As I wrote in the previous two installments in this series, an estimated 57 million preborn human beings have been killed in America in just the last 42 years. That’s roughly 1.3 million a year, 108,000 per month, 3,600 per day, or 2.5 human beings per minute.
Why does our so-called “just” society continue to allow the blatant, rampant, and deadly discrimination against a class of human beings that has no ability to speak for itself or defend itself? Why does a nation that was founded on the principle that every human being has the right to live, willingly kill millions of its own primarily because they aren’t “wanted”?
We even classify this group of humans differently than any other.
The descriptive term unborn hints at a lack of personhood in today’s culture. At Human Coalition, we believe words matter. This is why we generally refer to children not yet born as “preborn” rather than “unborn.”
Think about it. We don’t refer to 3- and 4-year-olds as “unschool children”; we call them “preschool children.” Likewise, we don’t call 11- and 12-year-olds “unadolescents,” but rather “preadolescents.” We use the term preteen, not unteen. But somehow, we’ve accepted the premise that a child not yet born is unborn (not born) rather than preborn (yet to be born).
While some may consider this a skirmish over semantics, this widely accepted terminology undergirds an important point: why are preborn children the only class of humans assigned a negative prefix? Why do we, as a supposedly just society, describe one group of humans with “un”?
It’s just one more example of how we fatally discriminate against our youngest brothers and sisters.
We didn’t kill 57 million of our fellow humans over the last four decades because we disrespected them. We didn’t kill them because they were inconvenient. And we didn’t kill them because we disliked them.
We killed them because we hated them.
We have another word for this type of hate. We call it choice.
Does that mean every mother who chooses to abort her son consciously hates him? No. Many women are forced to abort against their will. Many women abort out of desperation. Many still don’t know they’re killing a human being.
Does every man who coerces his girlfriend to take the morning-after pill hate his preborn child? Sometimes that’s true, but not always. Many abortions do not involve murderous intent.
No, this hatred is cultural, and it is, by and large, hidden. It’s part of the fabric of our national DNA. It’s woven throughout politics, businesses, and even churches.
The hatred is subtle. It’s trumped up in fancy marketing language. It’s justified, falsified, and politicized. It’s buried underneath years of death-loving campaigns. The visible markers of the hatred include terms like “reproductive rights,” “My Body, My Choice,” and “abortion care.”
No other class of human beings evokes more venom, more vitriol, or more rancor than preborn humans. No other class of human beings is cast aside or rejected more than preborn human beings. No other class of human beings is ignored, misrepresented, or vilified more than preborn human beings.
It’s uncomfortable to think about abortion in terms of hate, isn’t it? In fact, you may disagree, claiming that hate is too strong of a word. “We kill preborn humans out of convenience, out of desperation,” you may argue, “but not out of hate.”
Consider this. Is caring for your teenage son always convenient? Does your 2-year-old daughter ever make you feel desperate? Does your solution for relieving those feelings of inconvenience and desperation involve killing your children?
Of course not—born human beings are a protected class.
No, hate is the only rational explanation as to why we, as a nation, continue to permit killing over a million members of our own species every year. We’ve removed them from the protection of our founding documents, we’ve masked their deaths in creative marketing language, we’ve created numerous brutal ways to kill them, and we throw their bodies in the trash after we’re done with them.
We hate them.
And yet there’s a terrible, tragic irony in all of this. While preborn babies are the most hated people group in American history, they are also one of the most coveted, most loved, and most desired people group.
We often celebrate pregnancies and births more than we do marriage. We yearn for children. We throw parties, we send cards, and we wait in hopeful anticipation to see preborn babies face to face. We love babies…as long as we want them.
But if we don’t want them, we hate them.
My first son was born in Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) fights tooth and nail to save premature babies from death. And millions of dollars have been invested in equipment, staff, and training to safely deliver as many babies as possible.
Magee-Womens Hospital also aborts babies. They safely deliver babies, and they kill babies. Why does the same hospital fight to deliver and kill babies?
Because we love and hate babies.
We Americans pride ourselves on being a just society. We want equal rights, fairness for all. We puff up our chests while reciting the Declaration of Independence and claiming we are the most civilized society on the planet.
And yet, we’ve killed over 57 million of our own citizens in just four decades, and we’ve chosen victims who have no ability to defend themselves. We are the most egregious of bullies, picking on an entire class of humans who can’t fight back.
Civilized? Hardly.
We continue to discriminate against a class of humans for our own selfish benefit, creatively disguising the mass killings as our right.
Because we, as a country, hate the preborn.
I’ll be sharing some more thoughts on Planned Parenthood’s sale of pre-born baby body parts and the series of videos exposing the practice shortly.
