Reasons
U.S. Abortion Statistics By Year (1973-Current)
National Right to Life Committee, 2026 THE LEGACY OF ROE V. WADE 64 Million+ Lives Lost There were already abortions being performed in some states in the years before Roe,[1] but the Supreme Court's decision in 1973 set off a tragic era that led to the loss of more...
U.S. Abortion Statistics By Year (1973-Current)
National Right to Life Committee, 2026 THE LEGACY OF ROE V. WADE 64 Million+ Lives Lost There were already abortions being performed in some states in the years before Roe,[1] but the Supreme Court's decision in 1973 set off a tragic era that led to the loss of more...
Q&A on Abortion to Save a Mother’s Life
QUESTION: Is there ever a medical situation where it is necessary to cause an abortion in order to save the mother’s life? ANSWER: The most obvious, though relatively rare, example is any pregnancy that occurs outside of the uterus (ectopic). Most often that would be...
A Trimester of Prayer // Pro-Life Prayer Suggestions
You can make a meaningful difference by including these thoughts in your daily devotion and prayer time. Week 1 - This week, pray for the unborn and their mothers. With the dawning of this day, thousands of women in America just became aware of the presence of a new...
What Does God Say About the Beginning of Life? // Bible Study
What Does God Say About the Beginning of Life? // Bible Study (Student's Guide) READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGES: A. Life Comes from God Genesis 2:7 The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man...
Is Abortion Just an Election Issue for Christians?
Dr. James I. Lamb, former Executive Director, Lutherans for Life "I could never vote for anyone who favors the destruction of innocent life in the womb," Sam stated bluntly. Fred replied, "I'm opposed to abortion as much as you are, Sam, but there are other issues you...
The Value of Human Life
Rev. Robert R. Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources It is becoming more difficult to know what to do in life and death situations. Advancements in medicine, challenges in the court, and changing opinions have raised questions about when life...
A Wrong Diagnosis Could Have Cost Me My Life
Shauna Bauer Abortion is a very controversial issue. It always has been and probably always will be. These days, the battle between pro-life and pro-abortion activists seems to be very intense. There is a great need for support of the pro-life movement. That is just...
How Would God Feel About an Abortion in the Case of Rape?
Professor John F Brug, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary QUESTION: How would God feel about abortion in the case of rape? Personally, I am strongly against abortion, yet I feel that it would be acceptable in this instance. I want to know if the Bible would agree with that....
How About the Quality of Life?
Richard D. Balge Didn't anyone tell Elizabeth that it was dangerous for a woman of her age to have a child? Didn't anyone remind her that a child born to her after the normal child-bearing years was a poor statistical risk? Didn't it occur to her that a little...
The Book of Jonah and Our Mission to an Ungodly Nation // Bible Study
Introduction Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria, was rampant with wickedness. Although we do not have all the details of what went on in the city, it is enough to know that God’s patience toward the city began to wear thin. Therefore, he sent Jonah to warn...
Playing God — A Most Deadly Game
Pastor Glen Schaumberg "If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman so that she delivers her child prematurely, but there is no harm to either the mother or child, the man should pay the fine her husband put on him with the help of the judges. If any harm follows,...
Blessings of a Disability
Rev. Thomas Trapp An interview with Kenneth Schleef, a Christian with cerebral palsy. Q: Your appearance at a Life Chain told me you're concerned about life issues. I also know you have cerebral palsy. Tell me about your cerebral palsy first and then we'll talk about...
Fetal Pain: OK, What’s the Point?
Pastor Robert Fleischmann, CLR National Director Researchers claim they found a dramatic rise in fetal stress hormones when they inserted a needle into fetuses for blood transfusions. Already I hear some of my peers exclaiming, "I told you so!" The concept of fetal...
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) Position on Abortion
NOTE: At the July 1979 convention of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) meeting in Watertown, Wisconsin, the church body adopted this position against the killing of babies in the womb. This 1979 position on abortion is found below. On July 28, 2011, the...
Q&A on the Overturn of ‘Roe v. Wade’
Question: What's next now that Roe v. Wade is overturned? Answer: Roe v. Wade was the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which legalized abortion across the nation. On June 24, 2022 the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer any...
I Had an Abortion This Morning
It is January 22, the anniversary date of the Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in the United States. Every year this date brings with it a mixed bag of emotions for me. I feel a need to recognize this anniversary date with appropriate soberness and...
‘I Knew You’ [God as the Author of Life] // Bible Study
The year was 628 B.C. The great Assyrian empire which had carried the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity was soon to be replaced by the Babylonian empire. Meanwhile, the days were fast approaching in which the Lord would send what was left of God's people, the...
One Couple’s Struggle with Abortion
Fred Minnick, Daily O'Collegian (Oklahoma State University) In December 1977, an 18-year-old woman was faced with the choice of life or death. It began when she met a boy at a hometown IGA grocery store. He was a sacker and she was the checker. A typical small-town...
The Cost of Abortion — Higher Than You Might Think
I recently received a letter from an attorney in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The contents were chilling. The lawyer is representing a 28-year-old man who has been charged with criminal homicide of his fiance. Here’s what happened. A young couple met in January of 1999....
Q&A on Abortion on Demand and Child Abuse
QUESTION: What do you say to the person who says that abortion on demand reduces child abuse? ANSWER: In response to pro-choice advocates, we can with Biblical conviction say to those who feel abortion on demand reduces child abuse: How very wrong they are, for...
Is It Time for Tolerance in the Pro-Life Movement?
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources A strategy often used to win the public opinion for inauspicious moral positions is to refrain from arguing the position. Instead, the strategy is to argue for tolerance. In other words, you don't...
Abortion – Men Hurt in Silence
Karen Fifer, Pregnancy Crisis Center of Wichita, Inc. "I'm pregnant." These are powerful words that can evoke fear, anxiety, joy, and confusion in men. An unplanned pregnancy puts men in a peculiar place; on one side he is supposed to stand up for what is right, and...
Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod’s Resolution on Abortion
NOTE: At the July 1979 convention of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) meeting in Watertown, Wisconsin, the church body adopted this position against the killing of babies in the womb. This 1979 position on abortion is found below. On July 28, 2011, the...
Abortion Slogans // Bible Study
Lutherans for Life This study lists five statements often used to justify abortion and examines them in the light of God's Word. I. "A fetus is not a person Isaiah 49:1 Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me;...
The Father and Issues of Life and Death // Bible Study
When abortion is marketed to the general public its advocates emphasize the autonomous right of the woman to make this decision. Society has so bought into that notion that in 1976 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the father of the child has virtually no say about a...
Who Needs the Counseling Here?
Sometimes It Is Not Just the Pregnant Woman Many of the women who come to the Pregnancy Care Center need a lot of sound Christian help. But sometimes they bring with them someone who is in much greater need of help than they are. Sometimes it is a husband, boyfriend,...
Psalm 139 Says What Needs Saying
Pastor Joel C. Gerlach A noted Scottish churchman, Erskine of Linlathen, once said that Psalm 139 was one bit of writing he would choose to have on hand on his deathbed. Perhaps not your choice, nor mine either for that matter. But not a bad choice. Not because of...
Remembering a Child Who Never Was
About five years ago, a young woman graduating from high school had a rather traumatic encounter. As she was in the hallway, lining up for the processional, a woman came up to her and tied a white ribbon around her arm. The woman asked her if she would wear it in...
It Sounds Like an Argument — I Don’t Think So!
Pastor Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources Stanford University's John Donohue and University of Chicago's Steven Levitt used economic modeling to assert in a study that part of the decreased crime rate we have enjoyed these past years can,...
Bible Passages Relating to Abortion
Genesis 9:3,5 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will...
Abortion Must Be Labeled Murder
QUESTION: Can we call abortion murder? ANSWER: We answer YES for the following reasons: 1) The Scripture calls it murder. 2) It fits the definition of the word murder. Let us look at the second point first. MURDER is defined as the unlawful killing of another human...
Shall We Call It ‘Doublespeak?’
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources I don't really know if there is a word for it. There is a secondary definition for "double talk": Deliberately ambiguous or evasive language. Also called doublespeak. While some use this type of...
The 39 Major Pro-Choice Arguments and Their Refutations
Randy Alcorn, Eternal Perspective Ministries CLR Note: This is an excellent article in understanding the debate rhetoric of the abortion issue. The only difference Christian Life Resources has with what is referenced here is that CLR talks about life existing at...
G. U. L. A. G. – A Look at Ethnic Cleansing and Abortion
Rev. Fred Toppe Do you know these initials? They stand for Glavnoe upravlenie ispravitel'no-trudovykh lagerei, the Russian words for Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps. The GULAG was in operation in the former Soviet Union from the early 1920s until the...
Q&A on Church-Attending Abortion Advocate
QUESTION: I know a WELS member who is actively supportive of abortion rights and am greatly concerned. What should I do? ANSWER: You have reasons to be concerned and should address this issue with an attitude of Christian love and concern. Some WELS members may favor...
Christian Life Resources Abortion Position Statement
Preamble Abstract Background Terminology The Issues Section 1: What the Scriptures Say About Human Life Human Beings are Unique and Prized in All God’s Creation Human Beings Consist of Body and Soul Human Beings Exist in the Womb Protecting the Life of Human Beings is...
The Logic is Painfully Clear – A Look at Fetal Pain
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources The Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that an unborn child’s pain is not realized until 29 or 30 weeks into the pregnancy. Therefore, pain relief does not need to be provided for...
Gianna Jessen: I Was an Abortion Victim at Seven and a Half Months
Gianna Jessen My biological mother was seven-and-a-half months pregnant when she decided to abort me. I don't know why she made that decision. It was 1977. She and my biological father were 17 at the time and weren't married. She went to a clinic in Los Angeles and...
