Over 35 years ago, President Ronald Reagan established Sanctity of Human Life Day to emphasize the value of unborn lives on the Sunday nearest to the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision. In the decades following Reagan’s presidential proclamation, every Republican president has continued to recognize Sanctity of Human Life Day as a declaration of their pro-life stance.
This year, Sanctity of Human Life Day will occur on Sunday, January 22 – exactly 50 years after the Supreme Court established Roe v. Wade. Since that egregious decision in 1973, it is estimated that more than 57 million unborn children have been aborted. Current numbers suggest that up to 20% of all pregnancies in the United States result in abortion, disproportionately impacting Black and Hispanic women. That means 1 out of every 5 pregnant women decide to receive an abortion.
Honoring the sanctity of life goes beyond fighting the abortion agenda in America and overturning Roe v. Wade. The pro-life community is invested in restoring a culture of life in the United States and around the world. This cultural shift must begin by rejecting the doctrine of abortion advocates who proclaim that a woman’s “right to choose” is superior to human life.
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the state of Washington has become a safe haven for abortion. Washington currently allows for abortions up to the point of fetal viability, which is interpreted as anywhere between 24-25 weeks into a pregnancy, the end of the second trimester. At this point in a pregnancy, a baby is capable of hearing, seeing, and breathing air. At 22 weeks a baby can feel pain. There is no excuse or justification for terminating a pregnancy, especially when it is undeniable that the child is a living, breathing being.
Throughout this month and particularly on January 22nd, we encourage you to partake in prayer for the lives of the unborn and give thanks for the progress the pro-life community has witnessed over the past year.
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