A Prayer for Life

Vince Lattanzio, writing for nbcphiladelphia.com (May 14, 2013) sums up the trial of Kermit Gosnell.

Former Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of three babies authorities said were born alive before having their necks cut with scissors. A jury found Gosnell not guilty of first-degree murder in a fourth baby’s death.

In addition to the murder charges, the 72-year-old was found guilty Monday of involuntary manslaughter in the overdose death of former patient Karnamaya Mongar.

Gosnell was also found guilty of several other crimes including one count of infanticide, two counts of conspiracy, 21 of 24 counts of abortion of an unborn child of 24 weeks or more and 208 of 227 counts of violation of informed consent of an abortion.

In all, Gosnell was found guilty of 237 crimes. He will now face the death penalty in the sentencing phase, which will begin a week from Tuesday.

This is big news for those who believe abortion is an act of the societally-allowed murder of a human being.  It’s hard to understand the logic that says just the few inches of a birth canal separate murder from a legal and approved “medical procedure.”  Maybe this case will challenge that "logic" in the minds of more and more people.  Maybe the good news of declining abortions in our country will only be all the better as people consider this high-profile court case and jury decision.

It just so happened that I had the privilege of offering a prayer at a pro-life gathering last Tuesday evening in Hot Springs.  This was a long-scheduled event, not a reaction to the Gosnell verdict.  In fact, that verdict was not even referenced during the program.  Prayer has and will always be central to reducing abortions in this country.  Perhaps this prayer will help you pray about this matter too.

We praise you, our Father, that you knit us together in our mother’s womb, that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, every one of us an original.  And while we don’t bear your signature the way an artist signs a painting, we bear your image as the last and best of your creation—indeed your fingerprints are all over us.  We thank you that know us when we are but a smile on daddy’s face and a gleam in mama’s eye,  that you know us before we even make the trip from the darkness of the womb into the light of day.  We praise you that you do not create accidents, and that all of us, whether we are born normal or with special needs are still your workmanship and still the object of your love.  We thank you that you have plans and dreams for our lives, that every one of us matters.

And yet, in our culture of death, we have forgotten this, we have ignored this, we have defied you.  We have elevated convenience above life.  We have elevated sex above responsibility.  And in the process we have aborted millions of unborn children.  We have traded diamonds for dust, life for death, babies for a bloody mess.   Forgive us, Lord.  And help us do our part to end the carnage.  Thank you for those who work to this end, whether they offer women alternatives to abortion, argue cases in court, provide a voice for those who have no voice, try to move the political process in more life-valuing directions, or minister to broken women who have had abortions and long for forgiveness and a second chance.  These are huge challenges.  We can’t do these things without your strength.

And now for those who fight the good fight for life, would you please turn their efforts and prayers into lives saved, people persuaded, values changed, consciences spared, and liberty, justice, and life for all.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen

Near the end of the gathering, one of the speakers mentioned that he hoped for the day when, in a way similar to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., there might be some kind of museum to honor the millions of aborted babies who died during some dark decades in our history.  His emphasis was on the word museum—meaning that abortion was now a part of our history instead of a current event.  Wouldn’t that be the day?