Abortion is the worst form of discrimination against people with disabilities. Joni and Friends is praying for and working toward the day when every life is considered sacred.
View the resources mentioned in the program at joniradio.org.
I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with comments about disability and abortion.
You know, there’s hardly a conversation among Christians these days that doesn’t include the recent leak of Supreme Court Justice Alito’s draft opinion on Roe vs. Wade. And although I believe that drafts of opinions written by U.S. Supreme Court Justices should be held private, I’m so encouraged to learn that the constitutionality of legalized abortion is being reviewed in the halls of the highest court in the land. In the opinion, Justice Alito states – this is what he says – he says, “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision…It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives. ‘The permissibility of abortion, and the limitations, upon it, are to be resolved like most important questions in our democracy; by citizens trying to persuade one another and then voting.’” In other words, let the states decide, not the Federal Government.
Well, according to the National Right to Life Educational Foundation’s Abortion Statistics, more than 62.5 million unborn babies have been lost to abortion in the U.S. since 1973, the year the Supreme Court legalized abortion. And according to the National Down Syndrome Society, although there are no official figures on how many prenatal diagnoses of Down syndrome prompt a decision to abort, a 2012 study by medical experts estimated the abortion rate was 67%. And some experts set that statistic much higher. And this does not include the many abortions which are prompted by other disability-related diagnoses, such as spina bifida or various genetic or physical abnormalities.
Abortion is the worst form of discrimination against people with disabilities. Often, mothers are simply not given the appropriate counseling when they receive a prenatal diagnosis that reveals their unborn child may have a disability. Too often they’re told that, you know, “a child with a disability will be a burden,” or, “A child with a disability will suffer too much.” But as difficult as disability is in a family, these same children are often the biggest blessings to their parents and siblings.
When our Founding Fathers drafted the U.S. Constitution, they had in mind, among other things, to safeguard the rights of weak and vulnerable Americans. And at Joni and Friends, we see children with disabilities in that group, especially if they are pre-born children. And let’s remember that the sanctity of life extends far beyond the womb. ’Cause we place the same high value on life when an infant with a disability requires critical support services. We honor the sanctity of life when we help special needs mothers navigate the complex corridors of disability services in the area of healthcare. At our ministry, we pray for and work toward the day when every aspect of life-sanctity will enjoy the protection of a constitutionally guaranteed right to life.
If you’d like to learn more about disability and the sacredness of all life, visit joniradio.org, where I have provided a link to our Christian Institute on Disability and a link to an excellent resource called “From Fear to Hope.” This topic of disability and abortion is also addressed in our Beyond Suffering Bible with testimonies, statistics, and articles. So, find out more and get involved at joniradio.org.
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