Rep. Black Gives Wide-Ranging Interview on the Pro-Life Movement with Christianity Today’s Ed Stetzer
To watch a video of Rep. Black’s interview, click HERE or the image above
Washington D.C., –This week, Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06), a registered nurse and member of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, joined Lifeway Research Executive Director and Christianity Today contributing editor Dr. Ed Stetzer on his web series, “The Exchange,” for a wide-ranging interview on the pro-life movement. Congressman Black discussed how her healthcare background and faith inform her pro-life views, the need for passage of legislation like the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and her hopes for the future of the pro-life effort. A partial transcript of Congressman Black’s interview is provided below or, to watch a video of the interview, click here.
On how her healthcare background informs her pro-life views:
“Healthcare is something I always wanted to do. My mother says at the age of four I asked for a doctor’s kit – not a nurse’s kit but a doctor’s kit. That’s always been my love and my passion. So I graduated from nursing school in 1971 … and it was just shortly after my graduation that Roe vs. Wade was decided. I have watched throughout my career the devastating things that have happened to women and the babies as a result of Roe vs. Wade. In particular, looking at the abortion industry of Planned Parenthood – 327,000 lives are lost every year. Also, the things that I saw in the hospital as a result of that … the women that I have run into with the emotions that occur after an abortion. So this has been a lifelong desire of mine to have the hearts and minds of people understand what really happens [in an abortion]. “
On the deceptions of the abortion industry:
“You know Planned Parenthood for years – and the whole abortion industry – have convinced women that this is just a blob of tissue, it’s not a life. And yet we as Christians know it is a life. Isaiah tell us that God knew us before he placed us in the womb. So we’re believers. But beyond that, on a medical level, this is a life. When you get a heart, a lung, a brain, or tissue, it is not a blob of tissue, it is a baby. I think the only way we can change the hearts and minds of people is to have them understand, first of all, this is a life, but second of all, the kind of tragedy and sadness that happens at the taking of a life.”
On the reality of abortion today in America:
“'Rare and safe’ is what they [pro-abortion leaders] told us. These are not rare. We’re losing a half a million babies [every year] … a half a million of our population. Of those who would be productive citizens and, who knows, they may have been a great researcher that would have discovered something. We don’t know what God had planned for that baby.”
On the need for passage of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act:
“Babies are surviving at 21, 22 weeks now. We had a bill that went through the House and didn’t make through the Senate: the Pain-Capable bill. There are only seven other nations that allow these late-term abortions. Look, we’re a nation better than that . . . We value life more than that here in this country. I think, again, the hearts and minds of people need to be won because they will push the legislation to say we’re no longer going to allow late-term abortions because we know this is a baby . . . And they are pain-capable. We know science is showing us more and more everyday about what they’re capable of feeling in the womb, and we know they are pain-capable at 20 weeks.”
On reforming Senate filibuster rules to advance pro-life legislation:
“We’re calling upon the Senate to change their [filibuster] rules. This is antiquated . . . Anybody who says a majority is 60 – when you have 100, a majority would be 51 . . . Change this and let’s get some things done.”
On the future of the pro-life movement:
“We’re seeing the young people have more value for life and I’m encouraged by that. They are our future. They will be the ones who will push – they’ll push legislation and they will push policy changes that I think are needed in order for us to show that we’re a nation that values life.”
About Dr. Ed Stetzer:
Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of LifeWay Research, a prolific author, church planter, and missiologist. Stetzer is the contributing editor for Christianity Today and a columnist for Outreach Magazine. He is additionally the pastor of Grace Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The Exchange airs Tuesdays at 3:00 PM ET. Past guests have included Christian rap sensation Lecrae, author Beth Moore, and A.D., The Bible Continued creators Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.
###
Congressman Diane Black represents Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees