For context, this blog was written in early October 2024. I’m also proud to be a Missourian.
On November 5th, 2024, Missourians will vote on Amendment 3, which would expand the state’s constitution to include “the right” to abortion.
THIS CHANGE would make Missouri one of the most permissive states for abortion.
(Abortion is choosing to terminate the life of an unborn child.)
Amendment 3 only needs 50% approval from voters to pass.
Every vote will matter—one way or the other.
“Would Missourians have voted in support of listing the unborn babies on the 9/11 Memorial in New York City?”
I know it’s an odd hypothetical question but imagine it momentarily.
Imagine that the design and building of the 9/11 Memorial in New York City were just getting started.
In an unprecedented decision, the state of New York voted for the voters of Missouri to decide what names to include on the 9/11 Memorial. The issue isn’t that they don’t know who perished on 9/11. They have the names, but they can’t decide whether the unborn babies that died that day count among the dead.
If that were the situation, I wonder if 50% of Missourians would agree to include the unborn babies who died on 9/11 on the Memorial?
Almost 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.
It was heartbreaking the day it happened.
It’s heartbreaking still today.
Night pic of the 9/11 Memorial in NYC.
To honor those killed, a 9/11 Memorial has been built in New York City.
The Memorial features two waterfalls set down in the original footprints of the World Trade Center Towers.
According to 911memorial.org:
Each pool is nearly two acres in size and contain the largest manmade waterfalls in north America, each descending 30 feet into a square basin. From there, the water in each pool drops another 20 feet and disappears into a smaller, central void.
The names of the 2,983 people who were killed in the 2001 and 1993 terrorist attacks are inscribed on bronze parapets edging the memorial pools. The names are grouped by the locations and circumstances in which victims found themselves during the attacks.
The North Pool parapets include the names of those who were killed at the North Tower, on hijacked Flight 11, and in the 1993 bombing. The South Pool parapets include the names of first responders as well as victims who were killed at the South Tower, on hijacked Flight 175, at the Pentagon, on hijacked Flight 77, and on hijacked Flight 93.
Included among the names of those killed are eleven people who had not yet been born.
When the names on the Memorial are read on the anniversary of the tragedy each year, the lives of those eleven unborn babies are included alongside their mothers.
The central inscription reading “Vanessa Lang Langer and Her Unborn Child” is one of the eleven unborn children honored as a lost life on the 9/11 Memorial.
Those eleven names are as follows:
DEANNA LYNN GALANTE AND HER UNBORN CHILD
LAUREN CATUZZI GRANDCOLAS AND HER UNBORN CHILD
JENNIFER L. HOWLEY AND HER UNBORN CHILD
HELEN CROSSIN KITTLE AND HER UNBORN CHILD
VANESSA LANG LANGER AND HER UNBORN CHILD
PATRICIA ANN CIMAROLI MASSARI AND HER UNBORN CHILD
RENEE A. MAY AND HER UNBORN CHILD
SYLVIA SAN PIO RESTA AND HER UNBORN CHILD
RAHMA SALIE AND HER UNBORN CHILD
DIANNE SIGNER AND HER UNBORN CHILD
MONICA RODRIGUEZ SMITH AND HER UNBORN CHILD
Mother looking at an ultrasound image of her baby
The babies who died within their mothers on 9/11 represent every trimester of a baby’s formation.
26-year-old Sylvia San Pio Resta was seven months pregnant and just a week away from starting her maternity leave.
34-year-old Jennifer L. Howley and her five-month-old preborn child died together in South Tower.
25-year-old Patricia Massari had learned she was pregnant on the morning of September 11th.
My heart hurts thinking about the tragic loss of human life on 9/11—both born and unborn.
Yours should, too.
Every life matters.
On the November 5th, 2024 ballot, Missouri Amendment 3 is titled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative.”
The United States seeks to be a land of truly free people.
We are right to value our rights.
Nevertheless, the word “freedom” in the title of the Amendment makes me squirm—from both sides of this discussion.
Those who are pro-abortion make the case that a woman does not truly have freedom if she isn’t able to make her own decisions regarding her “reproductive autonomy.”
Those who are anti-abortion, however, feel an equally impassioned responsibility to speak for the rights of the unborn who aren’t yet able to advocate for their own freedoms.
Let’s be honest: The freedom sought by Amendment 3 is unequivocally not for the baby.
An unborn baby doesn’t have a voice yet—literally or metaphorically.
So, who will advocate for people who are still too little to speak for themselves?
Who will speak for the voiceless unborn?