I understand that you are referring to what has happened in America when you say “we killed…” However, I believe and Know it needs to be pointed out that I always find myself saying, “Speak for yourself.” I’ve never murdered any of my kids at an abortion “clinic” and never… Read more »
San – thanks for the comment. Though many of us have not personally aborted a child, the fact that 60 million pre-born children have been killed in America while we claim to be a just society is a blight on us all. No society, particularly one built on inalienable rights… Read more »
Thanks for this, Brian. As a pastor (and even those generally interested in theology) we know how important words are. Good insights, I am enthusiastic to adopt this nuance to refer to those precious babies prior to exiting the womb. It is “ironic” what we allow in our “civilized” society.… Read more »
Thanks Sean, for your kind words and ministry!
I would like to share my thoughts on rape exceptions with you. This is a copy of my file at http://cul.detmich.com/rape_exception.html. The Rape Exception This file combines some earlier writings about the rape exception, beginning with a portion of a recent email to a LinkedIn connection who focuses on this… Read more »
The number one reason why so many people want abortion to remain legally available is to free them from any inconvenient results of their unfettered sexual activity.
Brian – this is the first time I have read your blog, and in the process have read the comments posted. I feel part of a community reading some of the comments. Thank you for your eloquent words. I have never thought about the term “pre-born” versus “unborn” but I… Read more »
Thanks Kathy for your kind words and testimony. And welcome to the community!
Here are some excerpts from earlier work posted at cul.detmich.com/#lemmo. These were included in a handout at the presentation Religious Dimensions Common to Human Rights Abuses with Abortion as a Case Study given at Henry Ford Community College in April of 2013. From my 1986 war speech (29 years ago)… Read more »
I believe I wrote the following summary article sometime after the new millennium. It was to provide a shorter version of “Abortionism: America’s New Established State Religion.” Both can be found at cul.detmich.com/#lemmo. The Essentials of Abortionism by Al Lemmo This essay is to set forth the key elements of… Read more »
It’s not so much about recognizing intrinsic rights….it’s about the hierarchy of rights. What value do we place on the rights. In New York( I think?) a chimp has recently been granted personhood. During the time of Roe V Wade, a grove of trees was granted personhood, ironically in the… Read more »
You may find this of interest:
http://cul.detmich.com/animalrights.html
It’s also posted at the CUL site.
I Agree!!!
First, let me say that I am in total agreement with both you, Brian, as well as one of your commentators to this post – Rick Townsend – that the very idea of abortion is ABSOLUTELY ABHORRENT TO GOD, and therefore evil by definition. We’re together on that Brothers! But… Read more »
Solid points, Ken, and I’m with you on most of them. I’m not sure love is the opposite of hate, though that’s a discussion for a much longer article. I also noted in my third piece in this series that not every woman (or coercive man) who aborts hates their… Read more »
So obviously true, this article with the facts. But the world hates the truth.
Pray for mercy and always fight evil and help those that do the same.
Brian, thank you for presenting this issue in such clear and stark terms. As a culture, we not only hate the preborn but all the vulnerable among us: the disabled, poor, elderly, women, children, fatherless, addicted and “uneducated.” Dr. King was right, of course, but many who revere him don’t… Read more »
That’s a good point, Steve. A Utilitarian society hates anyone who doesn’t mean certain arbitrary standards.
Your research and findings of such cruelty to humanity is so mind blowing. And with the findings yet the message is still not heard. We have no regards to the protection, the security and the responsibility of the importance of life anymore. It is as if we are in a… Read more »
We most certainly will and thanks for the comment.
Brian
Thank you for posting this. Maybe people will wake up and start feeling for these little helpless PREBORN BABIES.
I am certain that many people read your post. God willing they will process this…prayers are definitely there for these little ones.
May God Bless your work,
Thanks for those prayers, Bea, and keep them coming for those babies and their families!
Another great installment on “Discrimination: The Most Hated People Group in America”. You make your points very, very well. I just wish everyone in the USA (& around the world) who has a misguided support for abortion could read all 3 installments. Ultimately, it’s Satan that takes things that are… Read more »
Yes and I think that is why those of us who are protecting all innocent life, regardless of age, size, degree of development, etc. need to confront abortion for what it is (the worst holocaust in US history) and speak candidly, compassionately, and frequently about it. If we can cooperatively… Read more »
thanks be to God for enabling you to share thias with us we shall pray and do our best to
transform the the human perception on the preborn
Brian, great article. Very informative on the issue. The Scripture passage that comes to mind is this one: PSALM 139:13-16 13 For You formed my [a]inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for [b]I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are… Read more »
Great passage. A scarier one for Americans is Proverbs 24:10-12, which includes a clear command to protect the innocent and a clear warning if we don’t.
I agree with you Brian. This is one of the main reasons America is being judged today. Most people want what they want AND they want it now. Life here on this earth is all about them and what they want in life!
Elton – indeed a deep-seeded cultural selfishness is mixed into the abortion holocaust. Great comment.
