All Life Is Precious

Earlier this week, the remains of 2,411 aborted babies were given a dignified burial. These remains were discovered by the family of Dr. Ulrich Klopfer after he passed away last September. Klopfer performed abortions in South Bend, Indiana where he left behind medically preserved aborted babies in his garage and in the trunk of his car.

Republican Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill promised that he would provide a proper and dignified burial for the babies. During the service, Attorney General Hill commented, “Each of these 2,411 was a life—a life that was terminated—and each deserve to be secure in a final resting place, with dignity and respect, as should be afforded all human beings. May each of the 2,411 buried here, now and forever, rest in peace.”

The Christian Post reports that “In the 43 years Klopfer worked as an abortionist, he’s said to have performed around 30,000 procedures before his medical license was indefinitely suspended in 2016 by the Indiana Medical Licensing Board.”

Mike Fitcher, president of Indiana Right to Life, said although Klopfer “cannot be punished because he is deceased,” he wants to know whether former employees were complicite and if the “bodies were being preserved to sell to universities or research facilities,” he told NBC affiliate WNDU at a news conference.

The abortion clinics in Illinois and Indiana where Klopfer operated in are now closed.

Virginia Lawmakers Repealing Laws that Protect Life

Notoriously pro-abortion Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, along with the Democratic majority in both houses of the state legislature are on a rampage to end most of the state’s protections for the unborn.

One such bill would remove the requirement for a woman to obtain an ultrasound or wait 24 hours before getting an abortion. “In less that two weeks’ time, we’ve watched the General Assembly rip away over 30 years of pro-life law,” said Olivia Gans Turner, president of the Virginia Society for Human Life. The bill passed the Senate and a similar bill also passed through the House. Gov. Northam is expected to sign it into law.

Last year, when defending a bill that would allow a pregnant woman to request an abortion even if she was moments away from giving birth, Gov. Northam in a radio interview supported a hypothetical situation in which an infant who was severely deformed or unable to survive after birth could be left to die.

Election News

Several Democratic candidates running for president have radically expressed that there is no room for pro-life Democrats within their party. During a forum in Vermont, MSNBC host Sephanie Ruhle asked Senator Bernie Sanders if he believed it was possible to be pro-life and a Democrat.

“By this time in history, I think when we talk about what a Democrat is, I think being pro-choice is an essential part of that,” stated Sanders.

Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats For Life of America, asked Pete Buttigieg at an Iowa town hall how his campaign would welcome pro-life Democrats.

Buttigieg responded, “Well, I respect where you’re coming from and I hope to earn your vote. But I’m not going to try to earn your vote by tricking you. I am pro-choice. And I believe a woman out to be able to make that decision.

Day wrote a column for USA Today in which she voiced her opinion that he did not properly answer her questions, “… instead [Buttigieg] focused on his unyielding support for abortion and did not really seem to want the vote from me or people who share my views.”

Two Sobering Anniversaries

47th March for Life

Friday, January 24 marked the 47th March for Life held in Washington, D.C. This march has been held every year since 1974, one year after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling led to legalized abortion nationwide.

President Trump became the first sitting president to speak in-person at this largest pro-life human rights demonstration in the world. He told the crowd that “every child is a precious and sacred gift from God.”

“Together we must protect, cherish, and defend the dignity and the sanctity of every human life,” he continued. “When we see the image of a baby in the womb, we glimpse the majesty of God’s creation. When we hold a newborn in our arms, we know the endless love that each child brings to a family.”

The Christian Post noted that more and more young people are joining the March for Life. The 2020 march was attended by “countless high school and college students.”  Students from Oakcrest School in Vienna, Virginia lead the march, holding the official March for Life banner.

Catalina Scheider Galinanes, the 16-year-old president of Oakcrest’s Respect Life Club, spoke at the rally. She said this was her seventh March for Life, “From the moment I realized that the abortion industry was ending the lives of millions of babies and lying to women everywhere, I knew God was calling me and each of us to act to defend human dignity and protect the lives of generations to come. That is what we are doing here today.”

In 2019, we witnessed New York, Illinois and Vermont expand abortion up to birth. The State of Virginia’s General Assembly, currently in session, is seeking to loosen existing regulations on abortion, one of which would also legalize abortion up to birth.

Praise God that 10 states with majority pro-life legislatures and governors passed laws requiring clinics to meet health and safety standards and placed limits on abortion. Pray that other states would follow their lead. And pray for God to raise a pro-life generation who will ultimately change the culture in those states which have removed regulations!

