Heroes Wanted

Have you ever read tales of the valiants of by-gone days and sighed that if only you had lived during that time, you would have made a difference? I have. If all my inner boastings came to fruition, I would be Corrie Ten Boom’s right-hand woman right now, regardless of the danger. I would welcome Lobsterbacks into my home and serve them some good old American coffee, pretending to be oblivious, but all the while eavesdropping on their crucial military plans. I would gladly have several black babies safely stowed in my fake wall right now, and I would proudly label myself an abolitionist. Do you ever yearn for the times when heroicism was necessary, and you woke up every morning, yawned, and wondered whose life you were going to save that morning?

How foolish and deluded I was.

Because the simple truth is that the moment I sigh and wish I could have grown up in the time when heroes were born everyday is the moment when my stupidity is at its height. For if I cannot open my eyes to the need for twenty-first century heroes, then I surely would have been that girl who did not even know the Underground Railroad existed. I would have been the girl at Corrie Ten Boom’s church who talked congenially with her every Sunday, and then found out one day that she was gone. Where’d she go? She’s just a spinster-clockmaker, right? Right?

If I cannot find hero-work in this century, I never would have found it in a previous one.

So read on, if you want hero-work. But if you’re just going to scan and then go back to what you were doing before, then don’t bother even scanning.

I am sure that many of you have heard of the “House of Horrors” discovered in Philadelphia,where a doctor is being charged with murdering too many babies to even count. Abortion has made the step from murdering babies in the womb to murdering babies outside the womb a small one. I link to the news report on this tragedy, but so grotesque, gruesome, and horrific is it that I must urge caution and discretion in reading it. Suffice it to say, I weep every time I even think of it.

But that’s Philadelphia, right? No. I live in the least pro-life state in America. The least. And yet, Planned Parenthood is seeking even now to undermine any shred of decency Washinton state has left. Do you remember that bill that attacked volunteer-staffed, privately-funded pregnancy centers last year? It’s back, and with a vengeance: trickier wording, more burdens, and powerful supporters. HB 1366 and SB 5274 state, in the words of our CPC director, that these pregnancy centers “must provide notices that we do not provide abortions or referrals for abortions, we must make statements “in such a manner as to be reasonably understandable to the person seeking services” upon first contact….Also in writing [that] must be printed in 30 pt font or larger, on 8x11 ½ or larger paper, posted on our front door and inside our waiting area, and in absolutely everything we do for advertising (such as our brochures, church bulletins, yellow pages, etc.) Every advertisement must also be printed in, at minimum, English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian and Chinese. If we don’t do this, or if we leave one language out, we are subject to civil action. Any aggrieved (offended) person, county, or municipality can bring a lawsuit for monetary fines, damages, etc. and the court has the discretion to provide triple damages, plus an additional $1,000 civil penalty as well as attorney fees.”

Are you outraged? Are you ready to take heroic action and prevent these centers from being shut down? Because shutting them down is the none-too-subtle goal of Planned Parenthood. On this, the day before the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, are you ready to be the hero you thought there was no need for anymore?

Here’s what you can do, and keep reading even if you don’t live in Washington state, because I have some assignments for the out-of-state heroes, too.

-Pray, pray, pray. We are fighting spiritual warfare here, not a battle of flesh and blood.

-If you live in Washington state, look up your representatives and senators, and call and write them right now. Tell them this bill (HB 1366) destroys a woman’s right to choose what agency to use when she is facing an unplanned pregnancy, and is supported by Planned Parenthood simply to manipulate the government into crippling their competition as Planned Parenthood’s government funding dwindles. Tell them the Private Non-Profit Pregnancy Medical Clinics and Resource Centers are fulfilling a huge need in our communities, and that is all without one penny of government funding!

-If you live in Washinton or a nearby state, please travel to Olympia on Monday for the hearing before the Healthcare and Wellness Committee. Last year, the number of pro-life people there made a huge difference in stopping that bill dead in its tracks, and it is imperative that there are even more people there this year. Please make plans to travel there, and if you need details or are interested in going up on a bus that is being arranged, leave a separate comment with your e-mail address (which I will not publish!) and I will send you all necessary information.

-Visit this search page, type in the name of your state in the search field where it says "your state", and it should bring up any bills pending in your state that require your immediate heroic action.

-No matter what state you live in, please visit this page which lists Federal bills pending in Congress regarding abortion and makes it simple to contact your representatives and senators.

If you have ever thought you would not have stood idly by to see your brothers and sisters enslaved in past centuries, if you have ever read In His Steps and wished there was that kind of good work for you to do, if you have ever decided that you would in a heartbeat lay down your life to dash in front of a car and save a toddling baby, then choose to be a hero now.

Choose to be that person who uncovered his nose and opened his eyes when William Wilberforce revealed the stench and horror of the slave trader boats, taking Wilberforce's words to heart:

“Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know.”

Real heroes are never unemployed, so let’s roll up our sleeves; we have much work to do.

Picture Credit: wellkeptthing