.gov. Write your President at www.whitehouse.gov. You can write them for free via the Internet. Write them often! Urge them to support H.R. 4133 and other laws to protect life. As long as we are a nation of "We the People" make sure the nation hears from you. Be sure to do all that you can to support candidates who are for "...life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" of the born and unborn, of the young and old.

How will we be able to stand before God if we have done any less? Remember, "These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him...Hands that shed innocent blood,.." (Proverbs 6:16-19). The Bible tells us that all life is precious in God's eyes and that children are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3-5). This is clearly seen in that the Bible does not differentiate in terms when referring to a born or unborn child; c.f., Job 3:16; Luke 1:36, 41). The laws and actions of God on behalf of the children in the womb also make it very clear that it is a work of God that we dare not tamper with; c.f., Exodus 21:22-23; Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5. If it is precious enough to God that He would send His Son to die for the whole world (John 3:16), then a nation that is not respecting that same life is at enmity with God. May our nation and our leaders wake up and realize that whether these children have been delivered from the mother's womb or are still being formed by God in the womb we will be held accountable for our actions (Proverbs 14:34). My hope is that the lyrics written by Clarence Woolston will be renewed among the religious of our nation for both the born and those yet to be born:
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
[10]

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Works Cited:

Bauer, Gary, "The Plague of Planned Parenthood," 21 March 2008, http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?print=yes&id=25629.

Morrissey, Ed, "Is it time to investigate Planned Parenthood?" 23 April 2008, http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/23/is-it-time-to-investigate-planned-parenthood/.

Pence, Mike, "Congressman Mike Pence Amendment To Prohibit Planned Parenthood Funding" 19 July 2007, http://mikepence.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=69731

Starr, Penny, "Republican Lawmaker Proposes Amendment to Defund Planned Parenthood," 18 March 2008, http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200803/CUL20080318a.html

Williams, Devon, "Planned Parenthood Kills Record Number of Preborn Babies," 7 April 2008, http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007070.cfm


Notes:
[1] Devon Williams, Associate Editor, "Planned Parenthood Kills Record Number of Preborn Babies," 7 April 2008, <http://http//www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007070.cfm>.
[2] "Roe v. Wade: 35 Years of Death and Destruction," National Right to Life, January 22, 2008, http://www.nrlc.org/.
[3] Ronald W. Reagan, Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984, pp. 17-18.
[4] 2008 Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts, http://www.heritage.org/research/features/%20budgetchartbook/fed-rev-spend-2008-boc-P2-The-Ratio-of-Elderly-to-Younger.html.
[5] 2008 Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts, http://www.heritage.org/research/features/%20budgetchartbook/fed-rev-spend-2008-boc-P1-Entitlement-Spending-Will-More.html.
[6] 2008 Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts, http://www.heritage.org/research/features/%20budgetchartbook/fed-rev-spend-2008-boc-P4-Entitlements-Alone-Will-Eclipse.html.
[7] 2008 Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts, http://www.heritage.org/research/features/%20budgetchartbook/fed-rev-spend-2008-boc-T4-The-Top-10-Percent-of-Income.html.
[8] George V. Voinovich, "Fiscal Responsibility,"<http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=>.
[9] "Why Abortions Are Performed," http://www.abortiontv.com/Misc/AbortionStatistics.htm.
[10] Clarence H. Woolston, "Jesus Loves the Little Children," Praise for the LORD, Nashville, TN: Praise Press, 1992, No. 809.




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