I recently read The Women by Kristin Hanna. This novel tells the story of a young nurse named Frankie who served in the Vietnam War, and while it is fictional, it is well researched and based on real experiences. It was written in such a way that readers feel the excruciating devastation that was felt by Frankie and those around her every time someone came to them injured or dying. The trauma of the death and brutality that she experienced during the war impacted her throughout the rest of this book.
This story echoes my grandfather’s life, as he was a flight surgeon in the Vietnam War. Originally, he was just supposed to stay at the camp and treat patients as they came to him, but he quickly realized that many lives were being lost during transit. He volunteered to fly out to rescue the wounded soldiers, so that he could start treatment on the helicopters and help save more people. The things he saw and experienced during his time there stayed with him for the rest of his life.
During this period, while many were witnessing such life-changing devastation in Vietnam, Americans at home were protesting the war. While there were several motivations for these protests, one of the prominent ones was because they opposed the violence and destruction incurred on both Americans and the Vietnamese. One of the signs carried at these protests included a picture of a little boy whose face had been permanently scarred because of napalm. A song by Phil Ochs entitled “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” echoes a similar sentiment, as he laments the deaths from previous wars and refuses to participate anymore. As he explains,
“When I saw the cities burning
I knew that I was learning
That I ain’t marching anymore.”
While there are many layers of controversy surrounding the Vietnam war, one thing we can universally agree on is that the deaths and injuries that took place are a tragedy. US records list 58,220 US military fatal casualties of the Vietnam War. In addition, it is estimated that additional deaths include as many as 2 million Vietnamese civilians, around 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters, and between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers.
The estimated 3.4 million lives that were lost during the Vietnam War are unequivocally heartbreaking. Yet the same year that the US withdrew from Vietnam—1973—the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Roe v. Wade, legalizing the killing of unborn children through abortion in the U.S.
Protesting For Death and Against Death at the Same Time
While America was publicly outraged by the deaths caused by the Vietnam war, many were also fighting for the legalization of abortion in America. From 1969 to 1973, activists gathered across the country to fight for what many called “women’s rights.” In direct opposition to the sign highlighting the injuries to a young boy in Vietnam, these signs completely ignored the violence being done to unborn babies, and instead emphasized now-common mantras such as “our bodies, our choice” and “abortion is a woman’s right.”
So many fought for the “right” to kill while they also protested being “forced” to kill.
In the first year after Roe v. Wade was handed down, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that there were a documented 615,831 abortions performed in the US. In addition, there were mothers who died due to complications with their abortions, both legal and illegal.
This means that ten times more Americans lost their lives to abortion in 1973 alone than died during the entire Vietnam war.
Abortion: An Affordable and Accessible Service
Since Roe v. Wade, it is estimated there have been more than 63 million lives lost via abortion in America. Abortion has gone from something that women did in secret to something that many openly celebrate. There is even an organization called
Shout Your Abortion, where women are encouraged to announce their experiences like an accomplishment, with the goal of “normalizing abortions.”
In addition to this, there are countless organizations that exist solely to protect legal access to abortion and/or provide abortions directly, and they are thriving. According to Planned Parenthood’s Annual Report, the abortion giant performed 392,715 abortions during the 2022-2023 fiscal year. This makes abortions performed by Planned Parenthood the third leading cause of death in the United States across all ages, following heart disease and cancer.
Yet while abortions by Planned Parenthood are among Am
erica’s leading causes of death, it received nearly $700 million in taxpayer funding and nearly $1 billion in private contributions during the 2022–2023 fiscal year. It is tragic and heartbreaking to note that Guttmacher estimates that there were 1,037,000 abortions performed in the formal heath care system in 2023. This would make abortion the leading cause of death in America across all ages that year.
Despite this generous funding, though, abortion is still a service that must be purchased. At Planned Parenthood, each abortion costs an average of $580, but can be as expensive as $2,000 if the pregnancy is further along. The death of a baby has become an economic good for many, and the abortion industry employs thousands of people across the country.
And like every highly profitable industry, they are marketing this service and lauding themselves as expanding access to an “essential” form of so called “health care.”
IVF: Where the Creation of Life is Also the Cause of Death
While abortion is an inarguable tragedy, the casual killing of unborn lives doesn’t stop there. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) results in the loss of countless little lives every year. Stories like Paris Hilton’s are common, where she has frozen twenty boy embryos because she wanted her second child to be a girl. The ability to test and select embryos based on their genetics enables parents to get “designer babies” at the cost of countless embryos in
the process.
