Life after 44 years of the culture of death

What do you say after your country has completed 44 years of a legal regime that denies the sanctity of all human life?

Well, for one thing, you say you hope it doesn't last anywhere close to another 44 years.

Yesterday, Jan. 22, was the 44th anniversary of the Supreme Court's rulings in the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton cases. In those opinions, the justices not only struck down all state restrictions on abortion, but they legalized the lethal procedure throughout all stages of pregnancy -- even to the moment of birth.

The results of those decisions have been devastating and far-reaching -- results that include: An estimated 58 million babies dead by legal abortion; untold millions of shattered lives among both women and men; and an encroaching cultural mind-set that labels some lives as not worth living.

Yet, there is encouraging news:

-- Americans in their 20s and 30s are more pro-life than the previous generations.

-- Abortions fell to about 926,000, their lowest level in 40 years, in 2014, the latest year for which statistics are available.

-- The pro-life -- and pregnancy help -- movement continues to grow.

Discouraging news also exists:

-- The quality-of-life ethic is gaining strength in other areas: Six states and the District of Columbia have legalized physician-assisted suicide, and 38 percent of evangelical Christians think it is morally acceptable.

-- Nearly one million abortions -- and numbers far less -- still constitute a blight upon our country.

-- The Supreme Court is at least two justices short of overturning Roe and Doe.

How do we as evangelical Christians respond at this cultural moment?

1. We defend, teach and practice the sanctity-of-life ethic proclaimed in the Bible, demonstrating we value every human being -- regardless of location, condition, development, skin color, ethnicity, citizenship or age -- as an image bearer of God worthy of care and protection.

2. We love, serve, and evangelize others -- even our opponents on abortion and assisted suicide -- so they might know the Creator who made them in His image and sent God the Son in the form of an image-bearer to rescue them.

3. We support and participate in Christ-honoring ministries that serve vulnerable people.

4. We pray -- including for God to continue to restrain behind His dam of mercy the ocean of judgment we have amassed.

Photo credit: American Life League