Attacking Abortion Clinics Is Not the Pro-Life Answer
Police on Thursday arrested a man who said he opposed abortion—and charged him with breaking into an Indiana Planned Parenthood clinic and causing extensive damage with an ax, according to a Reuters report.
“Benjamin Curell, 27, of Ellettsville was charged with felony burglary and criminal mischief. Police said they found Curell at about 3:50 a.m. inside the building after he allegedly damaged equipment with an ax and splashed red paint,” the Reuters story explained.
“Curell said he targeted Planned Parenthood because it performs abortions and that his religious beliefs were behind the attack, according to a police statement. Police said Curell did not elaborate on his religious beliefs.”
Curell’s ax attack was the third violent incident against an abortion clinic in the last 18 months. In April 2012, a small explosive device was detonated outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in central Wisconsin, Reuters reported, and four months earlier the American Family Planning Clinic in Pensacola, Fla. was destroyed by a Molotov cocktail.
Abortion is one of the most violent acts against humankind one can imagine. But responding with violence is not the answer. A wise old Southern man once warned me not to swap railing for railing. The apostle Peter put it this way: “Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing” (1 Pet. 3:9).
Believe me, I stand against abortion in all its forms and at any stage. But those who murder abortionists or otherwise attack abortion clinics have allowed evil to overcome them. This is not God’s way.
Sadly, people who commit violence in the name of defending life are giving in to the frustration of injustice instead of turning to the God of justice in prayer for a prophetic strategy to combat this evil. I can assure you, God is not telling people to murder abortionists, blow up abortion clinics—or even attack them with an ax. Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
That doesn’t mean we bring a hot lunch to the abortionist at noontime. It doesn’t mean we bless their murderous acts in the abortion mills. It means we get out there and do good works. It means we pray for an end to abortion. It means we educate the masses, respectfully, about personhood. It means we endeavor to change the culture of a nation.
I ask you, if the gay agenda can change the culture, why can’t the pro-life movement? We can. But it’s not by throwing Molotov cocktails. It’s by speaking the truth in love and adding to our faith works that respect all life—even the lives of those who murder babies for profit.
Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also director of Bound4LIFE Fort Lauderdale. You can email Jennifer at [email protected] or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.
