Josh Benner

Tag: Pro Life

  • New movie looks into Kermit Gosnell and his house of horrors abortion clinic

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    I saw the new movie “Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer” about former Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell who was sentenced to three life sentences for delivering live babies and then murdering them.

    For starters, I think it’s a movie that a pro-life person (such as myself) will like. And I think pro-choice people will sit this one out. I don’t know if I really see minds getting changed as a result of this movie.

    Given Gosnell’s low budget, I thought it was very well done. And while it’ll undoubtedly cater to a largely Christian audience, it’s not a family film (it’s rated PG-13). And the subject matter is difficult as it talks about abortion and Gosnell’s lack of regard for the lives of the babies he murdered.

    You have a man arrested for running an abortion clinic despite the fact that he wasn’t board certified, he had staff doing medical procedures who hadn’t been properly trained. He was working in squalid conditions. The end credits show a picture from the initial law enforcement raid with a stray cat inside the clinic. One of the first scenes of the movie features the investigators going through the clinic and finding body parts of babies discarded in various places, such as refrigerators.

    The man was a butcher. Late term abortions. Doing procedures in an unsanitary environment. Inducing labor and then murdering babies who were born.

    One of the things the movie tries to do is capture the inattention from the media regarding the story at the time. Ironically, that is also true of the movie. It’s not like Gosnell was operating 90 years ago. His clinic was raided in 2011 and he was convicted in 2013.

    Writing for the DailyWire, Matt Walsh points out that Rotten Tomatoes has just six reviews of Gosnell. Walsh offers a key reason as to the lack of attention to Gosnell’s story:

    Any case of illegal abortion will inevitably lead to difficult questions about legal abortion. After all, what is the substantive difference between killing a baby moments after it leaves the birth canal and killing it moments before? How can an advocate of unrestricted abortion become an opponent of infanticide? Any argument offered to justify late-term abortion must also apply to post-term abortion.

    -Matt Walsh, DailyWire

    I think Walsh is right on this point.

    How do we view what Gosnell was doing?

    Was he a crusader who was trying to help women in a poor community? That was part of his defense.

    Or was he a murderer?

    Was what he did technically illegal? Delivering baby and using scissors to snap their necks. Was it technically illegal but not really that different from aborting a baby a few inches further into the birth canal?

    Or is it murder?

    I believe that answer is clear.

    It’s a difficult issue within our larger society. When does one have a right to life? It’s a pretty fundamental question.

    I understand that many people are pro-choice but don’t support late term abortion (although it is legal in some states). But I think the distinctions people try to make are arbitrary. That a baby has a right to life once there’s a heartbeat or once the baby is viable and could survive outside the womb.

    What is it about those stages that inherently confers a right to life?

    From the moment of conception, a baby is distinct from both of the parents and a separate life.

    Gosnell did a little over a million dollars in this opening weekend. I would think the audience was overwhelmingly people who are pro-life. As the Los Angles Times movie review said “The film never loses sight of the choir to which it is plainly preaching.”

    Will this movie be a turning point in the national conversation on abortion? I doubt it.

    But it is a movie that shows these abortions for what they were: murder.

    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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  • 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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  • 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.