President Ronald Reagan designated a Sunday in January as Sanctity of Human Life Day. This was designed to coincide with the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court case that ruled abortion as constitutionally protected. In 2012, on Sunday, January 22, we can be finding God on Sanctity of Human Life Day.
You may recall our previous post, Finding God in an Unplanned Pregnancy, where we reviewed the book Deliver Me: Hope, Help, & Healing through True Stories of Unplanned Pregnancy, by Dianne E. Butts. Throughout that book, in more than fifty true stories, women and men explain how they found God’s love. Many also found His forgiveness after they found themselves in unplanned pregnancies, some of which ended in abortion.
We’d like to add here a few additional reviews for this great resource:
Emily M. Akin, a freelance writer and blogger at Tennessee Christian Reader noted, “Married women as well as unwed mothers find themselves in this situation. Often, they think abortion is their only option.” Akin describes the book saying, “Mothers who chose to keep their babies share their decision-making experience. Those who had abortions tell of the mental anguish they suffered and how they found healing.”
Book reviewer Catherine Boyle says she reviewed the book mainly “because this is one of the defining issues of my generation.” She wrote, “I’ve known two women who gave up a baby for adoption. Several others kept their babies, some as single moms, the rest got married. My own husband was born to an unwed teenager, and adopted at birth.” Boyle added, “Deliver Me provided excellent statistical references on a variety of issues surrounding unplanned pregnancy.”
Reviewer Donna Collins Tinsley says, “Dianne E. Butts has compiled a much needed and encouraging book. Nearly every story I read I thought ‘this is my favorite’ and then there would be another one that stole my heart. . .”
On Amazon, Kathy S., wrote: “Overall this book is an excellent resource for anyone involved in an unplanned pregnancy including pregnant women, their partners, parents, grandparents, friends, family, and those involved in the work of crisis pregnancy centers.”
In addition, those experiencing unplanned pregnancies can find compassionate, confidential help at a pregnancy centers. You can find the one closest to you at www.Optionline.org.
This year it’s possible to be finding God on Sanctity of Human Life Day, as we remember the value of life: even during unplanned pregnancies.
On a related note, this is a great day to remember the story of Samuel Armas, who before birth, at 21 weeks gestation and during fetal surgery, grasped the finger of his surgeon. (See: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519181,00.html ) Although Samuel is now twelve years old, the photo taken during his surgery before his birth has just as much impact today as it did then.
The YouTube video shows, at the end, the photo with Samuel’s hand:
