The video shows the ugly reality inside the largest abortion center in the western hemisphere ... where hope is just a few yards away.
Some people are not watching the videos released by the Center for Medical Progress that expose Planned Parenthood selling and negotiating baby body parts. And I understand why.
We have to guard our hearts ... and if we feel we don?t have the capacity for them, then we shouldn?t watch them. The videos are vile, disgusting and -- above all -- heartbreaking. But what they reveal is real.
If your heart has never been broken over the abortion issue, then I strongly encourage you to watch the videos ... as difficult as it may be.
The videos have had an impact in the culture; but the strongest and most lasting impact of the videos will be on you.
They change us. Over past few weeks, I?ve heard about women who are seeking healing for past abortions for the very first time ... abortion workers who are considering leaving their jobs ... and pro-life people who acting on that belief for the first time.
When considering watching the videos we face three temptations:
- Despair, because they exist.
- Cynicism, because the world is going to pot and nothing surprises us anymore.
- Ignoring them, because we already know that abortion is bad.
John Henry Cardinal Newman addresses all of these temptations in one quote that shows why we can?t despair, why we shouldn?t be cynical, and why we are needed:
?The whole course of Christianity from the first century is but one series of troubles and disorders. Every century is like every other, and to those who live in it seems worse than all times before it because the Church is ever ailing and the cause of Christ is ever in its last agony.?
Before, during and after watching the videos, we need to remember our Lord?s agony, pain and the barbaric culture in which He lived and died.
His presence made a difference then ? and it makes a difference now.
We cannot despair or be cynical or ignore reality ? the repentant thief on Calvary didn?t. Instead, he turned to Jesus in a moment that seemed hopeless and was promised Paradise.
As I watched the video above, I was disgusted and outraged. The Planned Parenthood abortion center in Houston is the largest in the world ... and its also in my backyard.
Before the construction, I had the honor of working with other leaders in Texas to oppose its construction and find resources for women as an alternative.
I wrote about this in the 40 Days for Life book and I highlight a few heroes there, including Christine Melchor of the Houston Coalition for Life.
Christine responded by dedicating herself to having a medical bus outside that Planned Parenthood every day it was open for business. Equipped with an ultrasound and professional medical staff, they typically see 5-10 women per day who choose life for their babies. Amazing!
Find your bus
As I watched this video, I couldn?t help but think of those praying and offering alternatives just a few yards away with, as they call it, The Bus.
Those videos take us to hell on earth. The casual nature of sorting through baby parts and saying, ?it was a 20-week, a twin,? is infuriating. And yet every woman who enters that massive abortion machine is given a chance to turn away because of Christine and The Bus.
You would never know from watching the video and hearing about ?120 samples (babies) up to 22 weeks? being sold, that courageous people are praying and offering free help just yards from the brave new world atmosphere of a Planned Parenthood POC (products of conception) lab.
The videos are real; so is hope
As you watch these videos, you should realize that hope is just a few yards away ... and you can be part of it.
Christine was not paralyzed by the size of this monster facility, and you should not be paralyzed by the videos. She was not paralyzed, but instead she found her bus.
What could your bus be in response to this injustice?
It could be big or little, but we all need to look. You won?t find it by entering despair or being cynical or not wanting to face it. If you have the capacity then pray, watch the videos, and find your bus.
When you do the babies, the women and history will all be better for it.
