The Supreme court ruled 7-2 against freedom...wow

I’m a proud American. Our founders created a wonderful nation. Although imperfect, they forged together a diverse group of people and created the experiment we call America. It’s quite amazing. In the continual process of creating this nation, we have had to make a number of course corrections.

Today in a board meeting, I learned of a fascinating fact that hit home to me.  Consider this, in the historic town of Fredericksburg, Virginia, at the corner of Charles and William Street, there is a reminder of America’s tattered past. On this corner lies a stone that is said to be an auction block. This solid piece of rock is where  a person would be placed for observation in front of a bidding public.  Human beings were sold to other human beings for the purpose of work, the purpose of property and for the purpose of being a slave.  Sadly, in this era, it was not looked upon as the horror it is. In fact, it was considered a right. In 1857, Dred Scott who's case went to the 

The Auction Block in Fredericksburg, VA

Supreme court, was a slave seeking his freedom.  His first attempt to go to trial to sue for his freedom was in 1847. Ten years later, after a decade of appeals and court reversals, his case was taken up by the United States Supreme Court. In this infamous case, the court decided that all people of African ancestry, slaves as well as those who were free could never become citizens of the United States and therefore could not sue in federal court. The court also ruled that the federal government did not have the power to prohibit slavery in its territories. Scott, needless to say, remained a slave. The amazing thing is the case was a 7-2 victory for the pro-slavery movement. Slavery supporters believed they had a victory. I'm sure pro-slavery people said, "That settles it, it's the law of the land".

Today, we ask ourselves how could a nation, founded on Christian principles, steer so far off course? The interesting fact about this stone is that it lies in the shadow of the steeple of St. George’s Episcopal Church, the home church of Mary Ball Washington, mother of our first president. In the view of the cross of Christ,  people would gather on Friday for a slave auction and attend church two blocks over on Sunday in good conscience.

But consider this, today, much like slavery of old, a tragedy has been happening under the same guise of “rights” similar to the argument of the  slave holders. It is Abortion. We become uncomfortable when we hear or even use the word. We don’t like it. In fact, many main stream Christian pastors and church leaders, even in my hometown, are afraid to confront it. Are we cowards or have we  just decided to cooperate with secular society. According to the CDC, “In 2014, 652,639 legal induced abortions were reported in the US from 49 reporting areas.* The abortion rate for 2014 was 12.1 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years, and the abortion ratio was 186 abortions per 1,000 live births.”

Whether your pro-life or pro-choice, these amounts are staggering. Again, notice the white wash on word usage by the names of both camps. Why not just say, "pro-abortion", "anti-abortion"?

Had I lived in the 1800s, I hope, amidst all the backlash, I would have had the courage to say slavery was wrong. By saying that, I would have been kicking against an institution. But thankfully,  there were people who said "No"! In fact, it was the church that awakened the anti-slavery movement; not to mention the brave slaves who sought their freedom.

Well it’s now 2018 and since Roe vs. Wade a case much like the Dred Scott case, which said a mother’s baby in her womb was not a person and therefore not a citizen and therefore without rights. It is estimated that there have been 60,069,971 abortions. Someday in the future, I believe people will read this blog and say, at least he had the courage to stand up against the surge of abortion, despite it being the law of the land since 1973.

We all know someone who may have had an abortion. Many were deceived or uniformed of what they were actually doing. I can only try to understand the emotional burden that must come with such a decision. Those persons will find no judgement, no condemnation from me. Instead, they will hear a message of hope and healing. I'm proud to support a ministry, Salem Pregnancy Care Center that offers programs such as Her Time to Heal.

To my African-American friends, praise God this nation changed and made a course-correction. Your heritage came hard. I admire your ancestors and Dr. King for their insistence on human rights.

**New Hampshire and California do not report abortions statistics.