25 centimetres

An Open Letter To Christians in NZ

Written by Alan Vink

Dear Brothers and Sisters

This is the distance a baby travels from inside the womb to outside. That’s right, just 25 cms or 10 inches…..less than one foot. During those 25 cms the baby’s location and environment is changed forever. For most every parent this moment of birth is one of life’s very special moments having been anticipated for some nine months when that little life began its development. One life – two locations. After four children of my own, holding countless babies when I was a Pastor and observing at close hand my eleven grandchildren being born I still marvel at the incredible ‘miracle’ God has made.

Why write this? Why state the obvious?

Because once again the life of thousands of future babies (and the wellbeing of their Mothers) is ‘hanging in the balance’. In 2018 the reported abortions in NZ were 13,282 OR 36 every day OR 255 every week.

The Labour Government has undertaken a radical move to reform NZ’s abortion law. The Bill introduced at the beginning of August this year, sets in motion a process which will potentially legalise abortion on demand up to birth with very few restrictions. It’s quite frankly unthinkable.

And here is the great irony. Yesterday a new report from The Mental Health Foundation told us that the suicides in NZ are still rising in number and everyone is deeply concerned about this including our PM. So much so that millions of dollars of government money are being allocated to solve this horrible state of affairs. Why, because life is precious and no one should take it away. Yet, last year the lives of 13,282 babies were taken…..dare I say it……..intentionally killed.

Brothers and Sisters, this is fundamentally ‘our’ issue. It is a Christian issue NOT a political issue. Government’s are qualified to make laws (and the Law Commission is there to advise on law making) but neither groups are theologians or scientists. And the truth is that both the Bible and science attest to the fact that at the moment of conception life starts. An unborn baby is as much a human being as a brand new baby that has just been born. The child has simply changed location. One life – two locations.

If the unborn are NOT human beings, then no justification for abortion is necessary. If the unborn ARE human beings, then no justification for abortion is adequate or reasonable, not now, not ever.

Secondly, hiding behind ‘hard cases’ is never a reason to justify something as right when it is fundamentally wrong. It’s true there are hard cases. Fortunately they make a very very small number of all the pregnancies in any given year. When these situations arise they deserve our deepest compassion and given enormous support and care with the best counselling available that begins with a pro-life position.

I am calling today on all Pastors to please consider addressing this issue on a Sunday morning within the next few weeks. You don’t necessarily need an entire sermon to do this. A well presented 10 minute talk can get the job done. Please remember this is first and foremost a biblical issue. Perhaps make available to your people the many superb resources now available including showing Dr MacLean’s personal testimony. See below.

I am calling on all Christians to do something to have your voice heard. See below for list of resources and action steps.

I am calling on the Government to please ‘stop’ this review for now and take the time to re-consider. I am asking every Politician (and Journalist for that matter) to read a pro-life, peer reviewed paper on abortion AND the impact of abortion on young mothers (and fathers). I’m asking that you would all go and see the movie, ‘Unplanned’. This movie is a gift to us and it’s timing is perfect.

I am calling on all of us to please consider this issue very carefully, to read a few reliable papers, to look at some pictures, to go and see the movie, ‘UNPLANNED’, and then to pray that God will turn the tide in our day from a culture of death to a culture of life.

Yours for Life

Alan

Resources

• The Gospel Coalition has a number of excellent articles. Go to www.thegospelcoalition.org and search ‘abortion’.
• Family First.
• Family Life International
• Dr Norman MacLean an O & G Specialist in NZ shares his personal experience of performing about 200 abortions. 17 minutes of compelling footage that is disturbing to say the least.

Action Steps

• Be Informed and be prayerful.
• Go and watch the movie, Unplanned OR organise a viewing yourself. See the Trailer here.
• Make a submission to the select committee by the 19th September. A guide to making a submission can be found here.
• Go and talk to your MP’s and kindly but clearly let them know your viewpoint.

Alan Vink is currently the Executive Director for LeadershipWorx. Prior to this role he has been the Executive Director of Willow Creek Association NZ (WillowNZ), a Baptist pastor (23 years), Bible College teacher, and church consultant.