Josh Benner

Tag: Abortion

  • Heartwarming reunion of father and son: just because someone’s life will be different doesn’t mean it’s unworthy of being lived

    A video has gone viral this week featuring a California man’s emotional reunion with his father. Matt Cobrink is 53 years old and has Down syndrome. He recently went on a cross country trip to see the New York Yankees and his favorite player, Aaron Judge. This meant that Matt had to be away from his father for almost a week. This separation has been a rare occurrence in the 25 years since Matt’s mother died.

    When they landed, his sister recorded video of Matt’s pure joy when he finally was reunited with his 88 year old father, Malcolm. His father asks him how the trip was, and that’s a secondary question in Matt’s excitement. It’s a heartwarming video.

    I see the love between this father and son, and I’m filled with joy of seeing the special bond that they have. Sadly, in many parts of the world, this scene might not happen. Fetuses with Down syndrome are often aborted.

    In 2016, there were just four live births of babies with Down syndrome in Denmark. It’s also true of Iceland to the point where Down syndrome births are almost eliminated. Prenatal genetic testing can reveal risk factors and in some countries, the decision to abort the baby is happens almost 100 percent of the time.

    It’s a tragedy.

    There are some things that a person with Down syndrome won’t accomplish that might be goals for others. But that doesn’t mean that their lives aren’t worth living. We shouldn’t discriminate against people based on the conditions of someone’s birth, because their life is still a precious thing. Down syndromes lives matter too.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

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  • Oregon conviction shows arbitrariness of abortion laws

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    I was listening to the BreakPoint podcast today and they told the story of an Oregon couple who was just sentenced to six years in prison for the death of their daughter, Ginnifer.

    The baby was prematurely born at 32 weeks and died several hours later of complications which were treatable. The parents are members of a Pentecostal church that relies on praying and faith healing and did not seek medical attention.

    This is truly tragic. This little girl should be alive today. The parents were rightly prosecuted and that they acted immorally and inappropriately.

    In the BreakPoint commentary, John Stonestreet sums up the frustration well:

    Now let me be clear, the Mitchells were rightly prosecuted for allowing their baby girl to die, even though they prayed for her to live. But had they wanted to kill Ginnifer, they could have driven to the nearest abortion clinic an hour before her birth—and get this—the state of Oregon would have paid for it.

    This is the issue. Ginnifer was born March 5, 2017. Her parents could have had her aborted earlier in that day. As Stonestreet points out, it would have been paid for by the state and would have been perfectly legal.

    Why do babies so often have no rights until they’re born?

    The hypocrisy and irrationality of these standards carries over into states that have feticide laws (laws in regards to legal recourse when a person’s actions result in the death of a fetus). 38 states recognize situations where a fetus is killed as homicide (unless it’s aborted and then it’s legally allowed).

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

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  • Tomi Lahren swings and misses on abortion

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    Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons @Gage Skidmore

    Life is bigger than politics.

     

    This weekend, Fox News pundit Tomi Lahren (a woman who’s generally conservative-libertarian but who happens to be pro choice) argued that abortion isn’t a battle worth fighting.

    In her argument, Lahren says that conservatives lose on social issues. I think this is part of the failure of her argument. The life of an unborn baby is not a “social issue.” It’s a fundamental right that the child has.

    She argues that a challenge on Roe vs Wade is unlikely to succeed. That might be true. But does that mean it’s not worth trying?

    I don’t think Lahren gets it because she’s. not. pro. life. She’s pro choice and she’s also looking at the issue from a political perspective, what’s expedient, what’ll help get votes.

    The argument I find most troubling is that Lahren argues that “it’s not the government’s place to dictate.” It’s not the government’s place to dictate? The government necessarily has to dictate some things with this issue. For instance, for Miss Lahren, at what point is an abortion no longer justified? And who decides that?

    If she feels like it’s not the government’s role, wouldn’t a better answer be to leave it up to the states? It’s not like a reversal of Roe would make abortion illegal or dictate to everyone what they can or cannot do.

