Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a controversial law that allows women in the state to have an abortion up to the moment of birth.
Many states have what are often referred to as 20-week bans, that make most abortions after 21-weeks illegal, because that is the point in the pregnancy where many doctors believe that the unborn baby is capable of surviving outside of the womb. The “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” which has been passed by the House of Representatives but not the Senate, is based on the premise that at 20 weeks of pregnancy, fetuses have the ability to feel pain.
New York’s new law caused massive blowback among many in the pro-life community.
Now, Carl Lentz, the pastor of Hillsong NYC, and one of the city’s most well-known Christian leaders, is speaking out. In an Instagram post that featured pictures of his three children, Lentz explained why he is “saddened and angry” by the new law.
After explaining that he “spent hours talking to lawyers and people who hold opposing views on this issue” and understanding that “it is layered and there is language in it that some are claiming will protect mothers in peril,” he concluded “the only way I can describe where we are and where this is all headed … is evil, shameful and demonic.”
He explained, “Laws like this say unless you have a voice, if somebody deems you ‘viable/non viable’ you have no protection. Psalm 139, tells us otherwise. I have hope still, that God will help us raise our collective voices, to see this change. This cannot stand.”
He then urged pro-life advocates to adopt a path forward that approaches the issue with compassion.
“I’m also aware that often ‘pro-life politics’(while also supporting the death penalty, of course) have been quick to condemn abortion and the people that have them and then be invisible and hypocritical when it comes to helping women in need, in poverty, those who cannot gain access to proper medical care and creating policies that can help those that don’t choose abortion.”
