Teachers Saving Children® Inc. - National
Newsletter
Volume 13, Number 3
February 2003
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"...and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
January 22, 2003 marked the 30th anniversary of Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton, the U.S. Supreme Court landmark decisions that legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. And where is the pro-life movement after 30 years of legalized abortion? Through the perseverance of standing firm on the principles of truth regarding the sanctity of life, we have become stronger and more united than ever.
In considering the words found in Hebrews 12, we find some positive instruction regarding persevering through to victory. Although this passage is teaching the principles and importance of the perseverance of faith in the Christian life, these same principles can be applied to the race that we are running as we stand firm regarding our belief in the sanctity of life.
According to the Beacon Bible Commentary, the writer of the book of Hebrews is instructing one to run ceaselessly and constantly. An initial spurt of speed does not give the right for the runner to "nap" or take a break at some point during the race. The victory does not come to those individuals who only start well, but comes for those who finish well. It is a marathon race marked out before us to the very end until victory is achieved. And it is possible for one to run this race to the very end without growing weary if we keep our eyes focused on Jesus Christ.
In the same way a Christian runs the marathon race of life without losing heart, we can run this marathon of standing firm on the principles of the sanctity of life without giving up. We can persevere in this race to victory.
I recently read an article entitled "Coronary Christians" by John Piper (World Magazine, February 23, 2002, Volume 17, Issue 7, page 37). In this article Piper compares the Coronary Christian with our heart. Our heart "keeps on serving - through good days and bad days...high and low, appreciated and unappreciated." So, too, do Coronary Christians persevere through both the celebrations and the difficulties like marathoners "who find the pace to finish the race."
Piper makes reference to a coronary Christian by the name of William Wilberforce who fought for the cause of racial justice. Over the long fight against the African slave trade, Wilberforce remained passionately political in the House of Commons. He never gave up, even though he was defeated time and time again as this issue was discussed in Parliament. Finally after 20 years of persevering, the decisive vote in the House of Commons was cast and the African slave trade became illegal. Victory was achieved!
What sustained Wilberforce in his cause for racial justice? Piper shares three principles that sustained Wilberforce over the course of time: "his radical allegiance to Jesus Christ;" "the secret of being strengthened, not stopped, by opposition;" and "the greatness and the certainty of the rightness of the cause."
One man, William Wilberforce, never gave up. And we will never know how many individual lives were influenced by this man who persevered until victory was achieved.
The same is true of the pro-life movement. There isn't just one, but hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers who have and will never give up for the cause of the sanctity of life. They have made a commitment to stand firm on the principles of truth rather than being easily intimidated. They are willing to be coronary Christians who are willing to run the race to the very end.
Will you be one of them? One who is willing to persevere in running the race to victory by standing firm no matter the cost - keeping your eyes fixed upon Jesus Christ who is the author of our faith throughout this race? Will you be one of them?
"Let us not become weary in doing good,for at the proper time we will reap a harvestif we do not give up."
They said we'd be gone by now. They said, after three long decades, we would have packed our bags and called it quits. They were wrong.
They are the same people who, despite all the medical advances we've made - from in-utero surgery to 3D ultrasound technology - still say that the being in the womb isn't a baby. Wrong again. Dead wrong. Forty million times.
So what do you do when you're wrong? If you're the abortion movement, you dig in your heels and scream all the louder. But chanting the word "choice" - even for 30 years - can't overshadow what it is that's being chosen.
Though the media clamors and the politicians cater, the emperor has no clothes. Any two-year-old will tell you. Go ahead, pull out a biology book and ask one. Even the child of the most ardent pro-abortion advocate will describe the "unborn entity" using the "b-word" - "baby" - something which results being swiftly sent to his room, no doubt.
They are at odds with biology, technology, and the truth, and that is why the abortion movement has lost.
They are also at odds with women. Sure, they carry the "pro-choice" signs and all, but for 30 years, the only "choice" they have offered women as a solution to her problems is: a dead child. As a woman let me say, women deserve more than that. And it's the pro-lifers who are giving them more. Meeting real needs - from a place to live, to medical care, to financial support. And there's another difference: while those who chant about being "pro-women" charge hundreds of dollars for each "final solution," all pro-life help is free.
The abortion movement has even lost their support from the very women who executed their advice and had abortions. In the excruciating aftermath, they were told to take two aspirins and call someone else. They did. They called pro-lifers, who met them with open arms to help them through the long healing process.
They keep on chanting, and we keep on helping. And as if we haven't heard it enough, now the National Abortion Rights Action League is even changing its name to include their favorite word. If my organization had just lost 18 of its 19 targeted races, I would change my name too! In the last election's critical races, exit polls showed that it was pro-lifers who made the difference - giving candidates as much as a ten percent voting advantage! Somebody tell that to the Democratic party. Tell the Republicans, while you're at it.