    But I return to my point that the lives of the unborn are worth fighting for. Political popularity doesn’t dictate what’s moral.

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

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  • Major step forward for pro-life movement as Iowa passes heartbeat bill

    DcYNoxhVwAAUDilYesterday, Iowa governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law that will ban most abortions in that state. The law, which passed the Iowa house 51-46 .

    The new law will ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected (roughly six weeks into gestation). This is the most restrictive abortion law on the books in the country. Some women don’t even realize they’re pregnant prior to six weeks. This new law gives a very short window when a pregnancy could e terminated in Iowa.

    This law is facing backlash and criticism from abortion advocates.

    NARAL Pro-Choice America president Ilyse Hogue said that it was “a sad day for women and families in Iowa”

    In an official statement, governor Reynolds:

    “I believe that all innocent life is precious and sacred, and as governor, I pledged to do everything in my power to protect it…I understand that not everyone will agree with this decision. But if death is determined when a heart stops beating, then doesn’t a beating heart indicate life? For me, it is immoral to stop an innocent beating heart. For me, it is sickening to sell fetal body parts. For me, my faith leads me to protect every Iowan, no matter how small.”

    The law will undeniably face legal challenges and could potentially go before the supreme court.

    I applaud the Iowa governor of Iowa and the state’s legislature as they make a law that will protect unborn babies in their state.

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

  • Are evangelicals making a mistake on abortion laws?

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    Statehouse of Ohio

    I’m pro-life. I believe life begins at conception. At the moment of conception, a fertilized ova is genetically distinct from both of the parents.

    My home state, Ohio, has a proposed bill that would totally ban abortion.

    The nation is roughly evenly split on being pro-life vs pro choice. There is also a lot of nuance within both of those positions. For instance, most people who are pro-choice are not proponents of late term abortions. And most people who are pro-life are not pro-life is an absolute where they think there’s never a circumstance in which an abortion is morally justified.

    It’s interesting as I’ve seen my camp (the conservative evangelical camp) approach this issue.

    With the question of constitutionality, if Ohio’s bill were passed and signed into law, I am seeing pro-life Christians arguing as to why it would be constitutional. Others are arguing that even if it were unconstitutional, who cares about the courts, and that the state should just ignore it for the sake of protecting life (not saying I disagree with that sentiment).

    I think this is the wrong starting place.

    It doesn’t matter if it would be constitutional or not. Because no state would pass a law where abortion were legally viewed as tantamount to murder. Even among pro-life people, that view is a minority.

    The idea that states can simply ban it, when there is no ban, when most people favor it in certain circumstances, as moral as the suggestion might be, what’s morally right is not always realistically passable.

    I think this “all or nothing approach” overlooks the real efforts that lawmakers are working on in states all over the country. 41 states have passed laws where there must be a licensed doctor providing the procedure. 42 states have passed laws that limit when an abortion can happen within a pregnancy.

    More work needs to be done. I’m not saying this is ideal. I’m not saying the current laws are good. I’m just saying that as much as Christians (myself included) might want more laws to protect the lives of the unborn, that we also need to be pragmatic in pursuing something that is an uphill battle and that millions of people disagree with. That millions of people see as a right. All victories for the pro-life movement are hard fought.

    Even if a total ban were proposed, it would likely be struck down (an Ohio law banning abortions on fetuses with downs syndrome was put on hold last week). And even if the state chose to ignore a court ruling, you would still need to find a jury of 12 people who would convict a doctor or a mother for having an abortion?

    We need to keep beating the drum, educating people that life truly does begin at conception. We need to make sure that the necessary programs have the sufficient funding to support a baby that goes up for adoption. We need to keep chipping away at the laws.

    To think an all out ban could pass is to be divorced from reality.

    Once again, I’m pro-life, I feel that a baby has a right to be born and to live. It’s a child created in the image of God. And it’s tragic.

    But it’s a sinful and fallen world, and we can’t always accomplish everything we want in one fell swoop.

    I feel like these attempts are trying to sprint a marathon.

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.