Mississippi pro-lifers intervene

Editor's note:

C. Roy McMillan is the director of Christian Action Group of Mississippi where he has been active in the pro-life movement for many years. He has spent a total of two years in incarceration, and has been arrested more than 60 times and charged variously in the courts during the course of his pro-life activities. McMillan can be found most any day of the week within sight of the last abortion provider in the state of Mississippi. Found naked and abandoned at birth in a shoe box on the steps of a church, McMillan says that he bears a "burden from God" to advocate the cause of unborn babies and their mothers. His wife, Dr. Beverly McMillan, was the founder of the very first abortion clinic in Mississippi in the 1970s. Having since experienced a Christian conversion, and ceased the practice of abortion, she is a frequent speaker at churches and conferences.

 Pro-lifers intervene in abortion holocaust

In Mississippi there remains but one abortion centre, down from a high of seven just twelve years ago. In 2001, the last year Mississippi’s Department of Health gave abortion statistics, there were 3566 abortions reported, a drop from a peak of 8184 in 1991. What happened that a state so long vilified by Hollywood, academics, feminists, and activists should become so favorable to life? It came about because of a broad interference on the part of pro-life Christians to broadly counteract the abortion industry throughout the state. My wife, Beverly McMillan MD – a former abortionist – and I have been players in this crusade to end abortion.

Four areas or front in the campaign to end abortion can be identified in which pro-lifers have been involved in battling the culture of death, saving lives from abortion now, changing laws and judicial decisions that sanction abortion, and changing public opinion. These areas are: 1) Public education and awareness, 2) Political/Legislative action, 3) Alternatives to abortion, and 4) Public awareness through street-action. While my wife and I, and the Christian Action Group of Mississippi of which I am president, have been active in all of these areas, we have been most involved in the fourth. I liken this four-prong assault on abortion to a four-legged stool that must have a cover; that cover is prayer. Our prayers interfere with the Satan’s plans when we ask for God’s guidance, blessings, and protection of our humble efforts.

Public education and awareness

People perish through the absence of the truth. Through the efforts of Pro-Life Mississippi, as well as other groups such as churches, we have interrupted the two biggest lies of the pro-abortion forces, i.e. that abortion does not kill, and that abortion is good for pregnant women. Of course, abortion kills life after conception. This is a fact. Nor is abortion good or healthy for pregnant mothers, physically, emotionally, or spirituality.

Through the use of visual aids, we have made public the connection between life in utero and post utero by using photographs of pre-born, aborted, and born babies. We have pursued civil and criminal law suits against abortuaries and abortionists, while also seeking incriminating information on this murderous industry. We have publicized these facts to the general public, lawmakers, and public health protectors. We have educated and reminded the Christian community at every opportunity that God speaks in the Bible of the presence of unborn human life and of our responsibility individually, collectively, and through the civil government to protect human life and to provide for one another.

Political/Legislative action

Mississippi has laws in place that are among the friendliest in the nation to both fetuses and their mothers. Mississippi lawmakers would ban abortion if allowed to do so by the Federal courts.

Through the years, Mississippi’s pro-life movement has help to enact fourteen pro-life laws. Among the achievements of the movement has been in fostering the following: 1) Parental consent: Mississippi is one of but two states in the Union that require both parents to consent for their minor daughter to seek an abortion; 2) a 24-hour waiting period for the mother before an abortion may be obtained. Pregnant mother must wait 24 hours after having been counseled before submitting to an abortion; 3) a ban on second and third-trimester abortions: abortions after 13 weeks of life in utero are banned at abortuaries in order to safeguard the health of the mothers; 4) no public funding of abortion, nor can abortions be performed in state-run facilities; 5) the advocacy of abortion by public employees is forbidden; 6) the reporting of abortion complications to the state health department is mandated; 7) Fetal Homicide: this classifies the termination of unborn human life as murder, except as allowed by the Roe v. Wade decision; 8) Conscience clause for health workers: health-care workers may not be forced to participate in abortion or in the provision of abortifacent services; 9) Mississippians can purchase automobile license plates bearing the “Choose Life” slogan. Of the $35 surcharge paid for these plates, $30 goes to the numerous privately-operated crisis pregnancy centers.

Public awareness through street-action

Counseling pregnant mothers as they are preparing to enter the abortuaries in Mississippi has been the major focal point for street-action. As many as 10,000 babies have been rescued by the efforts of these street-side counselors, who have also saved souls and helped to foster changes in the lifestyles of those contemplating abortions.

It has been our attempt over the more than 20 years of time-consuming efforts by the pro-life movement to bear witness at the abortuaries while encouraging others to join us whenever these abortion mills are open – especially while they are performing abortions. The babies rescued by us result in a net loss of $400 each to the abortion industry. By my estimate, this has meant a direct loss of over $4 million overall to the abortion industry. Many more dollars have been lost to the abortion industry through the efforts of volunteers at crisis pregnancy centers in Mississippi and indirectly by those involved in public education and political action.

In addition to sidewalk counseling at abortuaries, other street-action sponsored by pro-lifers has been sit-ins, public demonstrations (e.g. commemoration of the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision), prayer vigils, Face-the-Truth campaigns, and Life Chains. All of these group events have inspired pro-lifers to continue their work in an effort to institute a culture of life. These actions have been covered widely by the secular media.

The solution: Solidarity/Fidelity with the victims

Through my many years of laboring in the vineyards of life, I have been asked frequently “What is the solution?” The answer is simple; accomplishing the goal is difficult. The answer is: solidarity and fidelity with the victims. The victims are the mothers and their children. The closer we can come to the exploited and murdered, the sooner the killing will end. Our Lord Jesus Christ told us to carry our crosses just as He willingly carried His cross for us as a convicted criminal – rescuing us from eternal death.

We provide alternatives to abortion, mindful as we are that it is never permissible for Christians to condemn an act without offering God’s perfect plan. More than two dozen privately-operated (Christian charity organizations) have sprung up all over Mississippi to offer safety, counseling and assistance to pregnant women in need. The deaths brought about by abortion have called Christians to go forth to aid pregnant mothers, as well as their friends and families, to accept and love their offspring. When a seed dies, life then germinates.

These centers do not condemn mothers for the choices they made in becoming pregnant, but help mothers in their time of crisis. The centers also help mothers to break out of the life-styles that cause the demand for abortion while also counseling the parents of aborted babies to overcome the heartache of loss. Since many abortions are actually repeat-abortions, these efforts help destroy the cycle of abortion and single-parenthood that grips our nation.

A personal reflection

I bear a super-natural burden for the babies, and their mothers, who we try to save. I believe that this super-natural burden came to me at birth from God.