In 2006, a woman named Rozelletta Blackshire was arrested in Georgia and charged with criminal abortion and first degree cruelty to children. Why? According to police, she and her two cousins had forced her 16-year-old pregnant daughter to drink turpentine in order to force an abortion. Pregnancy should not be a threat to women.

In recent articles, we've addressed how the very presence of legal abortion in society disempowers women, and recent studies show that up to 70% of women who have abortions feel at least somewhat coerced or pressured into the decision. However, while boyfriends and family are common sources of this pressure, they aren't the only ones. The abortion industry itself—paragon of "choice" that it is—is sometimes guilty of pressuring women into abortion.

Let’s face it. The unseen forces of evil are all around us. And because of sin, they always have been. And always will be. Prudence dictates that we don’t allow evil unnecessary opportunities to strike. We cannot be fully protected. But we can act wisely to protect those we love.

In the Bible, Judges 21:25, we read that when there was no king (authority) in the land of Israel, everyone “did what was right in their own eyes,” meaning lawlessness became the norm. Sounds like America today! Lawlessness is the antithesis of God, for He created order in the universe; and that order is beneficial! Mankind’s lawlessness originated with Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden (“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and all sin is lawlessness,” I John 3:4 NKJV).

As Christians, we have the amazing freedom of coming before the throne of the Almighty, Holy, Omnipresent, All-Powerful Creator of the universe to petition Him in prayer – without being destroyed – because of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. It’s an incredible privilege, and what’s more, we’re told in James 5:16b that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Prayer is powerful because we are talking to a powerful God. As we wrestle against “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12), prayer is one of the strongest weapons we have.

Four principles of manhood that our society is attacking vigorously: #1: Men are to take dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28). This was included in God's first set of commands to Adam and still remains a central imperative for men today. On the contrary, our culture provides little support for men who are serious about exercising dominion over what God has placed under their control, and instead provides many escapes from a man's true obligations.

It was a Lifeway Research report earlier this spring that “triggered” my interest on church security. Most of us in the faith community seem to go about our weekly church business not too concerned about safety at our house of worship. Fortunately, others take this quite seriously. Church security is a broader topic than one might think. I recall my membership in a Dallas megachurch in the 1980s where building and parking garage security was a must. Occasional visits from relatively non-threatening types often needed to be escorted from the premises. Even the pastor had a personal security detail present before and after services. Times have changed.

What exactly is a financial abortion? Think about it this way: if a medical abortion is a woman's way to escape the burden of motherhood, then a financial abortion is a man's way to escape the burden of fatherhood. Advocates for financial abortion argue that a father should be able to decide whether or not to assume the legal rights and responsibilities to care for the child he fathered if the woman gives birth. And, if the father decides to decline the opportunity in a timely manner, he is off the hook for paying child support.

The decision striking down Roe v. Wade has led to shrill outcries by providers of in vitro fertilization & surrogacy. Both are lucrative, high-growth commercial industries enjoying increasing demand, thanks in part to rising infertility & late pregnancy among folk in income brackets able to pay for these services. Many of those involved in this industry are alarmed that their “market growth” & profitability are threatened by abortion restrictions & are willing to publicly say so.

In a recent article, I addressed the claim that abortion gives women the power to avoid a family burden when they don’t want it. I showed the other side of the story that is rarely, if ever, mentioned: accessible abortion strips women of the power to demand family security when they need it. Drawing analysis from a 1994 study co-authored by the current (pro-choice) U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, I explained how an industry based on "choice" doesn't always give that choice to the mother.

People who’ve been around the State Capitol a while – 10, 20, or even 30 years – experienced a “first” last session. These insiders had seen lots of legislation over the years. Hundreds of thousands of pieces of legislation, in fact. And some legislation bordered on silly. Such as requiring Illinois citizens to wear blue on Mondays. Well, that was never proposed, but you get the idea. Just by sheer numbers, by default there have been some bills that would be considered laughable.

Can you name the famed characters of Looney Tunes? Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Barnyard Dawg, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Porky Pig, etc. And a personal favorite…Bugs Bunny. Their antics were crazy. Even…looney. The word “looney” has an ample number of synonyms. Silly. Stupid. Crazy. Even the softer "strange.” Our world is rampant today with looney-ness.

On July 13, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its approval of Opill, a form of birth control to be sold over the counter – no prescription needed. Opill will become available for purchase in early 2024. The FDA...

If you keep wondering how bad laws get made in Illinois, SB 1909 is a very good example. Yes, pundits have always compared law-making to sausage-making – a messy and unsavory process. But lawmaking in Illinois has reached a whole new level of butchery as a way to disguise or mask the quality of their work – it is so different from your “normal” backroom deals (which still happen, by the way).

The pro-life movement is rightly focused on preventing abortions. Sometimes this leads us to gloss over root causes. But – what is the driving factor behind a lot of abortions? And is there something we can do to address it? Enter Scott Phelps, the Executive Director of A&M Partnerships. His approach to the pro-life battle is entirely different, borne from a desire to do something to “save the babies,” plus a series of curious events (which in my humble opinion, could be taken as the Lord’s direction).