I was watching Super Bowl 50 when a commercial aired that I immediately predicted would stir up many abortion-rights advocates. I was right. The TV spot portrayed an ultrasound of a preborn baby’s excited reaction in the womb to his father’s bag of Doritos. Abortionists criticized the 30 second, multimillion dollar ad for “humanizing” a fetus to a 112-million-person national audience. Either intentionally or unintentionally, Frito-Lay advanced the pro-life cause.
Moira Weigel reluctantly wrote in The Atlantic, “Ultrasound images carried the associations of objectivity typically accorded to the camera…” Indeed. Now, it is common for expectant parents to receive 3D sonogram photos of their preborn baby. The details they show are amazing. When I was emailed such a lifelike image of my granddaughter, I made it her profile picture in our online family tree. She was a real human at 31 prenatal weeks. In fact, she was a live person, even at 1 week in the womb.
Matt Lewis, staff columnist for The Daily Beast, wrote the insightful article, “How Ultrasounds Inspired the Pro-Life Cause: It’s Technology, Stupid”. He keenly observed: “Nobody shares a Facebook picture of their ‘fetus.’ We call it a baby. And once we do, the argument is over.” Truly, a picture is worth a thousand words. Ultrasound technology provides a window to the womb.
As Georgia’s representative on the Ethics and Religious Liberty (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention, I get a glimpse inside what we are doing for the pro-life cause. On October 26, 2021, the ERLC asked if I could recommend a Metro Atlanta pregnancy center for the donation of a new ultrasound machine. Of course, I called Cindy Hughes, Executive Director of Coweta Pregnancy Services (CPS), housed on the campus of First Baptist Church, Newnan, Georgia, where I have been on staff for 15 years.
Cindy told me their current machine was a 13 to 14-year-old demo model which was generously provided by the Georgia Baptist Foundation, some years ago. Like any computer that age, the machine had become outdated. With that information, I recommended CPS to the ERLC for the gift. Shortly thereafter, interviews began between all parties involved.
On December 7, 2021, Cindy called to inform me that CPS had been chosen that day to receive the brand new $100,000 ultrasound machine. Benjamin Watson, a former UGA football player and NFL tight end for the Super Bowl XXXIX Champion New England Patriots, was making this life-saving donation. Cindy is expecting delivery of our ultrasound machine in January 2022.
By the way, January 22, 2023, will mark the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling, which is a significant date for the pro-life movement. The ERLC calls this moment in time “Roe50.” Part of our strategy for this observance is what we call the Psalm 139 Project, an initiative for donors through the ERLC to place 50 ultrasound machines in qualified pregnancy care centers by that anniversary.
The donation of CPS’s new ultrasound machine puts the ERLC over halfway toward hitting our goal of 50. Celebrate this milestone by dropping by CPS to see the machine in our newly expanded facilities. All of this is sovereignly timed with the pending Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization looming on the horizon. Pray for life. Do your part for God’s glory and the saving of lives.
Keep Calm and Carry On was a poster created by the British government to inspire their people before World War II. The placard was intended to encourage the panicked English population during the threat of Nazi air raids. The crown pictured on the top of the poster was meant to give the impression of an
Austin Miles was an amateur photographer. He discovered he could read his Bible in the red lighting of a darkroom. He would often peruse Scripture while he waited for his pictures to develop. On March 1912, while awaiting the photo developing process to finish, Miles picked up his Bible. It fell open to John 20.
Demonization (Part 2) Mark 5:11-20 This is the second blog in my series on “Demonization” from Mark 5. Last month’s post covered verses 1-10 from the same chapter. This month’s blog is from verses 11-20. Here, we see three significant “departures” on the same date in Jesus’ encounter with this demoniac who was possessed by
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