What can we do today? We can support mothers and fathers. We can speak for the unborn through our votes, in our churches, in our communities and with our families. Together, we can end abortion and create a culture of life!

Remembering the Holocaust

Last week, more than 200 Holocaust survivors and their families gathered at Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp 75 years after it was liberated on January 27, 1945. This event commemorated the more than one million people murdered at Auschwitz, the vast majority of whom were Jewish.

NBC News reports that many of the survivors described their experiences. “My number was 45,554,” said Bat-Sheva Dagan, who is originally from Lodz, Poland. “They tattooed my number on me and it’s just as visible today as it was back then. It was tattooed very well,” the 94-year-old added.

“I would love Hitler should be alive to see what I accomplished—that I’m alive,” said survivor David Marks, who now lives in Sherman, Connecticut.

On January 23, more than 40 dignitaries attended the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem marking it as one of the largest political gatherings in Israeli history. World leaders in attendance included Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Prince Charles, Vice President Mike Pence and the presidents of Germany, Italy and Austria. The event was highlighted by a three-hour-long ceremony called “Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism” at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

Tel Aviv University researchers noted a significant rise in anti-Semitic violence in 2018. They recorded 400 cases of violent attacks against Jews, with the largest reported number of Jews killed in anti-Semitic acts in decades. The spike in violence was most dramatic in western Europe. For instance, in Germany there was a 70% increase. In addition to shooting attacks, assaults and vandalism, the research also noted increased anti-Semitic vitriol online and in newspapers, as extremist political parties grew in power in several countries.

Middle East Peace Plan

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released this week a plan for peace in the Middle East. Arab Ambassadors from Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates attended the announcement and expressed a desire to work towards peace.

In spite of growing support of the Peace Plan by multiple Arab nations, Palestinians have soundly rejected it and instead have called for a “Day of Rage” to attack the Jewish people and Americans in protest.

We must continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And, we must stand against anti-Semitism and pray for the protection of Jewish people worldwide.

Chinese Pastor Sentenced to Prison

Pastor Wang Yi has been sentenced to nine years in prison for subversion of power and illegal business operations. Located in Chengdu, China, Wang is the pastor of Early Rain Covenant Church, one of China’s largest unregistered churches. According to a statement for the Intermediate People’s Court of Chengdu, in addition to the nine years in jail, he will also lose his political rights, will have a fine of approximately $7,2000 and his personal assets seized.

In December of 2018, authorities raided the Early Rain Covenant Church’s offices, a kindergarten, a seminary, a Bible college, and searched the homes of many of its members. At that time, Wang was arrested along with his wife, Jiang Rong, and more than 100 members of his congregation. They forced church members to sign a pledge to not attend the church anymore. Jiang was eventually released after six months.

The New York Times noted that Wang had become known for taking high-profile positions on politically sensitive issues, including forced abortions and the massacre that crushed the Tiananmen Square democracy movement in 1989. Ahead of his arrest, he wrote, “I believe this Communist regime’s persecution against the church is a greatly wicked, unlawful action. As a pastor of a Christian church, I must denounce this wickedness openly and severely. The calling that I have received requires me to use non-violent methods to disobey those human laws that disobey the Bible and God. My Savior Christ also requires me to joyfully bear all costs for disobeying wicked laws.

“Those who interrogate me will finally be questioned and judged by Christ. When I think of this, the Lord fills me with a natural compassion and grief toward those who are attempting to and actively imprisoning me. Pray that the Lord would use me, that He would grant me patience and wisdom, that I might take the Gospel to them.”

Open Doors USA World Watch List ranks China as the 27th worst nation in the world when it comes to Christian persecution. The Chinese Communist Party has increased their efforts to destroy all religious institutions, yet the Church continues to expand under persecution.

PRAY: We must pray for Pastor Wang Yi as he serves his prison sentence. Pray that he can withstand all that he will face and pray that he will be able to lead others to Christ. We must also pray for perseverance for our brothers and sisters in China. Pray for the Lord to strengthen them and allow their faith to be a light in such heavy darkness and persecution.

PRAY: As a "message to Christians worldwide," ISIS executed 11 Christian men the day after Christmas. The terrorists released a gruesome video showing one man being shot and 10 others beheaded. For the last two years, there has been an increase in violence against Christians, with an estimated 1,000 killed in 2019 and at least 2,400 in 2018. Open Doors USA's World Watch List ranks Nigeria as the 12th worst nation in the world for Christian persecution. Please pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in Nigeria!