Bioethics

Not Making the Social Justice Issue List

Author Alan Shlemon Published on 04/23/2013

Alan’s monthly letter for January 2011

Dear Friend,

It’s trendy to talk about social justice these days. Poverty. Human trafficking. The homeless. These social ills stir up images of helpless human beings, hungry mouths, and women and children who are exploited. It’s not just politically correct to care about these things, it’s essential. But there’s one issue that often fails to garner as much attention: abortion.

I spoke at a church during a social justice month that had hundreds of people pack the auditorium for the human trafficking talk. But my talk on abortion drew only a few dozen people. Why? Because, as Greg Koukl writes, abortion is a yawner:

On Tuesday, May 11, 2004, Al-Qaeda’s Abu Musab al-Zarqawi took a large knife and sawed off Michael Berg’s head while a video camera rolled. The clip hit the web like an earthquake. Those who could bear to watch stared, sobbed, or seethed. Nobody yawned.

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, we watched—again and again—as jumbo jets vaporized World Trade I and II. The toll for the day, 2,752 American bodies, mobilized a nation for war. Nobody yawned.

Mention the word ’abortion,’ though, and eyes glaze over.

Ironically, the bare facts are more hideous than Berg’s beheading or thousands of innocent people shredded, burned, or crushed by falling airliners: Every single day for 30 years more innocent Americans perished in abortion clinics than died on September 11, 2001.

Don’t get me wrong. Homelessness is a big problem. Trafficking humans is inhumane. A child starving is awful. But surely killing the most vulnerable members of the human community is equally deplorable, if not worse.

So if a Christian cares about social justice, then caring about abortion should rise to the top of their list. That doesn’t mean they downplay other concerns or focus only on abortion. But abortion can’t be ignored just because it’s not as trendy.

Plus, most people want to end homelessness, trafficking, and poverty because most people consider them evil or bad. But most people don’t consider abortion to be evil. They think abortion is needed. In fact, the right to an abortion is protected in the United States and other countries.

In 2010, I worked hard to fight abortion. I gave 17 training presentations on abortion in four states, was the featured speaker at a pregnancy resource center fundraising banquet, and debated a university professor on the legality of abortion. I trained both Protestant and Catholic audiences, at churches and schools, and spoke to both live and radio audiences. And that was in addition to speaking on Islam, homosexuality, tactics, and all my other topics.

All this was made possible because of your partnership. Your social justice list includes abortion and so you’ve invested in my work, and as a result, more believers are equipped to defend the lives of unborn children.

For life,

Alan Shlemon