'Sanctity of Life' from womb to tomb

On January 13, 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation designating January 22 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The date corresponded to January 22, 1973, when the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion-on-demand in all 50 states. I wish he wouldn’t have limited the day to simply the unborn in the United States. Every human being everywhere has a right to life from womb to tomb.

Here are some of my pro-life columns from over the years, including this special announcement from Planned Bank Robbery:

I’m pro-life for the unborn

My “Planned Bank Robbery” video points out the inconsistencies in the “I’m not for abortion, but everyone has a right to choose” argument.

Here’s a column that reveals the serious biological issues of abortion. (It’s not your body.) Is it a ‘life’ or a ‘choice’?

I’m pro-life for the terminally ill

Here’s a transcript my talk at Indiana Wesleyan University that addresses the various schools of thought on euthanasia. Currently five states allow for physician assisted suicide: California, Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. There are no federal laws addressing euthanasia. I’m a firm believer in, when in doubt, choose life.

I’m also very pro-life in offering hope to those struggling with suicidal thoughts.

I’m pro-life for people of faith

World Watch List, 4,344 Christians were killed simply for their faith in 2014. In 2015, that number rose to 7,106! (In 2000, Dan Hodel, president of the Christian Coalition. reported, “More Christians have been killed for their faith in the 20th Century than the first nineteen centuries combined.”

However, the number of Muslims killed for their faith is more than three times higher. A United Nations report from September 2014 found that “at least 24,015” Iraqi civilians—the vast majority of whom were Muslim—had been killed or injured by ISIS in the first eight months of 2014. (Just Wednesday, the Taliban attacked a university in Muslim Pakistan killing at least 19 people and wounding dozens. Last year terrorists murdered 134 students at a nearby school.)

I’m pro-life for prisoners

Capital punishment: serious questions asks the question, “Is the death penalty biblical?”

In Matthew 25, Jesus seems to be pro-life when it comes to prisoners:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. . . . I was in prison, and you visited me.’

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you . . . in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”

I’m pro-life for my enemies

If you’re still with me, let me go one step further. I’m pro-life when it comes to my enemies. Jesus teaches:

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much” (Matthew 5:43-46).

So, some things to consider on this National Sanctity of Human Life Day. Let’s be “pro-life” toward all people of all ages everywhere— all year round.

Copyright © 2015 James N. Watkins. Used by permission.