But wait, there's more. While for 30 years the media has fed us a steady diet of how pro-lifers are "few," "extreme," and "fringe," they, too, are wrong. If you say something often enough and loudly enough, that doesn't make it true. Wirthlin Worldwide just asked the American people a question that has never been asked: relevant not to the rhetoric, but to today's technology: "In light of recent medical advances such as in-utero surgery and 3-D ultrasound technology...are you in favor of restoring legal protection for unborn children?" Guess what? The answer was a resounding "yes" from seven out of ten!
But perhaps the most critical question of all: "Would you favor judicial nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court who would uphold laws that restore legal protection for unborn children?" Sixty-six percent - a full two-thirds - of our nation want pro-life judges nominated and confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court! Somebody tell the President. And the Senate, while you're at it.
What do you know? Perception and reality really are two different things.
The emperor has no clothes. The reality is, the abortion movement has lost on every front. They lost the White House, the House, the Senate, and public support. They lost the women who listened to them who live in regret. They lost on biology, technology, and the truth.
While our laws do not yet reflect it, the abortion movement is dead.
Where is the pro-life movement 30 years after Roe v. Wade? Stronger, more united, armed with the truth, backed by technology and the vast majority of the American people with them.
For those pro-lifers who've been intimidated into silence, you can come out now.
And when it's all said and done, history will show us as the "good guys:" The ones who said sucking the brains out of infants during delivery is wrong. The ones who wouldn't go away until something was done.
Thirty years of denying self-evident truth is long enough.
America, its' time to protect your children again.
Editor's Note: The above editorial is reprinted in its entirety with permission. Janet Folger is president of Faith2Action, which helps coordinate activities of other national pro-family organizations (www.f2a.org).
Note: Please make checks payable to "TSC Inc. - National". Please carefully note how the amount given is to be designated (NEA Exhibit) so that the contribution will be appropriately allocated.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE RIGHT FOR LIFE 2003 RALLY ON THE NATIONAL MALL VIA TELEPHONE FROM ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, Nellie. I want to thank you very much for including me in the celebration of life. I want to thank the good folks there on the Mall today. I'm calling you from St. Louis, Missouri. I know there are some from Missouri there and, like many others, you've made great sacrifices to come to Washington today. A lot of you have ridden buses all night long and I know you're braving the cold. And I admire your perseverance and I admire your devotion to the cause of life.
You all are gathered today on the National Mall, which is not far from the monument to Thomas Jefferson who, as you all know, is author of our Declaration of Independence. And the March for Life upholds the self-evident truth of that Declaration -- that all are created equal, given the unalienable rights of life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And that principle of America needs defenders in every place and every generation.
In our time, respect for the right to life calls us to defend the sick and the dying, persons with disabilities and birth defects, and all who are weak and vulnerable. And this self-evident truth calls us to value and to protect the lives of innocent children waiting to be born.
You and I share a commitment to building a culture of life in America, and we're making progress. As the President, I have signed the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, opposed the destruction of embryos for stem cell research, and refused to spend taxpayer money on international programs that promote abortion overseas.
My administration is challenging the Oregon law that permits physician-assisted suicide.
We support abstinence education, and crisis pregnancy programs, and parental notification laws. We offer compassionate alternatives to abortion by promoting adoption and extending state health care coverage for unborn children.
My hope is that the United States Congress will pass a bill this year banning partial-birth abortion, which I will sign. Partial-birth abortion is an abhorrent procedure that offends human dignity. I also urge the Congress to ban all human cloning. We must not create life to destroy life. Human begins are not research material to be used in a cruel and reckless experiment.
For 30 years, the March for Life has been sustained by constant prayer and abiding hope, that one day, every child will be born into a family that loves that child and a nation that protects that child. And when that day arrives, you will have the gratitude of millions -- especially those who know the gift of life because you cared and you kept faith. May God bless you all and may God continue to bless America.
(Source - The White House, January 22, 2003)
Often we know who our local officers and building representatives are. However, most of our dues money, in fact hundreds of dollars, goes beyond the local level to other levels of the Association. Knowing who represents us and how they vote isn't just a matter of principle; it's a matter of how our dues money is being spent.
All policies of the NEA are adopted by the delegates to the annual Representative Assembly. Delegates vote on issues that affect us in many ways: they adopt all the NEA policies, the budget, and the resolutions; enact legislative agendas; consider many new business items; elect Association officers; and vote on amendments to the NEA governing documents.
All delegates are selected in the local and state affiliates by their colleagues to represent their views in the deliberation of the assembly. The state delegate elections will take place between now and mid-March. For local delegate representation to the NEA RA, check with your local president. Election results from local affiliates are not due to their state affiliates until April 15.
So watch carefully for NEA delegate election information. We will only get good representation when members take the time to get involved by educating ourselves about the candidates and VOTING!
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