I am writing about an issue that is very dear to my heart (and I am certain to many others as well). I have always been a very staunch “Pro-life” advocate. The abortion issue is one that, to say the very least, is very controversial today and one which divides our country almost in half. Even after the “Roe vs Wade” decision was recently handed down by our Supreme Court, essentially turning the issue back over to the states, there are still many who want “Roe vs Wade” to again become the law of the land.

I have always felt that the birth of a child is one of God’s greatest miracles. God’s Word tells us that God knew us even before we were formed in the womb. Once conception has occurred, that developing embryo will almost always (if left alone) become another living human being. Many pro-abortion folks will couch their terminology in less heinous sounding language than using the term abortion (or being allowed to ‘kill the baby’). They will say that it is the woman’s right to her reproductive freedom, reproductive health or similar “nicer sounding” terminology. After conception it is a “new life” growing in the mother (and no longer just her own life) then logically it is no longer her right to take the life of another human being. Our own “Declaration of Independence” holds these truths to be self-evident that all human beings are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights and that among these are LIFE, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness. In essence what most of the pro-abortion folks want is to be able to terminate the life of a growing child. The growing fetus is viable very early on in its development and that fact is another one of the major controversies. When is it too late to “terminate/kill” the baby? Is it acceptable to terminate the pregnancy in the 6th week, the 15th week, the 20th week, or when it can feel pain etc? Some pro-abortion advocates want the “right” to abort/kill the baby up until later in the pregnancy, even the 7th, 8th, or 9th month—which is considered late term abortion. How can it possibly be acceptable morally to legally terminate a life right up until birth and call it a legal abortion, but immediately after birth it is considered murder?

The recent September 18th edition of the “Fayette Advertiser” had a very enlightening article entitled “Missouri Supreme Court Rules Abortion Amendment to Remain on Ballot” by Anna Spoerre. The Pro-Abortion Amendment #3 will apparently appear on our November 5th general election ballot.  I hope everyone will take the time to read the amendment carefully and to do their own further research into all the ramifications of the amendment if it becomes law. “The Pathway” a Missouri Baptist Convention newspaper also recently had a very revealing editorial by Benjamin Hawkins-the Editor of the “Pathway” entitled “Pray, Vote, Preach against Amendment 3. I encourage everyone who can to obtain a copy of that editorial and read it thoroughly to learn even more about the amendment and how it came to be on the ballot. The pro-abortion Amendment #3 is characterized by editor Hawkins as one of the most radical challenges to our constitutional order in the state of Missouri. Lawmakers and others have also called amendment #3 insidious, a very slippery slope, devastating, and the most dangerous threat to Missouri’s Pro-Life laws in our state’s history.

Let me close by encouraging everyone to learn more about Amendment 3 before you vote and to prayerfully request that you vote NO on Amendment #3 this November 5th.

Sincerely,

Gardell Powell,

Fayette, MO