Brothers and sisters,

Today is a day that I have prayed for since the mid 1990’s.  

When I was young and first learned about Roe vs. Wade and the consequence of legal abortion of unborn children in our nation, my heart broke.  I was only a young teenager at that time, but I knew that this was something that was far from the Lord’s intent.  

When I worked toward my bachelor’s and masters’ degrees in Medical Biology years later, I took a number of courses respective to genetics, human embryology and development.  The calculated precision of the beginnings of life were fascinating to me and only further cemented my belief and worship of our Creator for His amazing design.  Yet at this same time, I learned of the horrors of what abortion actually is and the exact procedures by which these unborn children were killed and removed from their mothers.  It is enough to sicken even the most fervent of horror movie watchers.  

In the last decade, I have had the opportunity to speak to women who have either had an abortion or thought heavily about having one, and the emotional and spiritual pain that they faced with this decision.  There is no question in my mind, abortion is not an easy decision for the vast majority.  But, so many are misled into believing it to be a viable ‘way out’ after being pregnant.  The short term decision nearly always creates a lifelong struggle of mental anguish and regret.  It is enough to bring any of us to tears.

As I said, I have been praying for the Lord’s hand to reverse the allowance of abortion via the 1973 Supreme Court ruling known as Roe vs. Wade, and upheld and somewhat strengthened in the 1992 ruling known as Casey vs. Planned Parenthood.  I know that many of us have especially been praying in earnest since the filing of Dobbs vs. Jackson.

Today, June 24, 2022, is a day where the Lord has answered many of our prayers.  With this decision, tens of thousands of abortions will not take place.

HOWEVER – this is not the finish line.  In fact, I would argue that today is a starting line for a new race.  This new race is not to overturn a fault Supreme Court decision, but it is a race to fight for the mothers, fathers and children that will be affected by this law and ensure the most positive outcomes.

Our new fight must be to strengthen families, support mothers who are looking to deliver, and support the many young families that will be created.  We must support them with all that we have as the Lord instructs us to support those less fortunate than us.  We must celebrate the choice of life, while coming alongside those who make this choice by helping them to build the life that we know they need and want.  

In addition, I believe there must be a renewed fight to show that sex before marriage is not what the Lord intends, and that abstinence before marriage is the ideal path toward purity and proper reflection of God’s intent for each of us, male and female alike.  To this extent, we have a huge mountain in front of us…driven largely by mass media, social media, and our culture.  

When we can fight for the viability and sustainability of the family, we do so as a direct reflection of the relationship of Jesus and the Church.  We must fight for loving, positive, nuclear families where the child is loved and all are supported by fellow brothers and sisters who want the best for them.

This starts with each of us.  The effort will take all of us.  But praise the Lord for the opportunity to show love and compassion on those around us!  And lastly, please be in prayer for our nation in the wake of this Supreme Court ruling.  God bless you all.

Ryan Kelly
President
American Christian Association