Today is the official Sanctity of Human Life Day, a day begun in 1984 by presidential proclamation from President Ronald Reagan (see January 14, 2026 devotional). The date was chosen because of the historic decision on this day in 1973 when the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that a woman is protected under the Constitution and has the right to an abortion if she so chooses.
The majority is not always right!
From 1984 to 1993, a presidential proclamation was issued, acknowledging this day and what it represents. From 1993 to 2001, no proclamations were made. Why? Bill Clinton was in office. Proclamations began again in 2002 to 2009 under President George Bush. Another gap from 2010 to 2017 occurred. Barak Obama was president. President Trump reinstated the proclamations for the next four years, only for them to disappear again under President Joe Biden. We have no reason to think that President Trump will not once again honor this special day (at the time of this writing, it’s 1/1/26. Typically, the proclamations are made just a few days before the 22nd).
In the United States, there are approximately 120 abortions every hour. That’s 2,880 abortions per day and 1,051,200 abortions per year. To give this some perspective, the news ended in 2025 with a report that said that homicides were down nearly 20% nationwide.1 The fact that homicides dropped from 7,369 in 2024 to about 5,895 is celebrated.2 The abortion rate is down 5%, meaning that last year’s number of abortions was 1,103,760, making murder by abortion 187 times greater than murder by any other means.
We have a long way to go with these numbers, don’t we? And where are the voices crying out against this homicide rate? Oh, wait a minute, the consensus in the world is that life doesn’t begin at conception, it begins at birth. This runs contrary to scientific statements.
“The American College of Pediatricians concurs with the body of scientific evidence that corroborates that a unique human life starts when the sperm and egg bind to each other in a process of fusion of their respective membranes and a single hybrid cell called a zygote, or one-cell embryo, is created.
“As physicians dedicated both to scientific truth and to the Hippocratic tradition, the College values all human lives equally from the moment of conception (fertilization) until natural death. Consistent with its mission to “enable all children to reach their optimal physical and emotional health and well-being,” the College, therefore, opposes active measures that would prematurely end the life of any child at any stage of development from conception to natural death.”3
Another resource says, “Since a recent study suggested that 80% of Americans view biologists as the group most qualified to determine when a human’s life begins, experts in biology were surveyed to provide a new perspective to the literature on experts’ views on this matter. Biologists from 1,058 academic institutions around the world assessed survey items on when a human’s life begins and, overall, 96% (5337 out of 5577) affirmed the fertilization view.”4 The 4% are obviously wrong!
Now that we have that defined, let’s define murder. Legalclarity.org says, “Murder is a severe type of unlawful homicide defined by a mental state known as “malice aforethought.” This legal term does not necessarily mean personal hatred or ill will. Instead, it signifies an intent to kill, an intent to inflict serious bodily harm, or 
acting with an extreme, reckless disregard for human life.”5
By definitions from biologists and lawyers, those who abort a baby are guilty of murder. Doctors are committing murder. And, yet, that’s not how the courts see it. Is anyone else baffled by the evil hypocrisy?
Our pro-life stance isn’t political. It is Biblical. We never have to apologize for it or wonder if we are on the right side of the issue. God is always in favor of the life of the innocent. Meditate today on a couple of passages as we beg God to bring an end to the blight of abortion that is on the American landscape.
Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
Proverbs 6:16-17 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: (17) A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood …
1https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-poised-end-2025-largest-year-drop-homicides/story?id=128646976
2https://www.newsweek.com/us-murder-rates-biggest-yearly-drop-11270098
3https://acpeds.org/when-human-life-begins/
4https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36629778/
5https://legalclarity.org/what-is-the-difference-between-homicide-and-murder/
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