Q&A on Abortion, Euthanasia Position Terminology
QUESTION: I've heard many different terms describing the positions of those who either oppose or favor abortion and euthanasia (pro-life, pro-choice, anti-abortion, death with dignity, etc.). What is CLR's position on all of these terms? ANSWER: The position of CLR is...
Talking About Abortion and God
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources Some people are more concerned about their horizontal relationships (with others and with themselves) than they are about their vertical relationships (with God). To change hearts we must migrate...
Q&A on Abortion and Its Long-Term Effects
QUESTION: A friend of mine had an abortion a few years ago and never seemed bothered by it. Now she is concerned because she may be getting married but is hesitant to tell her boyfriend about her past. Why is she changing her attitude about her decision? ANSWER:...
Abortion Can Hurt Women – One Woman’s Account
Jane Frantz, Freelance Write and Community Columnist for The Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wisconsin As we reflect on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I'd like to share a true story. I only tell it to help people understand that abortion can hurt women and usually causes...
Position Statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod on Abortion
WHEREAS, All people are commanded by God to love their neighbor as they love themselves, and WHEREAS, The Scriptures teach that human life begins at conception (Matthew 1:20, Psalm 51:5, Psalm 139:13-15), and WHEREAS, Each Christian must recognize that abortion is the...
Q&A on Friend Considering Abortion
QUESTION: A friend of mine is unmarried and pregnant. She confided in me that she is considering an abortion. She gave me a long list of reasons why, but I didn’t know how to answer her. Do you have any suggestions? ANSWER: You didn’t list her reasons, but I think I...
My Body, My Choice – Really?
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources The idol of “my rights” continues to wreak havoc on our lives, our families, and our society. The sexual revolution of the sixties decimated social sanctions that rightly reflected the place of...
Abortion Affects All
Stefanie Cox Abortion affects everyone. This includes not only the aborted child and the mother, her family, and her friends, but also the entire country and world. Imagine if the mothers of people such as Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, and Jonas Salk had decided to...
Tragedies, Statistics, and Making a Difference
Rev. Mark Braun In a conversation with U.S. ambassador Averill Harriman, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin allegedly said, “The death of one person is a tragedy; the death of millions is a statistic.” Stalin would seem to be an expert on that subject since his regime is...
It Depends How You Say It
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources When the United States legalized abortion on January 22, 1973, the language changed. No longer was a little one growing and kicking in the womb referred to as a “baby.” Rather, the child was reduced...
CLR Resolution on Abortion Adopted by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)
CLR Resolution on Abortion (Memorial 2011-01U) Adopted by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod – July 28, 2011 WHEREAS 1) the Holy Scriptures clearly testify to a reverence for the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child as both being equal in value,...
Scripture on Life
GOD IS THE CREATOR OF LIFE “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” ~ Genesis 1:27 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully...
January 22: A Sad Milestone
On this date in 1666 Emperor Shah Jahan, a descendant of Genghis Khan died. Not a big deal for most of us except Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his third wife, Arjumand Banu Begum. Despite having multiple wives, Jahan was especially devoted to Begum. In...
Pro-Life Bible References
God is the creator of life Genesis 1:27 - "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them." Job 33:4 - "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." Psalm 95:6 - "Come, let us bow...
The Journey of Forgiveness – A Look at the Abortion Decision
Roe v. Wade seemed like a timely solution to a very big problem in young women’s lives, namely an unwanted pregnancy. What would one “do” with an unplanned baby? In my case, I was unwed and pregnant. At the time, the pregnancy seemed like a bad dream – not to mention...
Is An Objection on Religious Grounds Enough?
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources “The path of least resistance is the path of the loser.” [attributed to H.G. Wells, 1866-1946] We have done it before, and it appears we are poised to do it again. The recent government mandate...
Tell the Truth
By Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director of Christian Life Resources Why Are We Here? Christian Life Resources (CLR) was never a ministry about convincing pro-life people to be pro-life. Though we serve all people, we are doctrinally aligned with the Wisconsin...
Precious Life
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director of Christian Life Resources In a Salon website article dated Jan. 23, 2014, Mary Elizabeth Williams made a shocking acknowledgment: “Here’s the complicated reality in which we live: All life is not equal.” With those words,...
You Can Speak Up on Abortion
1. Some Basics of Good Communication in General The information you present is extremely important. You may talk and talk and speak up about the issues of abortion all your life and never do any good on anybody that you can see anyway. And yet, talk one mother out of...
Abortion: An Update
On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories by permitting a mother to take the life of her unborn child at any time during the pregnancy. This “right” has been exercised more than 63...
Faith and Planned Parenthood
By Robert Fleischmann, National Director of Christian Life Resources In 2015 The Center for Medical Progress secretly video recorded conversations with executives from Planned Parenthood. The topic was the gruesome practice of selling fetal body parts to researchers....
