He’s protested outside court and he’s known for displaying shocking images. But don’t let that put you off – Andy Stephenson is a man on a mission against abortion. Elim minister Arthur Wood caught up with him…
AW: How damaging do you think the legalising of abortion has been to Great Britain?
AS: In the UK, we have not only killed well over seven million unborn, innocent children made in the image of God, we have eliminated the future generations that would follow. We have caused untold suffering to the parents and siblings of these missing children.
You cannot kill off innocent human beings and not be detrimentally affected as a society. History shows us that there have always been cultures that have killed their children, the most infamous being, the offering of ‘child sacrifices’ to false gods, in the hope of receiving a good harvest and economic blessing.
Despite these worst kinds of historical stories of the slaughter of innocent children – today the scale of killing is far greater.
Never in human history has innocent blood been shed on such an endemic scale with such widespread approval and practice.
In the UK alone since the 1967 Abortion Act, the figures have rocketed to around 200,000 abortions a year, not counting the morning after pill and other abortifacient contraceptive devices. The promise was that abortion would just be for the extreme and rare cases, yet like many other steps towards evil it has been pushed down the slippery slope.
AW: How have Christians reacted to the stance you and Abort67 are taking against abortion?
AS: History shows us that in just about every case of social injustice, Christians have been at the forefront of fighting evil. Tragically, they have often worked alone as the established churches have refused to get engaged.
In my experience, church leadership has been, not only resistant to ending abortion, but has often requested that we stop what we are doing, and sometimes even approved of legalised abortion. One time a church leader said to me, “You may stop a few women from having abortions and save a few babies, but you damage the work of the church. People may be put off the gospel.”
This is nothing new. When slavery was legal in the UK, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel into Foreign Parts was one of the largest slave plantation owners in the West Indies. The gospel was being spread, but at great human cost.
Today, some church leaders are willing to sacrifice the unborn so that people won’t be ‘put off’ the gospel. They cite Matthew 28; that Jesus told us to go into the world making disciples, but they forget that he also commanded us to teach them to obey all that he had commanded – commands like, “Do not shed innocent blood.”
AW: What would you say to a Christian who says it is wrong for you to publicly display graphic images of aborted babies to get your message across?
AS: I would have to ask them, “Why is it wrong?” Is it because people who have been born may get upset? Ultimately, we use these images because they work.
Women tell us time and time again that nothing less shocking than these pictures would have sufficed to persuade them that abortion was a far worse option than the crisis they were facing.
These images have saved many lives and changed the minds of mothers considering abortion. Many people today have made the mistake of thinking that we have to be liked to be effective. History tells us that popular reformers are seldom effective and effective reformers are seldom liked.
The history of social reform is the history of shocking pictures. To think that we can cause people to be outraged about abortion by covering up the horror that it represents is inconsistent with not only common sense, but history too.
AW: In your experience, how effective would you say the Church has been in speaking up against abortion?
AS: I’m not sure the Church has spoken up against abortion. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Church is God’s answer to the world, but it is heartbreaking to see the Church being an echo, rather than a voice. Saveable babies are dying because it is not the priority of the Church to save them. We have become so preoccupied with growth, we have forgotten what it is we are supposed to be growing.
AW: What would you say to a Christian leader who is unwilling to speak about the evil of abortion to their congregation in case they offend anyone?
AS: If you don’t speak about abortion to the entire congregation in your main worship meeting, you will end up talking to individual women in your office, comforting them after they confess to killing their unborn child.
“These images have saved many lives and changed the minds of mothers considering abortion”
Silence is deadly. Not teaching about abortion sends a false message to post-abortive women that their sin is so bad that it is unforgivable. The message it sends to women in a crisis pregnancy is that it can’t be ‘that bad’, as my church leader doesn’t give it any kind of platform. My church leaders and I can speak from experience that dealing with this subject compassionately (in manner and emphasising forgiveness of sins) and truthfully (using abortion images/film) will not leave you with a room full of empty seats the following Sunday.
We have shown abortion images in our church on several occasions when there have been visitors and post abortive people present and no one ran screaming from the room. In fact, people have shown that they appreciate that the leaders have dealt with a difficult issue in this way.
God is more than able to deal with the issues that handling abortion will bring up. Do we really think we need to protect people from this? We are doing them a disservice if we do. James 4:8-10 says, “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up.”
Until a person recognises what it is they have done (and often post-abortive women live in denial of the severity of their actions), they will be unable to confess their sin. Until they confess, they will not seek forgiveness. Until they have sought forgiveness, they will not enter into healing.
Deal with abortion honestly and lovingly, but deal with it. Abortion isn’t just another sin nor is it the only issue, but it is the greatest injustice in history done to fellow man. I remember reading that abortion was Satan’s attempt to kill God in effigy since he had been unsuccessful to kill him in person.
AW: What advice would you give to a mother who is considering having an abortion?
AS: Visit the website, www. ehd.org. In the ‘movie theatre’ section you will be able to see actual video footage of early embryos and foetuses. Then go to the website, www.abort67. co.uk, to see what abortion actually is. We can put you in touch with organisations that can help you through your pregnancy.
Andy Stephenson was arrested in 2011 because, along with others, he displayed graphic images of aborted babies outside a publicly funded abortion clinic in Brighton. The case was thrown out of court as the judge decided that no law had been broken.
Andy, who is a Christian and the director of Abort67, has appeared in TV debates on the subject. He has also caused quite a stir among Christians and non-Christians alike because of the graphic images he and his organisation publicly display. Andy was first awakened to the issue of abortion shortly after his wife had the 12-week scan of their first child.
Around that time he opened a leaflet that had been given to him by his mother. It contained the image of an aborted baby of the same age as the daughter in the scan photos that he and his wife so deeply cherished.
Andy said that prior to seeing that horrific image he had probably given no more than a few minutes’ thought to abortion, but from that point on there are barely a few minutes in the day when he is not thinking about it.