Bonnie Chernin
Progressivism vs. progress
By Bonnie Chernin
In 1970 when abortion was legalized in New York State, a New York Post Louis Harris poll showed that 71% of Jews were in favor of abortion. A recent Pew Research poll found that 83% of American Jews want abortion to remain legal while a 2016 Gallup poll showed that 76% of American Jews find abortion morally acceptable.
So what has changed since 1970? If anything, among American secular Jews, abortion support has not diminished but has grown more pronounced and stronger. These same polls show similar shifts of abortion support among other religious groups as well. However, by and large abortion receives wide support in the secular Jewish community in numbers and percentages above that of other religious groups.
Dr. Eli Schussheim, eminent Israeli surgeon and director of EFRAT-C.R.I.B. in Israel, expressed his views on the New York abortion law, known as the RHA Act, passed earlier this year. The RHA codifies Roe v. Wade into state law for all nine months of pregnancy. Dr. Schussheim commented:
"This law in New York State is the same as the law we have in Israel. The Jews received the Torah from G-d and were commanded to teach it to the nations. Israeli law supports this. Many of the leaders in this horrible push to legalize the murder of babies are Jewish. If this is what we do how can we expect the nations to do any better?"
Indeed. But progressivism is not about doing better, it's about doing whatever their adherents want however immoral their acts may be, and forcing their views on the rest of us. In fact, what makes progressivism so ironic is that as a movement it has not kept up with progress. Over the past nearly five decades we have seen amazing advancements in fetal medicine and scientific research that prove the humanity of the unborn child, from the moment of conception. The unborn child has his or her own DNA, and the baby's heart starts beating at 18 days after conception with her own blood! Facts like these were not known in 1973 when Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court. The theme of the 2019 March For Life was "Unique From Day One."
Fetal medicine has made outstanding progress, treating conditions prenatally that could not be treated in the past, such as spina bifida. Read this mother's beautiful account of her son little Kai, who was diagnosed prenatally with a rare genetic disorder, Amniotic Band Syndrome. Rather than pressure her into an abortion, her doctor gave her hope and performed experimental miracle surgery on her unborn son. From her story on Save the 1:
"The next morning, Dr. Belfort explained that no one had ever performed surgery on an unborn child this young, but that same day, when I was at 19 weeks gestationally, we were blessed to have this record-breaking experimental fetal surgery which saved our child's life!"
This is progress, not progressivism. The pro-abortion radicals on the left who support killing babies at any time for any reason remain mired in the 1900s. We've moved on to the 21st century, and so has medicine. This is one reason people's hearts and minds are changing from a pro-abortion viewpoint to a pro-life viewpoint. The facts and evidence are there.
We will not win the abortion war through civil laws, but by raising consciousness and awareness in our communities with accurate pro-life information, education and resources.
© Bonnie Chernin
November 24, 2019
In 1970 when abortion was legalized in New York State, a New York Post Louis Harris poll showed that 71% of Jews were in favor of abortion. A recent Pew Research poll found that 83% of American Jews want abortion to remain legal while a 2016 Gallup poll showed that 76% of American Jews find abortion morally acceptable.
So what has changed since 1970? If anything, among American secular Jews, abortion support has not diminished but has grown more pronounced and stronger. These same polls show similar shifts of abortion support among other religious groups as well. However, by and large abortion receives wide support in the secular Jewish community in numbers and percentages above that of other religious groups.
Dr. Eli Schussheim, eminent Israeli surgeon and director of EFRAT-C.R.I.B. in Israel, expressed his views on the New York abortion law, known as the RHA Act, passed earlier this year. The RHA codifies Roe v. Wade into state law for all nine months of pregnancy. Dr. Schussheim commented:
"This law in New York State is the same as the law we have in Israel. The Jews received the Torah from G-d and were commanded to teach it to the nations. Israeli law supports this. Many of the leaders in this horrible push to legalize the murder of babies are Jewish. If this is what we do how can we expect the nations to do any better?"
Indeed. But progressivism is not about doing better, it's about doing whatever their adherents want however immoral their acts may be, and forcing their views on the rest of us. In fact, what makes progressivism so ironic is that as a movement it has not kept up with progress. Over the past nearly five decades we have seen amazing advancements in fetal medicine and scientific research that prove the humanity of the unborn child, from the moment of conception. The unborn child has his or her own DNA, and the baby's heart starts beating at 18 days after conception with her own blood! Facts like these were not known in 1973 when Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court. The theme of the 2019 March For Life was "Unique From Day One."
Fetal medicine has made outstanding progress, treating conditions prenatally that could not be treated in the past, such as spina bifida. Read this mother's beautiful account of her son little Kai, who was diagnosed prenatally with a rare genetic disorder, Amniotic Band Syndrome. Rather than pressure her into an abortion, her doctor gave her hope and performed experimental miracle surgery on her unborn son. From her story on Save the 1:
"The next morning, Dr. Belfort explained that no one had ever performed surgery on an unborn child this young, but that same day, when I was at 19 weeks gestationally, we were blessed to have this record-breaking experimental fetal surgery which saved our child's life!"
This is progress, not progressivism. The pro-abortion radicals on the left who support killing babies at any time for any reason remain mired in the 1900s. We've moved on to the 21st century, and so has medicine. This is one reason people's hearts and minds are changing from a pro-abortion viewpoint to a pro-life viewpoint. The facts and evidence are there.
We will not win the abortion war through civil laws, but by raising consciousness and awareness in our communities with accurate pro-life information, education and resources.
© Bonnie Chernin
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