Once the embryos that are not desired are “weeded out,” even the ones that remain may never be implanted. Surplus embryos are frequently frozen, and it is estimated that there are roughly 1.5 million embryos frozen in liquid nitrogen freezers. IVF is currently an unregulated field, so there is no way to know precisely how many embryos are discarded or abandoned each year. Estimates suggest there have been 10 million babies born via IVF around the world, so one can only begin to imagine how many embryos have been created and lost in the process.
While there are many varying opinions about IVF, one thing that we must not forget is that life begins at conception, and so each of those embryos represents a beautiful life. We must never let our desire for life lead us to allow death as a byproduct.
Assisted Suicide: Purchasing Your Own Death
The attack on society’s most vulnerable continues even after birth. Now, many groups are pushing to legalize assisted suicide and/or euthanasia, where doctors help patients end their lives. The elderly, medically fragile, or disabled can effectively purchase their death rather than continuing to endure their pain or other difficult circumstances while awaiting natural death.
There are two terms commonly used to reference this topic. Assisted suicide, or medically assisted suicide, is when a medical professional provides the resources for a patient to end their own life. Euthanasia is when a doctor ends the patient’s life by administering a lethal drug, either at the patient’s request, or at the request of the person overseeing their care if the patient is unable to consent due to their medical condition. It is generally restricted to patients who have a terminal or incurable illness or disability (although what counts under these restrictions continues to expand). Many argue that it is a kind option to help the elderly and infirm reduce their suffering and to eliminate the expense and burden their care may place on family members or other caregivers. Some are even pushing to extend eligibility to include those with a mental health disorder such as depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and PTSD. These terms are frequently accompanied by words like “compassion” or “dignity” in an attempt to make it appear as though death is something to celebrate.
Because these practices are not legal in many places, many individuals travel to other countries seeking this service. Switzerland has become one of the most notable destinations, especially since they launched what is known as the “suicide pod.” This futuristic device is a sealed capsule that floods its interior with nitrogen gas in an irreversible process that first leads to a sense of euphoria, then several minutes of unconsciousness, followed soon after by death. The supposed advantage of this device? It only costs around $20 to die, which is substantially cheaper than chemical injections.
Purchasing Death to Avoid Suffering
How have we become so numb that death is something that is celebrated and marketed as if it were a cure for cancer? We have become so bent on living the life that we want that we are willing to purchase a convenient death, whether it be that of an unborn child, a beloved parent or grandparent, or even our own. Have we become so self-centered that we are willing to tell God that our plan is better than His? This thinking has led to statements like:
“I don’t want a baby right now, so I am going to abort it.”
“I want a specific baby, so I am going to discard embryos if they’re not the baby I want.”
“I don’t want to live through suffering, so I am going to end my life now.”
We as a society have chosen to ignore the fact that God allows trials for a reason. As it says in James 1:2-3, 12, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. . . Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
Many have chosen to forget the fact that every human life is made by God in God’s image, and thus every human life possesses inherent dignity and is valued by God unlike any other part of His creation (Genesis 1:27).
Many have chosen to ignore that God has pre-ordained all of our days, from conception to natural death (Psalm 139:16).
How to Revive a Culture of Life
So, how can we revive a Culture of Life in America?
First of all, pray. Each of the circumstances that lead people to pursue death in these ways are tragic. Whether it involves abuse, chronic illness, infertility, or some other heartbreaking circumstance, few if any pursue these options lightly. Pray for those who are experiencing these challenges, and that they will see how God wants to work in the midst of their trial. Pray for our leaders, that they might see the importance of protecting human life from conception to natural death, and be willing to take that stand. Pray for the Church, and that God’s people will continue to rise up and minister to those in difficult situations and share God’s truth in all circumstances.
Secondly, get involved. If you feel led, we encourage you to find somewhere you can get involved in these issues. NC Family will continue to report on related legislation in North Carolina, and we encourage you to take action as the opportunities arise. Beyond this, share God’s love with those around you. Be the community that can support people who are going through a hard situation.
Finally, don’t allow yourself to become numb to death. There is a saying that is falsely (and ironically) attributed to Joseph Stalin that says that, “The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic.” As we see large numbers of reported deaths and procedures, and headlines seeking to normalize them, remember that each number represents a real human life.
We must return to a world where death is a tragedy, and not something to be purchased.
AnnaScott Cross is the Director of Communications at NC Family