Barack Obama on Protecting Life

It has now been a couple of weeks since President Obama assumed the responsibilities of the most powerful position in the land. He has inherited an economy in a downward spiral, a war in a distant land and, in may respects, a divided nation. His task is enormous and he can use our prayers.

President Obama recently set up his White House office on faith-based initiatives. The office will work with nonprofits organizations in order to help them in making a difference in their local communities and be able to utilize government dollars in doing so.

While appearing at the National Prayer Breakfast this week, President Obama commented on this initiative. The Associated Press reports on his comments:

"Obama told the annual National Prayer Breakfast that the program would not show favoritism to any religious group and would adhere to a strict separation of church and state. Addressing the gathering of lawmakers, dignitaries and world leaders, Obama spoke of how faith has often been a divisive tool, responsible for war and prejudice. But, he said, "there is no religion whose central tenet is hate." "There is no god who condones taking the life of an innocent human being," he said, and all religions teach people to love and care for one another. That is the common ground underlying the faith-based office, he said."

Sadly, President Obama fails to extend his belief that "there is no god who condones taking the life an innocent human being" to the unborn. Although there has been much excitement over the election of the first African American president (and rightly so), there has not been equal attention given to how abortion affects the black community in disproportionate rates. According to The Dunamis Word blog, the following numbers are true within the African American community since the enacting of Roe v. Wade in 1973:

• 203,695 people have died of AIDS
• 1,638,350 people have died of CANCER
• 2,266,789 people have died of HEART DISEASE
• 13,000,000 babies have been aborted. This amounts to approximately 1,452 deaths per day.

As I've mentioned before, I believe that abortion is my generation's slavery. It is the depriving of life from innocent human beings. And when I read about stories like this, I am deeply grieved and disturbed. But in a society that continues to legally allow the taking of the life of a baby in a mother's womb, should we be surprised when that life is not valued shortly after taking its first breath? I do believe that the solution to abortion involves programs to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to care for those that choose to give their baby up for adoption. But our government cannot continue to allow for the murder of our most important resource -- our children.