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April 2001
Civil disobedience in the pro-life battle'We must accept this principle:
God rules, His law is supreme'By Joanne Dieleman
 I believe that God has called me to the pro-life ministry, to work with humility, honesty, integrity and willing service to protect all human life created in His image. I yearn for the day when little children and their mothers are no longer the victims of abortion.
The first time I was involved in some kind of civil disobedience was in an alley behind an abortion facility. I did not hesitate to keep talking to a young couple, even after I was told to stop. They were listening intently to me when we entered the private property of the abortion facility. The couple went inside, and on my way off the property I was arrested and charged with trespassing. I fully accepted the consequences of my action and at all times I was polite and respectful. (As a matter of record, the couple decided against the abortion and was later counseled by a clergy member.) From then on, I became convinced that although we have to respect, honour and pray for the authorities, even in the face of unjust laws, when it comes to obeying these laws, there are certain exceptions.
Certain Exceptions
I grew up in Holland, during the war. Strangely enough, my most vivid memory as a young girl relates to the discussions among the adults about civil disobedience. My mother's brother hid Jews, and my father thought it was foolish, dangerous and against God's commandments to disobey the governing authorities, even in this situation. You could argue that the Germans were not the legitimate authority in Holland, but since Germans also hid Jews, the dilemma still existed. Was my father right? My uncle? What about Corrie Tenboom, the Dutch woman who rescued many Jews and freedom fighters from the death grip of the Nazis? An otherwise law-abiding citizen, Corrie broke the German laws. Were the people who ran the underground railway to rescue slaves in the southern United States and bring them to freedom wrong to do so? All of these people are now spoken of with respect. Remembering them in any other manner seems inconceivable.
 If I would ask, "Should Christians break the law?" most people would say, "No." However, if I would ask, "Should Christians obey God's Word, even if it means disobeying the ungodly laws of man?" most would say, "Yes." Do we have to respect and be subject to the earthly authorities? Yes, we do. Does this mean that we always have to obey the laws that are imposed on us? No, it does not. When God's laws contravene man's laws, we are to obey God's laws above man's. We must accept this simple principle: God rules. His law is supreme, He requires all men in all nations to obey it, and if laws conflict, His law is the unquestionable authority.
Romans 13
Romans 13 is the chapter most often quoted in the discussion about civil disobedience. This chapter tells us we owe obedience to good governments. It does not deal with the question of what believers should do when the government rejects its God-given duty to punish evil and reward the good, or when it praises and protects the wicked, while punishing the righteous. Reading beyond the opening verses of Romans 13 brings us to verse 10: "Love does no harm to your neighbour." It was because of this principle that God did not punish the Hebrew midwives, MosesŐ parents, Rahab the harlot, or Daniel and his friends, all of whom disobeyed an order issued by the government in order to obey a law of God. In fact, God blessed each of these people for their obedience.
Our government has abandoned its God-given responsibility to protect babies in the womb. On the contrary, the abortion industry is actively protected by the government and paid for by tax dollars. Any damage inflicted on women is covered up. I believe the debate should not be about whether we obey God's laws as opposed to man's laws - that should be obvious. Instead, we should talk about when, for whom and under what circumstances civil disobedience is permitted.
Let us agree on the following: 1. It may never be of a violent nature. 2. It may never be in violation of God's laws (e.g. killing others). 3. It may not be simply out of protest. 4. It may not be to defend our own rights.
We are left with the following: 1. It may be to save someoneŐs life. 2. It may be to be faithful to God.
Let's apply these guidelines to Operation Rescue efforts. Rescue missions are attempts by God-fearing people to save babies and mothers from abortion, by blocking, on a certain day, peacefully and prayerfully, an abortion mill entrance. They are not mass protests. The door to an abortuary is blocked with enough bodies so that no babies can be killed as long as the block is there. Statistics say that 40 per cent of the women stopped this way do not return. These rescue efforts are not meant to rebel against, or to protest, or to change the law. They are meant to save lives. The charges incurred to the participants are minor infractions, mostly without penalties, such as trespassing.
A Higher Good
 If we seek to love our neighbours and make sacrifices for them, it may be necessary to break a lesser law in the process. These lesser laws may even be just ones, like being forbidden to trespass, but even secular society acknowledges a higher law principle. Canadian law allows for a "defense of necessity" plea. "Defense of necessity" can be used if one can prove that a higher good was gained by breaking a just law. Examples of this application are: saving a person from drowning in a private pool which has a Ňno trespassingÓ sign, or speeding to drive a sick child to the hospital. Sadly, pro-life activists have not been successful in using this defense, because the preborn child is not considered a person under Canadian law. That in itself is evil, flying in the face of all God's principles.
Since 1990, I have been the director of a crisis pregnancy center, located in downtown Toronto. Our mandate is to offer help to everyone going into the next-door abortion facility. Since September 1994, after an exhausting and expensive lawsuit initiated by the government and based on lies, a temporary injunction has been in place, disallowing any counseling, leafleting, etc. within a certain radius of the abortuary door. This restriction has greatly hampered our efforts. Is this arbitrary law a situation calling for civil disobedience? Some of our pro-life supporters feel that it is. One of us, Linda Gibbons, is still in jail for disobeying this injunction.
I personally did not feel it to be in the best interest of saving lives to disobey this law. The temporary injunction still allows us to do our work outside the 18 meters from the abortuary door. God can reach over such a short distance, and daily He does. Linda, however, feels very strongly that the law contradicts GodŐs command to honour human life, and she continues to disobey the injunction each time she is freed from jail. This is a matter between God and Linda, and we should not interfere. Indeed, although Linda and I have agreed to disagree, she still needs our support and prayers, not our criticism.
I would like to leave you with a couple of thoughts. Abortion is not a social issue. It is a baby holocaust. More than a million babies are being killed in North America, 5,000 each day. They are being burned, dismembered, poisoned and used for experiments. Their organs are being sold on an open market. Women are being hurt, damaged for life, deceived and lied to. We are still in a position to do something about it, and it can often be done within the boundaries of the law. The discussion about civil disobedience should not prevent us from actively seeking to save the lives of women and children, and working to change the abortion laws. Are we doing enough? My parents, living in World War II, might not have fully realized the magnitude of the holocaust, and so perhaps did not do enough to fight it. Is that an excuse?
What about us?
This article was published originally in Reformed Perspective,
a journal of the Canadian Reformed Church,
and is reprinted here with permission.
Romans 13: 1-5
Does this passage tell us to obey the government or only good government?
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is GodŐs servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is GodŐs servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. (NIV)
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