Chuck Norris can’t believe more people care about plastic straws than human Life.
On January 22 Pro-Lifers solemnly marked 48 years of the legal killing of preborn babies as a result of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized elective abortion in all 50 states. Iconic actor Chuck Norris shared his thoughts on the somber anniversary and his hopes for defending innocent human Life in the years to come.
Writing for WND, Norris observed that since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, more than 62 million preborn lives have been violently ended in legal elective abortion. Reflecting on this staggering death toll, Norris called for peace. He wrote, “Whether in the U.S. Capital or in cities across every state of our union, we shouldn’t justify violence to humans outside the womb or inside the womb. Instead, we should esteem all human life from conception to the grave.” This is the Pro-Life ethic: recognizing the Right to Life from conception to natural death.
Norris expressed understandable shock towards a 2020 Canadian moral views opinion poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute. Analyzing the the results of this 2020 opinion poll Norris demonstrated just how far from the Pro-Life ethic our culture has strayed. According to the survey an alarmingly high rate of Canadians have accepted the taking of human Life, including abortion and assisted suicide. Norris notes, “While 51% thought that using plastic straws is always or usually morally wrong, only 20% thought the same of ‘doctor-assisted dying’ and just 26% for abortion.”
Astounded, Norris asked, “Am I missing something? Do you value bamboo straws more than human life? In the womb?” According to this poll that is exactly what people indicate. As Norris argues, we cannot simply dismiss the results of the poll as reflective of inhumane Canadians, especially since Canada was years behind the United States in legalizing elective abortion. If anything, we might expect a similar poll of Americans to be even more anti-Life.
The fact that many people are implicated in abortion and, increasingly, assisted suicide, may partially explain the shocking disparity between moral views on human Life and environmentalism. As Norris comments, if you have participated in the destruction of human Life through abortion or assisted suicide, you may want to believe that those acts of unjust violence are somehow not wrong.
The fact that so many people, including Christians, have been involved in an abortion decision, means that Pro-Lifers need to offer a message of hope and healing for everyone wounded by abortion. Many people are hesitant to condemn the murder of preborn children out of fear for upsetting post-abortive mothers, as many of these mothers were coerced into abortion decisions. However, silence does not bring healing and certainly does nothing to acknowledge the loss and trauma of a mother or anyone hurt by abortion. Christians, especially pastors, must speak up against abortion and offer real hope. If Christian churches remain silent about abortion, then Christians will continue to be lukewarm on Life issues.
Norris acknowledged the renewed controversy about abortion surrounding some of the novel COVID-19 vaccines that used cell lines obtained from aborted babies, a possibility that Pro-Life leaders warned about. Tragically, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a loss of life, especially among vulnerable nursing home populations. However, even amidst the ongoing pandemic abortion remains the leading cause of death worldwide.
In response to the predominantly anti-Life worldview conveyed in the survey results as well as our culture’s attitude toward preborn life, Norris shared a quote from Thomas Jefferson: “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.” Unfortunately, the Biden administration has pledged to expand abortion and demand taxpayer funding of elective abortion. While the federal policies will likely be anti-Life on a scale we have not seen, you, as a Pro-Lifer, can still effectuate real and meaningful change for Life, especially on the state level. Texas can work on the state and local level to protect lives and change the culture. This change, however, will only occur through the brave support and action of Pro-Life Texans like you.
Honorary Texas ranger Chuck Norris has been a vocal conservative and Pro-Life advocate for years. When celebrity culture is so heavily skewed toward anti-Life activism, examples such as Norris are a powerful reminder that some celebrities do stand for Life.