A Modern Saint Paul

Paul (also known as Saul) was a Jewish leader who persecuted early Christians, arresting and imprisoning them and apparently even ordering their deaths.  He was, perhaps, the worst of sinners; yet God called him, and changed his heart, and Paul became one of the great evangelists of the early church (and wrote several of the books of the New Testament).  It’s a remarkable story of grace and redemption, and an assurance that no one is beyond the power of God’s forgiveness and salvation through Christ. 

Dr. Bernard Nathanson died today.  He was the last living founder of the abortion lobbying organization NARAL.  He directed an abortion clinic where tens of thousands of abortions were performed; he himself performed five thousand abortions, including personally performing an illegal abortion on his girlfriend, aborting his own child.

Yet God changed Dr. Nathanson’s heart.  He became an important member of the pro-life movement, and eventually converted to Christianity.  He produced The Silent Scream, a short documentary showing an ultrasound video of a fetus resisting abortion, as well as the documentary Eclipse of Reason.  He wrote The Hand of God and Aborting America, among other influential books.

Jeanne Head, who represents the National Right to Life Committee at the United Nations in New York, said Nathanson “was probably one of the individuals most responsible for Roe v. Wade and, once he realized his error, he dedicated the rest of his life to reversing it.”

Read all about him (short, medium, or long story).

Dr. Nathanson is not the only abortion advocate who has become a staunch Saint Paul of the pro-life movement.  Former abortion clinic owner and operator Carol Everitt “is today an outspoken opponent of abortion” and the author of the book Blood Money.  Abby Johnson was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic until she saw an ultrasound video of an abortion as it was being performed; she is now a pro-life activist and the author of Unplanned.  And of course, Norma McCorvey, the original Miss “Roe” of Roe vs. Wade, has long since converted to Christianity, become a pro-life activist, and founded the Roe No More Ministry.