Unfortunately over the last several days, the California Assembly and the Senate voted to mandate that all private and public health insurance plans cover abortions with no co-pays or deductibles. The votes for SB 245 came after the bill was stalled last summer in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The vote occurred along party lines with Democrats voting yes and Republicans voting no, except for one lone Democrat, Assemblyman Ken Cooley, who voted no. (Watch the lack of a debate on the bill on the Assembly floor)
California’s capitol continues to be a place where children are seen as a hindrance to personal happiness, not the blessing from God that they are. It is especially tragic that legislators want to incentivize the poor to kill their children instead of incentivizing them to raise families.
Sadly, even though no Republican voted for the bill, not one pro-life legislator in either house stood to defend the unborn or voice their opposition to abortion when the bill was debated on the Assembly or Senate floors. Pro-abortion legislators who support SB 245 passionately argued that “abortion care is healthcare,” while pro-life legislators sat and said nothing about the killing of unborn children. How are Christian voters supposed to interpret that behavior?
Have California’s Christian pro-life legislators given up trying to change minds and hearts on the issue of abortion in our halls of power? In the past, I have seen them speak passionately about the pro-life cause when they speak in our churches and at our marches. I have seen them speak out for the value of human life in committee and on the floor. But fear, weariness and discouragement might be overtaking them. We all need to trust the scriptures that encourage us not to bet “weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9.
It is easy to think silence doesn’t cause anyone harm especially when those you are speaking to seem so resistant to changing their minds. Maybe our pro-life legislators are thinking, “What’s the point? No one will change their minds based on what I say.” They might be right, but their silence can also send a message they did not intend. A message that says, “I don’t really care that much about protecting the unborn. I’m not going to fight you on this issue, so go ahead and do whatever you want.”
And that is exactly what is happening in California. Despite already having some of the most pro-abortion laws in the world, state legislators recently introduced a bill to expand the killing of babies past the moment of birth. AB 2333 legalizes infanticide. (Read bill details here) Will pro-life legislators speak out now? Will pastors? Will pro-life Californians remain silent while the state legislators try to legalize the killing of newborns? I hope not. I pray not.
I do not think God is done with California, but we all need to be His ambassadors for the value of human life wherever He has placed us. We need to speak up and act as God’s representative even when the odds are against us. Especially when the odds are against us.
SB 245 now goes to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk, where he is expected to sign the legislation.
