The other day as I was doing my thing on the treadmill at the health club I heard a conversation. Now it is not my habit to eavesdrop, but they were on the treadmills next to mine and speaking in a voice loud enough to be heard a long way off.

The remarks that caught my attention had to do with George W. Bush’s reversal of Bill Clinton’s executive order that federal tax money could go to support family planning clinics overseas that counsel and perform abortions. The money is not intended to pay for such, but is purposely intended to free up the funds of those clinics so that they can pay for the abortions themselves, and don’t have to worry about paying for staff and advertising, etc. It is all the same thing, and nobody is fooled except the American taxpayer who doesn’t care if his money is sent overseas to kill "their" children.

This older fellow was making his complaint to an older woman. I guess they were both in their 70’s. He seemed to be upset that W. was intent on taking away a woman’s right to choose. After all, what we are talking about is her body and, as he put it, a meaningless piece of body tissue that could be removed if she chose, just like tonsils or an appendix.

It is here that I must apologize, for I could not keep my mouth shut. I asked him if he had ever seen an ultrasound picture of this meaningless piece of tissue. He said no. "Have you ever seen an abortion?" Again, he answered in the negative. "Are you a doctor, a surgeon, or do you have some other professional credentials that make you an expert on such matters?" He was getting annoyed. Then I asked, "Of what value then is your opinion? I have seen the ultrasound pictures of my grandson and granddaughter. Anyone who has ever seen an ultrasound video of a living fetus is amazed, because they can plainly see that there is a human being. Not only is the humanity of the fetus demonstrated, but traits of personality are also plainly apparent in those videos. I have seen the beauty of my granddaughter’s face as she reacted to the sounds in the room and the rubs of the ultrasound technician. Personality and character are every bit in evidence, as much as when a child is three or four months old."

At that moment the woman chimed in, "I’ve always thought of abortion as ‘baby murder.’ It seems to me that there are better ways of preventing unwanted pregnancies." Of course there are. Many abortions could be avoided if people young and old could learn to stop living like hogs and cattle, giving in to every lustful compulsion. Birth control, where the life of a fetus is not threatened, is not prohibited in Scripture or Scriptural principle. And compassion demands that we do not work to end the lives of people we find to be inconvenient.

The old man was worried about over population. Abortion is his answer. He was concerned about people being born with obvious defects, like spina bifida, or Downe’s Syndrome. I asked him how many people with these defects did he know who would rather be dead. I know of several with these problems who are some of the happiest people in the world. They wouldn’t give up one minute of their lives.

The woman agreed with me in no uncertain terms. I guess I kind of rained on the fellow’s parade. I apologized for butting in, but I made it plain that no apology was merited by what I said.

What W. did was not much. It did not repeal the Devil’s Contract of Death of 1973, better known as "Roe v. Wade." But it was a step in the right direction. A small step for man, but a giant leap for mankind, if we can continue with the momentum in that direction.

That abortion is a crime against humanity is undeniable. There is the worst kind of violence wreaked upon the most helpless. I have watched four or five videos of abortions, and I cannot bear to watch them again. They are too horrifying. If I were to describe to you the procedure that has come to be known as "partial birth abortion," you would be filled with dread thinking about it. One other method of abortion that I have seen on video is where the doctor reaches into the womb of the mother with an instrument designed to break apart and tear flesh. No attempt is made to kill the baby first so that it does not feel the pain. That would be an admission no abortionist could tolerate. Then he retrieves the baby, one piece at a time. We are more humane putting to death hardened criminals who merit the death penalty. A third method is the injection of enough salt into the womb with the baby so that it is literally burned to death by it. The remains are a corpse with no skin. It has been burned off.

There are approximately 2.5 abortions performed every minute in the United States. That is a faster death rate than Hitler achieved during the Holocaust. And these deaths occur for no better reason or motive.

We feel compelled to once again cite the crimes of pagan Israel and Judah to make our point.

"And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin " (Jer. 32:35).

"Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter, that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through the fire unto them?" (Ezek. 16:20-21).

"Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Do ye pollute yourselves after the manner of your fathers? and play ye the harlot after their abominations? and when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, do ye pollute yourselves with all your idols unto this day? and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will not be inquired of by you" (Ezek. 20:30-31).

"But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children of Israel" (2 Kings 16:3).

The murder of their children by the pagans of Israel’s day served a double purpose. They thought to appease a god of mere wood or stone through their violence. They could also control the population and maintain their promiscuity if they would just do away with the unwanted children of their sin. If it sounds familiar, just repeat these two ideas in a more euphemistic way, and a major plank in the platform of one of the larger American political parties becomes apparent.

A child of God should have no sympathy for such an abomination. There is no righteous or rational excuse for it. If you have had an abortion, you must repent and ask God to forgive you the wickedness of such a deed. If you do that, God will not abort you, but save your soul and preserve it in the heavenly home.

If you are contemplating such an act, please consider the life of your child and what the Bible says. There are many consequences, including risk of your own life, mental disease and depression, and deep feelings of guilt and shame. But the worst is the punishment of hell.

Young people, think about the costs of committing fornication. Don’t do that, that will keep you out of heaven. And it places the temptation of murder before you in a very sympathetic dress. But murder is murder, even if we call it a mere surgical procedure.

On the website given on this bulletin there is a link to a site called "Facts about Abortion." For more information go to my webpage and click on it. Spend a little time there and learn.

W. said in his inauguration speech that every life is precious. Every life is. This war against Satan cannot be won all at once. But we will accept whatever victories we can to turn back the hearts of the fathers to the children.