Angels, shepherds, a manger and two poor travelers make up the heart of one of the most beloved of Bible stories  —  the birth of Jesus.  Add the Wise Men who came to worship and give Him gifts and it becomes the centerpiece of the nativity.

            But the joy of a heaven-sent baby was marred by the worst of mankind’s depravity. Prophesied by the Old Testament preacher, Jeremiah, Herod the Great perpetrated what has been called the Massacre of the Innocents.  When told by the Wise Men of a king to be born in Bethlehem, Herod ordered all the male children in that small town and the surrounding environs to be killed, all two years old and under.  To preserve his kingdom, Herod was willing to have killed those who had done nothing to deserve such a fate.  This account, from Matthew 2:13-18,still evokes chills today.

            Jeremiah , in Jeremiah 31:15, saw “lamentation and bitter weeping” by Rachel for her children, for they were no more. Coming to pass when Jesus was born, this incident has been the basis for artists down through the centuries.  One of the most famous was by Peter Paul Rubens, a Dutch painter.  Completed in 1612, it gives a dark view of the event.

            Christians (and others) are rightly horrified by such an act against defenseless victims.  Yet what will scholars years hence say of the vastly more grisly “massacres of the innocents” in America?  Since the Supreme Court decision in 1973, in Roe v. Wade, abortions in the United States have numbered somewhere north of 60 millions of babies aborted in the womb.  Even today, this topic is a hotly contested policy among people who are “pro-choice”, those who favor the procedure, and those who are “pro-life”, contending abortion amounts to murder.

            In the years since the Supreme Court ruled, advances in medical science have shown that an abortion destroys more than a clump of cells.  Fetal heartbeat can now be detected at three weeks or so, and ultra sound pictures show the development of a human being.

            But in the present era, such facts do not deter those who want an abortion or who profit from the operation.  One organization has become the face of the abortion industry, Planned Parenthood. In general, those on the Left side of the political spectrum favor abortion, while those on the Right generally want abortion to be severely limited.  Gone are the days when there is a “middle ground”, described by then President Bill Clinton, who wanted abortion to be “legal, safe, and rare”.

            In the past two weeks, another round of furor has arisen over the topic. Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York signed a bill into law that allows for abortions, in practice, to be performed in the later stages of the ninth month of pregnancy.  When passed by the State Senate and signed by the governor, a raucous celebration was held in the state capitol.

            Not to be outdone, a Virginia Delegate to that state’s lower chamber of their legislature, Kathy Tran, introduced a bill to allow abortion up to the minute before birth, and if the baby survived the abortion attempt (which has happened numerous times), then the doctor and the mother would decide whether to kill the child.  When this was pointed out to the Virginia Governor, Ralph Northam, he endorsed the idea, even touting that the baby would be kept “comfortable” until the decision to kill him or her was made.

            As could be expected, this has caused many who are pro-life to become more enraged, while few pro-choice people would go so far.  The United States already was one of only seven nations that allowed abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, and this puts us that much further away from the civilized world in the treatment of the most vulnerable of our people.  If the nation goes to the extreme proposed in Virginia, only North Korea would be our equal.

            Herod’s killing of the innocents pales in comparison to the massacre of the innocents in America.  Objective historians should call this age, the age of abortion on demand, one of the worst times in our history.

            From a practical viewpoint, one wonders about those who were aborted.  How many would have become doctors, scientists, clergymen, statesmen  —  but never got the chance?  How many would have added to the strength of the nation, but never saw the light of day?  Sports stars, educators, lawmakers, spiritual leaders, pioneers in new frontiers —  all these could have been in this vast number aborted over the past 46 years.  

            Much heartache would have been averted if decisions to abort were not taken. And the law passed in New York and the bill introduced in Virginia sets the bar quite low for having the procedure. Health of the mother includes now “mental health”, an amorphous reason that means for any reason the healthy fetus can be killed.

            One of the problems with the vast majority of Americans with abortion is that they don’t realize how far the proponents of it have gone.  The manner in which late term abortions are performed are so gruesome that the average American would be horrified.  A few years ago, a Philadelphia doctor, Kermit Gosnell, was convicted in 2013 of murder of both babies and mothers for performing abortions that were botched, including killing those babies who survived the operation.  A movie, “Gosnell, the Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer” details the horror story.  Although this may be the most egregious of the abortion providers, there are those who want to see late-term abortions part of the solution to unwanted pregnancies. This movie might be an eye-opener to those on the fence about abortions.

            But let us go back to the original premise.  History’s pages record those who presided over some of the worst mass murders perpetrated by humans.  Adolph Hitler, seen by most people, is universally reviled, even though his killing fields included “only” about 6 million Jews, and maybe 20 millions all told.  Mao in China caused tens of millions to die, while many others are remembered for killing in large numbers.  Even serial killers are held up to contempt while only murdering small numbers. Remember John Wayne Gacy?  His number was only in the 30s, Ted Bundy’s score was perhaps a few more than that.  But it seems that few view the abortion numbers with the same revulsion.

            Will the future writers of American history consider this time the “massacre of the innocents” because of the millions killed in the womb?  I shudder to think of those who have so callously taken human life when they stand in the judgment day to give account of their time on earth.  We need to lessen the scourge of the innocents being killed through no action of their own.  If we do not, our age should rival and succeed Herod the Great’s.