Baptist and Reflector
Jayme Hull, center, women’s ministry director at Judson Baptist Church, Nashville, speaks at a press conference in support of Amendment 1 held Oct. 14 at Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville. Middle Tennessee ministers gathered in support of Amendment 1, including Frank Lewis, far right, pastor of First Baptist Church, Nashville. Lewis spoke briefly at the press conference in support of Yes on 1.
BRENTWOOD — Tennesseans are facing “the most monumental vote” in the state’s 218-year-old history, says Randy C. Davis, executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Convention.
Referring to Amendment 1 which is on the state ballot, Davis said, “It will be an indictment on Christians if Amendment 1 does not pass.”
Davis made his observations in a column posted at www.tnbaptist.org on Oct. 17. It also has been published in daily newspapers across the state.
He wrote that Amendment 1, if passed, “can reestablish some common sense restrictions on abortion that exist in states surrounding Tennessee — and have been in place soon after Roe v. Wade became the nation’s abortion law in 1973. Tennessee also had those restrictions until a liberal Tennessee Supreme Court removed them in 2000.”
Davis observed that Tennessee now has “no informed consent, no waiting periods for abortion, and requires no inspection of abortion facilities.”
As a result of the lack of restrictions on abortion in the state, Tennessee has become the easiest state in the southeast in which to have an abortion, Davis noted.
“So easy that abortion providers offer discounts for those traveling more than 50 miles. Fact: One in four babies aborted in Tennessee is from other states. Tennessee currently ranks third nationally in the percentage of out-of-state abortions. Sadly and embarrassingly, we are an abortion destination,” Davis wrote.
Davis emphasized that Amendment 1 does not overturn Roe v. Wade like the amendment’s opponents would have you believe.
“I wish it did. However, Amendment 1 does bring Tennessee back up to a standard equal to all the surrounding states by legally providing a safer environment for women who do choose to abort their babies,” Davis wrote.
Davis observed that state financial disclosure filings “indicate more than 90 percent of all funding in the campaign against Amendment 1 came from abortion clinics. Planned Parenthood organizations from Tennessee and across the country contributed more than $1.4 million of the No on 1’s $1.5 million quarterly receipts.
“Less than $150,000 of that campaign’s quarterly support came from individuals. No on 1 is saturating prime time (television) with ads that are intentionally misleading; creating confusion to the point that it appears a ‘No’ vote is actually a vote for the sanctity of life. The calculated deceit is nothing short of premeditated evil,” Davis wrote in the column that has been republished in newspapers in Chattanooga, Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis.
Davis stressed that Tennesseans, especially Christians, must do their role in helping to pass Yes on 1.
“Friends, this is one of those times in history when disciples of Christ must take a stand. If we don’t, it is an indictment against Tennessee Christians and I believe failure will render us irrelevant in the cultural issues we’ll be facing in the years to come. It’s been predicted that if Amendment 1 fails to pass, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU will bring a number of lawsuits that will remove remaining restrictions such as parental consent. Minors would be able to wander into a potentially unclean abortion clinic and have an abortion without their parents knowing. God forbid that that should happen.
“This is our moment in time. If we miss it, it is unlikely we’ll ever get it back. Bringing an amendment to vote is difficult to do the first time, and statistically improbable a second time.
“Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that we are to be salt and light in the world around us. Salt is a preservative that slows decay. Light is the hope of Christ that shines in a decaying world. We have a moral and spiritual obligation to vote Yes on 1, but if we do not take a stand morally, we risk forfeiting our opportunity to positively impact our state spiritually,” he wrote.
Davis cited the need of protecting women and children in Tennessee while “proclaiming the light of the gospel.
“Let’s protect women and children in our state while proclaiming the light of the gospel.
“Let’s say no to those who want to keep Tennessee an abortion destination state.
“Let’s simply but adamantly say Yes on 1,” Davis wrote.