Part of that mentality of ” I want what I want when I want it.” is the need to separate sex from conception. The child not wanted in the contraceptive sexual act is six times more likely to be aborted. The cult of the self, this narcissism is then the… Read more »
Excellent comment, Robin. Unquestionably the Sexual Revolution has done enormous damage (in partnership with no-fault divorce) to the fabric of the American family and, by extension, to the lives of almost 60 million pre-born children. I would attempt to compliment your thoughts by adding that I think the proper valuation… Read more »
Holy, righteous, merciful, Heavenly Father, please forgive us our sins – as we forgive those who sin against us. Frustrate the ways of the wicked, and frustrate our wicked ways. Please grant us repentance, humility, wisdom, and discernment. We have become selfish, arrogant, violent, prideful, and presumptuous. Having been richly… Read more »
Thank you Anthony! We all can pray this daily!
Amen. So sadly true.
A long time ago, I learned a working definition of agape love: “Love is a determined act of the will that seeks the other’s highest good.” By extrapolation, if hate is the opposite of love, then, “Hate is a determined act of the will that seeks an individual’s highest perceived… Read more »
Rick – that’s an insightful comment – thanks for posting this.
I have also heard that indifference is the opposite of love, rather than hate. I think there are many who are indifferent to the life within them, but I think Brian is correct when he uses the term hate as he relates what is going on in terms of the… Read more »
I posted here for the first time on July 8th, offering links to much of my work dating back nearly thirty years. It drew no responses, suggesting that no one bothered to read any of it. It’s experiences like this that cause me to wonder why I even bother to… Read more »
Thanks Al – just because there were no comments doesn’t mean no one read it. Keep at it!
I really don’t like to comment to on-line discussions, but wanted Al to know that I’ve read some of his articles and have bookmarked the page because there is a lot of info. on the page. I’m sure there are many people out there like me, quiet Saints…devoted to prayer…the… Read more »
I have just discovered your profound writings! I want to shout them from the rooftops!!! Incredible insights…. Thank you! Please never give up! If we would go ahead and abort babies, not knowing for sure when life truly begins, then we have consented to look the other way and allow… Read more »
LOL – I suspect my wife is the only person who thinks they are profound, but thank you for the encouragement nonetheless. Let’s pray our society will value preborn life as much as we do life already born.
Al – Thanks for sharing the links, your understanding of the problem and your passion to fight one of the most hideous outcomes of ignoring Jesus.
Blessings in the Lord.
It is interesting that you would quote Martin Luther King in this issue considering the origins of Planned Parenthood. Margaret Sanger was the embodiment of the hate that is being talked about in this piece. I wholeheartedly agree with all that is written here. We are in a spiritual battle… Read more »
Andrea – very good point. I wrote about Sanger in some length in “Abortion: The Ultimate Exploitation of Women” and her eugenics philosophy was, at a foundational level, based on hatred of other races. She thought other races were stupid and didn’t want them to breed other stupid people. Her… Read more »
Your link here is not recognized by Internet Explorer from my computer. Also, I do not recall seeing comments by you on the first two articles in this series; maybe they appeared after I read through those comments. In fact it is rare for me to have the time to… Read more »
Rita – that’s strange. You might try another browser just to test the link and comments. There are numerous comments on all three blogs in this series with some excellent insights from numerous people. I concur with you. Laws follow culture so while we make progress in the legislature, we… Read more »
Yes they are.
Very good, I’m interested.
Keep up the fight. Many read , but do not speak. God is listening!
it’s so true that hate is a basis for abortion.. but also consider there is a smaller, frightening group feeding abortion that don’t hate or love but feel nothing toward a murdered baby… abortion is a practicality to them and nothing more… they know full well abortion destroys a living… Read more »
I think that is true, though I think the callousness is driven by other factors, primarily this cultural hatred which has bred indifference, devaluation, and a disrespect for life in general. I don’t think every person hates pre-born children, of course, but I do think most of us are impacted… Read more »
keep abortion legal safe and rare!!!!
No such thing. That was a marketing slogan from the 70’s that was intended to open up the floodgates for abortion, and now almost 60 million fellow Americans are dead because of it. The goal should be to make abortion unthinkable and unavailable.
Murder and slavery should never be legal. We let ‘these aren’t people, they’re property’ be a legal philosophy in this country for far too long once before- to do so again demonstrates how little we’ve learned.
Legal? Never. Every day that it is represents a travesty of inhumane, unimaginable proportions.
Paul
Terry…..when is abortion ever….safe…for the baby????
You dont seem to understand that abortion was made illegal primarily because it was killing women…..not the other way around. Initially it was not done in the “back allies” with coat hangers. It was done in mahogany lined offices with leather chairs and beautifully appointed waiting rooms. It was “safe,… Read more »
Thank you for this comment. I didn’t think about that. I do know I had an abortion when I was married! I was talked into “it’s just a blob of tissue.” There were complications. It was illegal, yet I got a high-priced doctor to do it at a reasonable price,… Read more »
I would implore you to read the book, Aborted Women, Silent No More. It may change your mind regarding that statement.
Well Stated, Too bad these words and words like it from others are not well listened to. “Man loves darkness rather than light because our deeds are evil.” Fearfully HE is merciful for now, who could tell how evil we would be if God was not merciful. Humbling and fearful… Read more »
You are welcome and thanks for the great Scriptural reference.