January 22, 1973: Remembering the Lives Lost Since the Decision of Roe v. Wade

Since the decision made in Roe v. Wade that protected abortion, sixty-two million innocent unborn children have been killed. I, along with many others, am grieved by this massive loss of life. Such mass genocide is comparable to the Holocaust, which led to the deaths of eleven million victims. Shockingly, abortion has caused fifty-one million more deaths even than those who suffered during the Holocaust.

Recently in my creative writing class for college, I was assigned to write several poems regarding an important event in history. As I thought through various crucial occurrences, my mind kept going back to the Roe v. Wade decision that was made on January 22, 1973. Proverbs 24:11 says, “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.” As believers, Christ desires that we be a voice to the voiceless and to rescue them from death. Although I knew that both my teacher and my classmates held a very liberal view on this issue, I believed that this issue was too important to be overlooked.

I want to share this poem because I believe we must be made aware of this and take actions to rescue these children. I pray that the Lord would be working in our hearts and would show us areas that we can be involved in praying and partaking in such a rescue.

January 22, 1973

I hear a cry that dissipates into silence
A phantom in my memory
The sound rings in my ears continually
I am haunted by what could’ve been

The little body is never able to form
His heart beats for an instant
If he could talk, he would plead for mercy
Pleading for the chance to live

His voice rang out as the gavel echoed forth
One blustery January morn the frozen rain fell
Like the tears of those who are laid in unmarked graves
Lost for the sake of a choice, not their own

Sixty-two million deaths since that fateful day
Sixty-two million heartbeats abated
Sixty-two million souls fled their mortal bodies
Sixty-two million lives sacrificed to a right

January 22, 1973, ushered in a paradox
Why do we exalt women’s rights at the expense of theirs?
Why do the audible voices ring clearer than their silenced ones?
How can we continue such heedlessness?

Such events played and replayed throughout the years
Brown coats kneel before the gods of convenience and superiority
I see the innocent blood spilled beneath the broken, crimson cross
As poison gas fills their lungs and the bullets pierce their hearts

Scenes that have become all too familiar
Of a war that pits good against evil
Striving to wrest the innocent from the spider’s deathly grasp
Rescuing them from the mounds of countless corpses

Heroism has flown away on the wings of the wind
With the passing years, we have forsaken the innocent
The screams have been deflected from calloused hearts
Our voices have trampled over theirs

Where is “liberty and justice for all”?
Is equality to be given freely only to those we deem fit?
Does January 22, 1973, define us?
Are we reverting to the deeds of the past?

Let the frozen rain melt hardened hearts
Let the tears of those who will never cry fall from our eyes
Walk alongside women whose lives have been trespassed
Heed the voices whose silence must be spoken for