January is Sanctity of Human Life Month
January is Sanctity of Human Life Month, and this year Sanctity of Human Life Sunday (SOHLS) is celebrated on Sunday, January 21, 2024. SOHLS is a day for Americans to focus on the value of each and every human life. It is celebrated every year on the Sunday closest to the anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decisions Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which legalized abortion in every state for any reason through all nine months of pregnancy.
In the past two years, the right to abortion has been one of the most heated discussions in our country.
We rejoice that the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022. But this hasn’t stopped abortion; it simply placed the decision back into the hands of each state. While many states have chosen to stop abortions, we still recognize the awful tragedy that, on average, the lives of approximately 98 precious babies are ended every hour!
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision, the abortion industry nationwide has stepped up its efforts of promoting a culture of death by offering abortion as the “smart answer” to an unplanned pregnancy during uncertain times.
One of the best ways to stand against this evil is to come together and openly state “We support and defend the Sanctity of Human Life.”
Pastors, churches and life organizations across the United States use this day to bring awareness to the attacks that are daily waged against human life through the abortion industry.
In 1984, President Ronal Reagan issued a presidential proclamation designating the third Sunday of January as National Sanctity of Human Life Day.
“We have been given the precious gift of human life, made more precious still by our births in or pilgrimages to a land of freedom. It is fitting, then, on the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that struck down State anti-abortion laws, that we reflect anew on these blessings, and on our corresponding responsibility to guard with care the lives and freedoms of even the weakest of our fellow human beings.”
Ronald Reagan
President
We are continuing that tradition by setting this day aside – January 21, 2024 – as a day to pray for the end of the tragedy of abortion, ask for God’s mercy on our country for this heinous sin, and proclaim loudly that all lives are created in the image of God and should be treated as such.
On Sunday, January 21, we declare the sanctity of all human lives and stand together to protect the lives of each and every unborn baby.
“The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.” – Isaiah 49:1
“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139;13-16
We would also like to encourage you to focus on the value of human life all month — and all year — long. Watch the video below to find out four ways that you can make a difference for life this January.
A Message for Sanctity of Human Life Month (youtube.com)
Additional information included from Heartbeat International and LifePlan.
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