Abortion: a ‘family value?’
According to the New York Times and a North Carolina clinic director, abortion is also a ‘moral good’ and a ‘religious’ one
CHARLOTTE, N.C. —The Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court ruling that was handed down on June 24, 2022 and which overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal on demand, is perhaps a sign that America is getting back on the right track leading to the value of all human life.
Yet, Calla Hales thinks differently about the Supreme Court’s decision. Hales is the executive director of A Preferred Women’s Health Center, a clinic that provides abortion care in Charlotte, N.C. in addition to other southern U.S. cities.
A New York Times column quoted Hales as saying that abortion is “not only a family value for us, it’s also a religious choice.” Jessica Grose, the New York Times reporter who interviewed Hales, further reported Hales to say, “I have been really able to embrace Judaism as an adult and an abortion provider.” Grose quoted Hales as saying, “‘In our minds and religion and values,’ reproductive choice is ‘not just a moral good, it’s a religious law.’”
Judge Phil Ginn, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES, www.ses.edu), commented, “The ‘Oxford Languages’ defines the word absurdity as ‘the quality of being ridiculous or wildly unreasonable.’ Among the synonyms for absurdity, are words like ‘ludicrous,’ ‘illogical,’ ‘insanity,’ and, my favorite, ‘tomfoolery.’
“Sometimes when you think you’ve heard about everything there is to hear, the New York Times comes along to let us know that the act of abortion is really a ‘family value.’ Not only that, but quoting Cala Hales, the executor director of Preferred Women’s Health Center here in Charlotte, N.C. (the hometown of SES), it can be a religious one as well. Ms. Hales, who happens to be Jewish, opined that, ‘I have been really able to embrace Judaism as an adult and an abortion provider.’”
Ginn continued, “That’s a pretty bold statement from folks on the left who can’t even give us a definition of a woman. Are we really supposed to believe that the murder of innocent children is a family value? To hear these words, it almost makes the destruction of life a worshipful experience! At SES we would agree that the act of abortion, the act of the murderous termination of a human life in the womb, is indeed religious, but the religion to which it belongs is pagan at its very heart and emanates from the very pits of hell itself. God forbid that we have stooped this low as a country and a culture.
“In the holy writings of Ms. Hale’s faith and that of Christianity, are these words found in Isaiah 5:20 – ‘Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.’
“Could I be so bold as to suggest that for those who hold abortion as a family value or a religious experience, meditate for a few moments on the language found in the rest of Isaiah 5 to see the destruction that follows this line of thinking?
“At SES we believe that the love of God must be wrapped in the truth of God. When the light of truth shines on the darkness, it is exposed for what it is, and in this particular case it is pure evil. Do not be misled; evil of this nature will not escape judgment, the kind that we are already beginning to experience in our nation.”
Judge Phil Ginn was appointed president of SES in April 2021 after a distinguished career as both a lawyer and a judge. He holds a B.A. from Appalachian State University, a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Doctor of Ministry from Southern Evangelical Seminary. Prior to his appointment as SES president, Judge Ginn served as SES Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The mission of SES is to train men and women, based on the inerrant and infallible written Word of God, for the evangelization of the world and the defense of the historic Christian faith. SES offers a range of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees (along with several for-credit certificates) that uniquely integrate theology, philosophy, and apologetics to build a complete and systematic Christian worldview.
For more information on SES, visit its website at www.ses.edu or its Facebook page, follow the SES Twitter feed, @sesapologetics, or call (704) 847-5600.