I’m aware that The abortion debate is a multi-faceted discussion that is emotionally charged.
This conversation touches on several issues that are foundational to what it means to be human and what rights a person should have as a human—whether beyond the womb or not.
For the sake of this article, I’m not tackling the “personal sovereignty” of women versus whether the unborn have any rights at all. I’m also not dealing with the potential pitfalls that come when the government increases its control over its citizens. I’m also not bringing into the conversation whether the tragic circumstance of a child’s conception or gestation should factor into this discussion at all.
(Others can, have, and will lead those discussions and argue those positions better than me.)
at the moment, all I’m asking is whether you believe an unborn baby is a living human being who deserves to be acknowledged, respected, and protected.
Some will object to this “single-angle” question by claiming the answer to the abortion debate is not that “simple.”
But if we truly want to protect the rights and freedoms of EVERY American, then understanding that an unborn baby IS a human being does indeed simplify the pathway forward.
It means the truths of the Declaration of Independence, approved by the U. S. Continental Congress, on July 4, 1776, are for the unborn, too:
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.
clarifying whether a baby has personhood doesn’t make every angle of the conversation simple (or simpler), but it does re-ground the conversation in the value of every person.
What does God’s Word say about life in the womb?
The Bible says in Psalm 139:13-14,16:
13 For it was you who created my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise you
because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.
Your works are wondrous,
and I know this very well…
16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.
God’s Word is clear that a person still in the womb is precious and purposeful.
So the question remains:
“Would Missourians have voted in support of listing the unborn babies on the 9-11 Memorial?”
As the lost lives were counted up in the tragic aftermath of September 11th, a group of people decided to include the unborn on the 9/11 Memorial.
(This was true even in a region of the country that has traditionally taken a very pro-abortion position.)
Do you agree with their decision?
Does it make sense to you why the unborn children who were killed on 9/11 are acknowledged on the Memorial?
Because that’s one way to think about what we’re affirming—or not affirming—with our vote on MO Amendment 3.
Is an unborn baby a human being who has the right to be protected and to be acknowledged if killed?
If so—SINCE so—let’s Vote “NO” on Missouri Amendment 3 this November.
The info below is from the website of The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Standing for life in Missouri is vital in light of a pro-abortion measure on the state’s ballot titled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative.”
If passed, this amendment would change the state’s constitution to include “the right” to abortion.
It would make Missouri one of the most permissive states for abortion in the nation since it allows for abortion for “mental health” reasons.
What Scripture tells us about standing for life
Christians are called to uphold the sanctity of life, recognizing that human life is sacred because every human being is created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27).
Scripture affirms that God knows us before we are formed in the womb (Jer. 1:5) and that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” by him (Ps. 139).
Christians guided by the truths of God’s Word should recognize the threat abortion represents for our preborn neighbors and should stand for life.
Standing for life in the Missouri election
A “NO” vote means that Missouri’s current pro-life laws would remain on the books.
Missouri has historically been a leader in the effort to save innocent life, support mothers, and serve families targeted by the abortion industry, with strong laws that reflect the value of life at all stages.
A “YES” vote supports amending the Missouri Constitution to provide the right for “reproductive freedom,” prevents the state Legislature from enacting any law to protect the preborn prior to “fetal viability,” and allows late-term abortion if keeping the child would affect the mother’s “mental health”—a loophole so large it creates the potential for abortion “on demand.”
(For the full text of Amendment 3, click HERE.)
How can I vote in Missouri?
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
In-person voting: You can find your voting locations in Missouri by clicking here. You can check your voter registration status and register to vote on the Missouri secretary of state’s website. The final day to register to vote is Oct. 9.
Absentee voting: Mail in or faxed absentee ballot requests must be received by the election authority no later than 5:00 p.m. on the second Wednesday prior to Election Day. From Tuesday, Oct. 22, through Monday, Nov. 4. you may vote a no-excuse absentee ballot in person at a location designated by your local election authority.
What can you do to stand for life in Missouri?
There are several ways you can promote a culture of life in Missouri:
Pray for wisdom for Missouri voters, for the defeat of this amendment, and for a robust culture of life to take hold.
Stand for life at the ballot box. The initiative only needs 50% approval of voters to pass, so every vote against this measure counts in the effort to protect life.
Educate others about the true nature of this proposal. Share information with your community about the potential consequences of this amendment.
Advocate by contacting your local representatives and encouraging them to stand firm in their defense of life.
Support pro-life and pro-family organizations by volunteering with or donating to those who are actively working to promote a culture of life in Missouri.
Pat Findley is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Clinton, MO.