DO YOU know that 40 million – 50 million abortions occur each year? This is data coming from the World Health Organization (WHO). Let me rephrase the question, do you know that 40 million – 50 million babies are murdered each year?
The figure is staggering, but that does not make headlines like the Covid-19 pandemic. Why? Because not only does the WHO view abortion as acceptable, countries in the world have legalized it with a few exceptions. The countries that ban abortion are Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and the Philippines. The United States allows abortion on request as does China, among others. In recent years though, certain states in the US have changed their laws to protect the unborn.
Of the countries that legalize abortion, 37 percent allow it for economic or social reasons, while 34 percent can be performed on the basis of a woman’s request. Take for instance China that looked at babies simply as a resource for the workforce. From the one-baby policy, it changed this to two. Now the state allows three babies with the growing elderly population needing support from a much needed young workforce.
In New Zealand where I reside, abortion is allowed on request with the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 permitting the termination of pregnancy for up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. If you take a look at a picture of a 20-week-old fetus, you will actually see a baby in the womb, complete with a face, arms, fingers and feet. The passage of the law by the Labor Government did not make headlines, as the nation was in a state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that things have returned to near normal, people who are appalled by the law led by the Voice for Life, have started a petition to repeal it.
Pope Francis said in 2019 that abortion is always unacceptable whether a fetus is fatally ill or likely to die. He asked the question, “Is it licit to throw away a life to resolve a problem?” which is no different from “Is it licit to hire a hitman to resolve a problem?”
In my Facebook Live program, GigAlive on June 18, I dealt on the matter of abortion and had to say it, “What a sinful world!” I sang three songs that I thought best addressed the issue, namely “Unborn Child” by Seals & Crofts, “Unplanned” by Matthew West and an original song entitled “I Am Life (Mama, Please Don’t Kill Me).” The last I wrote to give the unborn a voice.
Here are the lyrics: I am in the dark/Just a tiny spark/Mama, I’m inside you/Mama, I love you, you know. // I want to live/Joy to you I’ll give/Mama, please don’t kill me/Mama, let me be. // Chorus: I am life, Wo-oh, I am life/Though not fully ripe/I’m a gift, you must believe, believe, believe/I have a right, a right to live. //I’m one with you/Soon, we will be two/Mama, I will give love/I’m a blessing from above.