The outcry in the pro-life community against Dr. George Tiller’s murder has been loud and clear. As a pastor of a pro-life Lutheran denomination, I too condemn his murder as well as his “work” of terminating late-term unborn babies. His family and church as well as women and families affected by abortion and indeed our nation need prayer.
Tiller’s murder touches upon other issues:
Will it further the call to pass “hate crimes” legislation? If so, it will not fall under the legislation’s umbrella. Potentially a murderer could be punished more severely for killing while hating a person’s race or sexual orientation, but (in effect) less severely for killing for other reasons. Shouldn’t Tiller’s family expect the same justice to be served regardless of the type of hate the killer had?
Kansas has the death penalty, but the prosecutor said this is not a death penalty case. While capital punishment and abortion both end a life, the unborn whose lives and rights are taken from them are always innocent, whereas murderers, who have been judged guilty and sentenced by a jury of their peers, are not. Still, in Christ there is full and free forgiveness.
Abortion is the issue. Consider:
As bright and articulate as President Barack Obama is, if he were pro-life, would he have been nominated by his party?
In light of the May 12, 2009, Gallup Poll revealing that 51 percent view themselves as pro-life and 42 percent pro-choice, how “rare” would abortion be if those who claimed to be pro-life voted for pro-life candidates?
If conservatives were more willing to compromise on “border issues,” would immigrants be more willing to vote for “pro-life” candidates?
By God’s grace, the tide can turn, but only through prayer and appealing to a person’s heart, not by vigilante violence.
James Endrihs
Enterprise
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