BORN ALIVE: Abortion legislation is step forward, reveals absurdity - a team to kill baby or save it

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NEW PRO-LIFE GOVERNMENT ACTIONS

TOM LAMPRECHT: Harry, two news stories, one out of National Review, the other out of The Washington Examiner. Recently, the House passed legislation that obligates health care workers to provide specific level of care to babies who are born alive after an abortion attempt. Harry, there are times during an abortion procedure when babies are born alive. The law now mandates that doctors present at that occasion need to do all they can do to save the baby’s life.

Second story out of the National Review, on January the 18th, the Trump administration announced the creation of the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division of Health and Human Services.

“This is very good news. Not only does it further the cause of religious freedom, but it recognizes that religious freedom is more than just the right to believe what we want in the privacy of our heads, homes and houses of worship. Instead, it’s the right to orient our lives, including our public lives, around those beliefs.”

ARE RELUCTANT TRUMP VOTERS GRATEFUL?

DR. REEDER: Actually, it has to be said, with just a reading of it, surprisingly, there were a number of evangelicals that had a very difficult time in terms of this last presidential election who they were going to vote for in light of the Republican candidate being Donald Trump because of a number of things that he had said and done, and a number of positions that he had taken historically, and as well as some of his verbal comments and language, etc., character issues.

But, finally, when they were down to it, “Do I vote for Trump or do I vote for Hillary,” well, Hillary is absolutely fully committed and on-board for abortion at all times, any time, and taxpayer funding, and removing of all of the amendments that keeps taxpayer money away from the funding of abortion. So, for a lot of believers, it just got down to, “Which one do I do? Well, I cannot vote against the sanctity of life. I cannot vote for the wholesale destruction of the unborn, so I’m just going to hold my nose and pull the lever.” That was the way some approached it and most of it is around the issue of the sanctity of life.

It has to be said that, at least to this point, that promise from today’s President trump on the campaign trails as to his commitment to sanctity of life has proven not only more consistent, but has proven more active than any president since Ronald Reagan and it actually, in some ways, has surpassed what Ronald Reagan was able to accomplish on the sanctity of life.

He has significantly moved the dial. He has removed the abortifacient requirement mandate from Obamacare. He has freed up the Medicaid requirement and the threats against states. The defunding of Planned Parenthood is now allowed in states and it looks like it’s going to come to fruition on the federal level, particularly if the Republicans can maintain some kind of a majority in the coming election. The Justice Department is now investigating Planned Parenthood.

And here is this absolutely wonderful legislation that makes it abundantly clear that doctors, and nurses, and medical personnel who have convictions are not required to participate in the killing of the unborn that they are allowed to practice their religion which is, “I believe in the sanctity of life.”

MEDICAL FIELD NEEDS PROTECTIONS FOR CONSCIENCE

Up until now, there have been many threats, including many medical colleges that, if you don’t participate in an abortion, you cannot finish your medical degree. Many hospitals require you to take a round of abortion and that you have to participate in an abortion procedure. Now medical personnel doctors and nurses are protected.

And now, Tom, we have this further order and legislation that declares that, if a child survives an abortion procedure, then the child must be affirmed as living and receive all care necessary to maintain their life.

That leads us into a situation that’s almost ridiculous. You’ve got equipment and personnel set up to do a procedure that will kill the unborn child, but you also have to have available personnel and equipment available to maintain the child’s life if they survive the attempt of the one group and one technology to kill the child. If the child survives it, then you’ve got another group there that is now required to save the child.

And, while, on the face of it, it looks ridiculous, at least on the battle for the sanctity of life, it is a step forward to maintain the fact that, if that child survives, then we must give everything to maintain the life of that child.

LAW REVEALS RIDICULOUSNESS OF CURRENT REALITY

Now, why has this been done? Well, the previous news report had to be done because of the attempt to coerce all doctors and nurses and medical personnel to participate in abortion regardless of their religious convictions as to the sanctity of life. And now this one is important because what we were having is you do have children that actually survive this abortion attempt and then they were just thrown into trash bins, they were suffocated, they were put to death so what we’re saying is you cannot do that. If this child’s born alive, you must save their life. You must make every effort to maintain their life.

Tom, as ludicrous as it looks like– one team to kill, one team to save if it survives the killing, at least it is a step forward, again, to reclaim some ground on the sanctity of life.

Tom, this battle is going to continue and, as much as believers and those who believe in the sanctity of life would love to have one fell swoop and do away with Roe v. Wade and I’m hoping, one day, that will be reversed and these issues, if nothing else, will be returned to states, at least, and let states deal with it where it’s easier to bring sanity to this issue of the sanctity of life I am grateful for anything that moves the dial forward toward the sanctity of life, yet always realizing we haven’t arrived where we need to be.

ON THE WAY TO TRUE RESPECT FOR LIFE, WE APPRECIATE EACH STEP

And where we need to be is that every life is sacred, every life is declared made in the image of God, every life is recognized with dignity and they are not destroyed because they are unwanted or less than perfect.

I long for us to get back to that day and then Christians all stand in line, “If you don’t want the child and the child is born, then we’re not going to kill it, but we’ll be there to adopt it and we’ll be there to help you through that process.”

That’s where I hope and pray, but any way that we can move toward that, I am perfectly grateful and I am grateful for another step that has now taken place in the context of this administration. And I’m grateful for it, want to take advantage of it, but let’s not lose the sight, and that is the sacredness of life, the sanctity of life and, once again, the womb would be a safe place for each and every life that God has granted in the process of conception.

TOMORROW’S TOPIC: NEW CHRISTIAN DOCUMENTARY DRAWS IRE

TOM LAMPRECHT: Harry, on tomorrow’s edition of Today in Perspective, I want to take you to an article out of The Huffington Post. There is an astonishing new video produced by a Christian media company called “Anchored North.” In this production, a former lesbian woman tells her story of how she came to Christ. Predictably, The Huffington Post has looked down upon this piece.

DR. REEDER: Yeah, looking forward to it, Tom. There are two significant errors in The Huffington Post. We will have the opportunity to both expose that as well as rejoice in the power of the Gospel to not only forgive, but transform.

Dr. Harry L. Reeder III is the Senior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham.

This podcast was transcribed by Jessica Havin, editorial assistant for Yellowhammer News. Jessica has transcribed some of the top podcasts in the country and her work has been featured in a New York Times Bestseller.