ACP February 2016 Quarterly Newsletter

The following is from our quarterly newsletter. You can be among the first to receive our printed newsletter and see previous issues here.

For several months ACP has been in discussions with a professional, pro-life graphic design company and enlisted their assistance with creating and marketing quality memes that can be shared widely on Facebook. With these memes we are reaching tens of thousands of pro-lifers who are able to then share the meme on their own Facebook profiles where it appears in the news feed of many of their friends. This is an incredibly high-impact-low-cost way of reaching people with our message. Here are images of three such memes:

The National Scourge of Abortion

Forty-three years after Roe v. Wade it is easy to become discouraged — and perhaps even experience a dark sense of despair about ever ending abortion. Many of us have been praying and fighting for the lives of babies for as long as we can remember, and still the country seems paralyzed with inaction. It is true that our progress on the national scene can be described as modest, at best. But we cannot lose hope on account of that. Here are three reasons why:

1. Our job is to faithfully respond to the Christian duty of speaking out in defense of every innocent child, regardless of outcome. Christ himself was unable to persuade many (John 6:64-66, Matthew 19:22, Luke 4:28-29), and his message was so reviled that he was put to death. Christians should not be discouraged or even surprised when their message of love and compassion for preborn babies is shouted down, derided, and ignored. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you,” (John:15:18).

2. There are many, many indications that the country is finally beginning to reject the horror of abortion. Consider:

• Abortion clinics are closing at an incredible rate. In 1991 there were 2,176 surgical abortion clinics. By 2009 there were only 713, and by 2015 the number plummeted to just 517. In other words, 81% of all abortion clinics open in 1991 have shut down.
• As a result of pro-life Republicans being swept into office, there has been a huge spike in pro-life laws passed on the state level — 226 since 2011, which is more than the previous three decades combined.
• Even though the U.S. population grew from about 200 million in 1970 to 300 million in 2011, the total number of abortions performed annually has dropped about 40% from its high of 1.6 million in 1990. More women are having fewer abortions.
• On January 6, 2016 both Houses of Congress passed a bill to defund abortion giant Planned Parenthood. This is the first time such a measure has ever reached the President’s desk.
• Public opinion about abortion is clearly shifting. Majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives are firmly pro-life, and every Republican Presidential hopeful describes himself as “pro-life”. Even Donald Trump, who in 2000 said he would not ban partial-birth abortions, has changed his tune. Rarely do politicians stand on principle; as a rule they serve far more reliably to be indicators of public opinion, and in that sense a picture emerges showing the direction in which the changing winds of popular opinion now blow.

3. Every baby matters. You are probably familiar with the classic story told about a boy who was saving starfish. A man was walking along a deserted beach at sunset. As he walked he could see a young boy in the distance throwing something into the ocean. As the man approached closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was throwing them back into the water. As he got closer, the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?” The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves. When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.” The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.” The boy looked down, frowning for a moment; then bent down to pick up another starfish, smiling as he threw it back into the sea. The boy turned to the man and said, “It made a difference to that one.” We may not be able to save all babies from abortion, but by saving just one we have made all the difference in the world to that one. We must not lose sight of this fact.

ACP Stands Fast on the Front Lines

We continue to bring our signs out in public where the victims of abortion can be seen by thousands of passersby. ACP Bremerton, Washington recently visited Olympic Community College with a set of “Choice” signs for an educational demonstration on bio-ethics and human rights. In January, our newest chapter director, Melissa Stiwinter of Cullowhee, North Carolina, was able to travel to Washington, DC for the annual March for Life where she met up with Lauren Handy, our chapter director for DC.

We thank God for providing this ministry with courageous soldiers, like Lauren and Melissa, who are spreading the truth of abortion far and wide. We ask for your prayers that He will send us many more!