“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” – Declaration of Independence

This past week Congress defeated a bill to ban abortions performed after twenty weeks of pregnancy. Half the nation celebrated. The other half grieved. A baby can feel pain after twenty weeks. After 22 weeks, it is viable. A shouting war has overtaken social media.

But we’re missing the point. The debate once existed over whether a fetus was a living being. Pro-lifers championed the sanctity of human life. Sanctity means holiness. Human life is sacred.

The innovations of science have since proven life does begin at conception. Sanctity of human life is no longer the argument. Both sides agree there is a beating heart in the womb. That argument is done, but some still spew angry words.

I doubt anyone in the Planned Parenthood camp denies human life is significant. They insist their cause is, in fact, based upon helping lives, at least those outside the womb.

Herein lies the key to our crisis. The divisive issue is no longer regarding life in the womb but rather equality of life. Pro-choice now means valuing one human life over another. They do not believe all men are created equal.

Does this strike fear? It should. What has history taught us regarding a philosophy of human inequality? In our lifetime, we’ve endured the genocides of Germany, Cambodia, Bosnia, Sudan, and Rwanda, each time swearing it shouldn’t have happened and won’t again.

Yet, here we are.

Simply put, Planned Parenthood believes the quality of a human life outside the woman is more significant than the value of the human life within. Both are living creatures, but one’s happiness is more important than the other’s. We can continue to post videos and personal stories, but Planned Parenthood supporters really don’t care. They know there is a baby being destroyed. To them, the mother’s happiness holds more value.

Our dialogue (notice I say dialogue and not condemning, angry, screams) needs to address the equality of all life. We need to pray over the hearts of those in the abortion industry. Many are blinded and don’t realize what they do. A number of women have left the industry after seeing a baby struggle during an ultrasound abortion or aborted alive and then killed. Their eyes and hearts can be opened.

We need to engage our culture in a relevant way, but to do so, we need to understand how the debate has changed and respond accordingly.

God is not surprised by what is happening. He’s not trying to figure out how things came to be this way. There are times in history that surpass the evil occurring today. He’s still sovereign. His desire is for his people to become like the Apostle Paul and engage the culture logically and lovingly.

What will you do?