Columbia Christians for Life
P.O. Box 50358, Columbia, S.C. 29250 * (803) 794-6273 * http://www.christianlifeandliberty.net/
“… I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
April 10, 2010
TO: Senator Glenn McConnell (R)
Senate President Pro Tempore / Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman
27 Bainbridge Drive, Charleston, SC 29407
RE: “Life Beginning at Conception Act” – S.450
- The SC Legal “Personhood” for Preborn Human Beings Bill
SUBJECT: Should a child conceived in circumstances of rape be murdered/executed for the sin/crime of his or her father ?
Dear Senator McConnell,
You have presented the circumstance of the conception of a child by a rape victim as one of the reasons you are not supporting S.450, the SC Personhood Bill. Presumably, you believe it is necessary to allow the victimized mother the “legal” [sic] option to kill the judicially innocent pre-born child in her womb.
The simple, straightforward reply to this is that such an act is evil on its face because God has written, with His own Hand, “Thou shalt not kill (murder).” Exodus 20:13 (KJB). No man or woman ever has the authority to change, or to violate God’s Word. If one truly has a right reverence and Biblical fear of God, then God’s Word is fully sufficient and complete for directing us to the proper decision, including in the difficult matter of a woman who has been impregnated by a rapist. The Bible says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…” (Proverb 1:7, KJB); and also “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…” (Proverb 9:10). If on the other hand, men attempt to “reckon without God,” and ignore His Divine counsel, then we can arrive at incorrect, foolish, and even wicked decisions; even if in our own humanistic thinking, we believe we are being thoughtful, considerate, or compassionate. The Bible says, “… the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” (Proverb 12:10b, KJB). It is NOT compassionate, it is NOT merciful, it is NOT good, to sustain the option of a woman, even one victimized by a detestable criminal such as a rapist, to murder / execute the child in her womb. That is NOT compassion, it is CRUEL, and it is HATE – hate for the child; how can it be anything else to so violate the child’s humanity, the child’s “personhood”, as to terminally victimize an innocent party to the crime of his or her father ? How is the murder / execution of a judicially innocent human being in the womb of his or her mother, if conceived in a rape, ever consistent with even the most basic fundamentals of law and justice ? How can it be anything but an evil perversion of justice to murder / execute a child for the sin / crime of his or her father ?!!
I believe it is fair to say that you are not only personally not supporting this bill as an individual Senator, but in your role as Judiciary Committee Chairman, you have repeatedly assigned the Personhood bill (which was first introduced in an earlier version in 1998), to an unfavorable Senate Judiciary Subcommittee; certainly this has been the case in the 2005-2006 Session, the 2007-2008 Session; and now, given the refusal of your presently assigned Subcommittee chairman, Senator Jake Knotts, to even granting a public hearing for the bill, is also true for the 2009-2010 Session. This current situation is made more egregious by the dual facts that: 1) 50% of the SC Senate (23 of 46 members) is co-sponsoring the bill; and 2) 50% of Senator Knotts’ Subcommittee (three of six members) is co-sponsoring the bill. While it would appear, numerically, that supporters of the bill lack only one vote to insure success in a Recall effort, one has to wonder how many Senators truly feel they have the liberty to vote their conscience in the matter, and how many fear potential retribution by the President Pro Tempore / Judiciary Chairman down the road ? Are you willing to publicly state these 23 Senators have complete liberty, and no fear of retributive action from you in the future if they vote to Recall this bill ? Or am I being naïve ?; that of course you would take a pound of flesh from them ?
Senator Jake Knotts has also repeatedly brought up the rape issue, and has persisted in his unbiblical and therefore morally unjust view that a woman should have a “choice” to murder / execute her own child because of the sin / crime of a rapist father. Sadly, he maintained this view even when afforded the opportunity to speak face-to-face outside the Senate chamber recently with a woman from Swansea who had been a victim of rape, who conceived, and who gave birth to a daughter, now seven years old, who this mother has received as a blessing in her life. Senator McConnell, you were also presented with the opportunity to speak to this same woman, but expressed your inability to stop and speak at that time. Perhaps you will have another opportunity to hear this woman’s own testimony.
Senator McConnell, you and every other member of the Senate has also been provided a written copy of the testimony of another woman, formerly a resident of Columbia, who had been raped twice, and had conceived twice. She aborted the first baby, and made an adoption plan for the second baby. Her testimony was, “I have been raped twice and have dealt with it both ways.” ABORTION “doesn’t take the rape away; it only adds more guilt and makes a terrible experience more painful.” She continued, “The real victim in a rape pregnancy is the baby. I was a victim but I’m still alive. My baby died a painful, brutal death at the hands of the one who was supposed to protect her – mommy.” Senator McConnell, why will you not heed the testimonies of these women who have lived and dealt with this issue ? “Abortion” doesn’t help anybody, NOT the mother, and certainly NOT the baby. “Abortion” hurts women, and “abortion” kills children – so where is the “good” in any of that ? No, “Abortion” is evil and wrong in the terrible circumstance of rape also.
Senator Knotts has been presented with the name of Ethel Waters, the gifted and well-known singer of an earlier generation (1896-1977). Perhaps you may remember her name also: “Her best-known recording was her version of the spiritual, "His Eye is on the Sparrow", and she was the second African American ever nominated for an Academy Award.” ( Ethel Waters, wikipedia ). How many know the circumstances of this gifted woman’s conception and birth ? “She [ Ethel ] was conceived when her mother, 12 years old at the time, was raped at knifepoint.” [emphasis added] ( www.answers.com/topic/ethel-waters ) Her mother was raped at knife-point – should Ethel Waters have been aborted ? The unjust position of Senators Glenn McConnell and Jake Knotts is that murdering / executing such a one as an Ethel Waters today should be permitted by law. Glenn McConnell and Jake Knotts would justify the taking of such a one’s life today, denying an Ethel Waters her very life, and denying the world the gift that such a one as her life could become. “Waters' recording of "Stormy Weather" (1933) was honored by the Library of Congress. It was listed in the National Recording Registry in 2004.” ( Ethel Waters, wikipedia ).
There are more life-honoring testimonies that could be given. One last one will be given here, that of Julie Makimaa, who actually testified in person before a subcommittee of the South Carolina House in the early 1990’s. Makimaa was also conceived in a circumstance where her mother was raped, and her victimized mother made an adoption plan for her daughter Julie. Julie Makimaa became a recognized public speaker (internet search: “Julie Makimaa”). One author (David C. Reardon, Ph.D.) reported about Julie: “Regarding her own view of her origin, Julie proclaims: "It doesn't matter how I began. What matters is who I will become." www.afterabortion.org/rape.html
Senator McConnell, my prayer is that neither you, nor Senator Knotts, will continue to presume that you, the child’s mother, or any of us, can ever presume to forecast or determine what some child conceived in the terrible circumstance of a rape might become, whether an Ethel Waters, a Julie Makimaa, or some other human being created in the image of God, the sanctity of whose right to life, as given by God alone, is inviolate.
Christ is King (1 Timothy 6:15)
Steve Lefemine, pro-life missionary
director, Columbia Christians for Life
Cc: Senator Jake Knotts (R)
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Chairman
500 W. Dunbar Rd., West Columbia, SC 29169
Click here for a printable version of this letter.
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