Daily Devotional for Wednesday December 15, 2004

The Death Penalty for Killing a Baby

(Psalms 106:38)

?They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters . . . and the land was polluted with blood . . . ? ? (Psalms 106:38 NIV)

On Monday afternoon, the jury that convicted Scott Peterson for killing his wife, Laci and their unborn baby Conner, recommended that he be put to death for his crimes. Peterson was charged by the State of California for killing his wife as well as for killing his unborn child, making it a special-circumstances case eligible for the ultimate penalty, death.

I?ve done entire Devotionals in the past about the death penalty and will briefly mention it in a few minutes but I want to focus today on a very simple question. If Scott Peterson is going to be put to death for killing his unborn child, one baby, why isn?t every abortion doctor in this nation, guilty of killing hundreds, even thousands of babies, also on death row for doing the same thing?

As I have watched the Peterson case unfold over these past 2 years, I have viewed the coverage on the various networks like FOX, MSNBC, CNN, and CourtT.V.. I have been particularly interested in the passion and conviction of people like Courtt.v. anchors, Nancy Grace, Lisa Bloom, Catherine Crier, and the attorney for Amber Frey, Gloria Allred, as well as other commentators as they shared their belief not only in Peterson?s guilt but the fact he deserved to be put to death for his crimes.

The key to their arguments was always the fact that he not only killed his wife but also his baby. Sadly, too many men kill their wives but at most they receive a sentence of life in prison. Many of these commentators made the point over and over that the fact he also killed his baby was justification to sentence him to death. By the way, I happen to agree with them.

However, the hypocrisy is that most of these same commentators also support a woman?s right to kill her baby. They are PRO CHOICE or calling it what it really is, PRO DEATH! I have to admit that I am very confused. How can it be such a heinous crime for Scott Peterson to kill his baby yet, perfectly acceptable for a woman to make the choice to kill her baby? I am absolutely lost at how one is a crime worthy of death and the other is an acceptable choice.

Furthermore, I am equally confused how Peterson, who made the choice to kill one unborn baby will spend his life all alone in a tiny cell on death row awaiting the day when the State of California will put him to death while doctors all across this nation who make the choice to kill hundreds and thousands of unborn babies, go home every night to nice comfortable homes and look forward to all of the great things life has to offer.

IF SCOTT PETERSON CAN BE PUT TO DEATH FOR KILLING ONE BABY, EVERY DOCTOR WHO PERFORMS AN ABORTION SHOULD ALSO BE PUT TO DEATH!!!

The fact is, several dozen states now have ?fetal homicide? statutes on the books. But to get these ?fetal homicide? statutes passed, state legislators had to make ONE HUGE exemption. You guessed it. In cases of abortion with the mothers consent, these statutes do not apply to the abortion doctors. Do you see what twisted logic has to be used to accommodate sin?

For those of you who support a woman?s right to slaughter her innocent baby, please save the emails with your tortured arguments. The fact is life comes from God. At the moment of conception there is a living person with an eternal soul. To kill that life for any reason is murder. PERIOD!

Also, for those who are against the death penalty, comparing that issue with abortion is like comparing apples to oranges. The death penalty, for which there is clear and concise Biblical support, is the punishment society enacts on those who made the choice to commit the most heinous acts. The bottom line is abortion is killing an innocent baby who had no choice. The death penalty is society?s punishment for someone who has been found guilty of choosing to commit a heinous act against society. The baby is innocent. The person sentenced to death is guilty.

I love you and care about you so much. I want to speak directly today to anyone who may be contemplating having an abortion. Just remember this. No matter what anyone tells you, it is MURDER. There is simply no justification for it at all. You have only two options; have and raise the child or put the child up for adoption.

Also, let me say a word to those men and women who have the scar of abortion in their lives. Sadly, I deal with hundreds of women daily AND men who have made this sad choice at some point in their life. Some of them did this 40 years ago and are still dealing with the hurt, pain, and guilt.

You can?t go back and change what you have done but 1 John 1:9 says, ?If we confess our sins, God forgives us and cleanses us of all unrighteousness.? The Bible also tells us that God not only forgives our sins but forgets them. It is satan who reminds you of your past sins to keep you paralyzed from serving God. HE IS A LIAR!!! Now is the time to trust God?s Word and put it behind you once and for all. God still has much for you to do with your life.

I am thankful for this high-profile case that made the clear statement killing an innocent baby is MURDER! We need to, once and for all, take our Federal Government out of the business of legally sanctioning the annual slaughter of millions of innocent lives! How can we expect God to bless our nation when we allow this to happen? How long can we mock God without feeling His wrath? How far can we push God?s grace?

I read in the Old Testament how God?s very own chosen people lived in blatant rebellion to Him. God tried to warn them. He sent messages through the events of their day. They ignored the messages. He sent His prophets to warn the people to repent and turn back to God. They wouldn?t listen to his messengers. Eventually, God punished His people for their rebellion.

Our nation is less than 300 years old. We have been richly blessed with incredible wealth and power, but we are not immune from God?s wrath. God is speaking to us through the events of our day and through those He has called to warn the people. I pray that we will listen, repent of our sins, and turn our hearts back to Him before it is too late. Killing an unborn baby IS murder whether it happens in an act of violence by a husband or in a legal clinic!