Joseph Parker: Sex Trafficking and the Abortion Industry– Evil Twins

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

• When my trafficker found out any of his “girls” were pregnant, he would take us outside and beat us with a pipe around our stomach and abdomen until we miscarried. This happened to me four times. I never carried a pregnancy to term.

• I was trafficked when I was 13 and got pregnant 6 times. I was always taken to a clinic by my trafficker and forced to have an abortion.

• Before he started trafficking me, my trafficker took me to a clinic. He pretended to be my uncle and had the doctor administer Depo-Provera to me. I got intermittent Depo-Provera shots from the time I was 13 throughout the time I was trafficked (until I was 23).

• My trafficker advertised me as someone who would not be using a condom and so after a weekend of being sold at upscale hotels, he would force me to take Plan B. I had Plan B so many times that I had gynecological problems for five years after I got out.

• I was trafficked when I was a child. I had so many abortions and was back out “on the track” again right afterward and had so many untreated infections that I developed scar tissue, PID, and ultimately had to have a hysterectomy. The pain of not being able to have a child now that I am happily married is too great to describe in words.

What you have just read are real accounts of women who survived sex trafficking, yet experienced forced abortions by their captors. Sadly, this happens too often right here in America as well as in other nations.

Sex trafficking is modern-day sex slavery, among other things. It is evil, wicked, and devastating in so many ways for the victims.

Sadly, the tragic and very wicked industry of abortion is an evil twin to sex trafficking. The abortion industry works hand in glove with sex trafficking, as one aids and abets the other. Many are the victims of both hideous and dark industries.

It is so critical that we, the Church of Jesus Christ, recognize and passionately mobilize to aggressively work to end both tragic industries. In the Gospel of John in chapter 10, verse 10, we are told that the “thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

These two industries represent the epitome of what the devil seeks to do to all human beings on this planet. It’s true that he seeks to steal from, kill, and destroy all people.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the answer to these and all the other ills of our world. And we, the Church, are the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. We are called to pray diligently and passionately for the ending of the work of both of these dark industries. However, it’s so important that we understand that we pray and then get up and do what we are called to do to help end these tragic works of darkness.

Where does the church start?

A great starting place is educate yourself and your church family about these works of darkness. Research and find out about ministries on the front lines coming against these dark industries.

Look at the websites of Christian ministries working faithfully to combat sex trafficking. Typically, they are well prepared to help educate believers about the organizations involved with sex trafficking.

Pray for these ministries and give to them financially to help them carry out their vital mission. Help to sponsor Bible studies or workshops or events that can serve to educate your church family about this issue.

Find out ways to help extend the educational reach of these ministries. You can learn so much more about the ministry of standing for Life. There are many great ministries doing great things to help the cause of Life.

Pregnancy help centers are ministries that provide free help to women who find themselves expecting a child at a difficult time in their lives. Praying for pregnancy centers and giving financially to help them carry out their mission are two ways many believers can help.

If you don’t know the location of a nearby pregnancy center, find out.

Volunteer your time, and help to give baby items, such as diapers, bottles, clothes, etc., to the clinics.

You can pray for women who go to abortion clinics to change their minds and keep their babies. Many people would be surprised at the number of women who go to abortion clinics to get abortions, but change their minds and decide not to abort.

This is often the result of the people of God praying behind the scenes.

Believers can volunteer and be trained to be sidewalk advocates who work outside of abortion clinics. The Lord uses people who stand and pray, share pro-life brochures, and who are simply there to help women to choose to keep their babies instead of aborting them. They also help women to see that choosing to place their baby for adoption is a very good, noble, and fruitful option instead of abortion.

There are also many other great ministries that help to address many sides of the pro-life cause. Again, please educate yourself about them, then prayerfully decide to get involved where the Lord wants you to get involved.

Whatever you do, don’t stand on the sidelines. There is too much work to be done for any of us to do that.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, there are three persons who represent the Church. They are the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan. (Read Luke 10:25 – 37)

In the parable, a traveler has been attacked, beat up, robbed, and left severely wounded on the side of the road. The priest comes along, sees the wounded man, and passes by on the other side. The Levite, too, comes along and sees the same wounded individual. And he, too, passes by on the other side.

Yet, the Samaritan comes along and sees the wounded man and reacts very differently. He stops, seeks to nurse the man and his injuries, and helps him to a place where he can receive further help and attention. He also spends money to help see after his needs.

The Lord Jesus very specifically told the lawyer — and all the rest of us in the Church — to go and do not as the Priest or the Levite did. Christ told us to do as the Samaritan did.

He told us to sacrificially love our brothers and sisters in need.

Brothers and sisters, let’s love the Lord enough to do what He says.

Photo credit: RefugeeServicesOfTexas (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved

Joseph Parker serves as the pastor of Bethlehem A.M.E. Church in Winona, Mississippi, and the Director of Outreach and Intercession with the American Family Association. He has been in the ministry for almost 40 years and hosts the radio broadcast, “The Hour of Intercession,” on the Urban Family Communications Radio network.

The views expressed in opinion articles are solely those of the author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Black Community News.

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