Mary Lou Hendry: ‘A profound moment for the church’ in voting ‘no’ on Amendment 4

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Editor’s Note: The Florida Baptist Convention and One More Child are partnering to mobilize our faith community to vote “no” on Amendment 4, the Right to Abortion Initiative, which will be on the state ballot Nov. 5. For more information, visit onemorechild.org/voteno.

In this article, One More Child’s Mary Lou Hendry shares her passion and calls all believers to vote “no” on Amendment 4 and together proclaim, “Life is sacred, and every life has dignity and value from conception to natural death.”

“A profound moment for the church.” That’s how Mary Lou Hendry describes the opportunity for Florida Baptists to cast their votes Nov. 5 to reject Amendment 4, the Right to Abortion Initiative.

“I believe this is a profound moment for the church because God’s kingdom is coming whether we join Him or not. I believe that abortion is not our issue; I believe the heart is. That’s why we bring hope for life change. We care, and we know the church cares, and we want to partner together to proclaim this message,” said Hendry, director of sanctity of human life for One More Child.

Hendry expressed concern that Amendment 4 is worded in such a way to be intentionally misleading and confusing to  many voters who believe incorrectly that the amendment supports the sanctity of human life when, in fact, the exact opposite is true.

“Amendment 4 is deceptive and extreme,” Hendry emphasized. “We need to rise up in love and in truth because we don’t want anybody to be uninformed. We are in the days of deception; that’s why the gospel is necessary.”

We are pro-life for the whole life, from the unborn to the elderly. Life is sacred, and every life has dignity and value from conception to natural death.

Mary Lou Hendry director of sanctity of human life, One More Child.

The amendment, she said, would take away all abortion restrictions that the state of Florida currently has in place and would allow abortions up to the moment of birth. The amendment also eliminates parental consent. Terms in the amendment, such as healthcare provider and viability, are not defined, leading to the possibility and probability that abortions would increase significantly in Florida if the amendment passes, she believes.

In 2023 alone, before the six-week abortion ban took effect in Florida in May 2024, more than 84,000 abortions occurred in Florida, putting the Sunshine State at number three in the nation for abortions, a heartbreaking ranking for Hendry to accept. About 7,000 of those abortions came from women traveling to Florida from out of state because, at the time, many surrounding states had stricter abortion laws.

Women seeking abortions in Florida in 2023 were asked to define the reason for their decision, with “elective abortion” being the top-cited reason by far. Such reasons are alarming to many Christians who believe that life begins at conception, Hendry said. Those reasons:

 

Elective abortion                                                        59,901

Social/economic concerns                                          19,606

Emotional/psychological health of mother                  2,325

Physical health of mother, non-life-endangering         1,334

Life-endangering physical condition                               251

Serious fetal genetic defect, deformity                            374

Fatal fetal abnormality                                                    141

Rape                                                                                 107

Incest                                                                                11

Victim of human trafficking                                               2

Total                                                                            84,052

 

Pregnancy care centers provide love and support

One More Child and the Florida Baptist Convention are pro-life partners, Hendry said.

“We are pro-life for the whole life, from the unborn to the elderly. We are pro-life, not just for the unborn, but for all of life. Life is sacred, and every life has dignity and value from conception to natural death.”

She explained, “The Lord has strategically placed pregnancy care clinics and centers around the state of Florida. The relationship between churches and the pregnancy centers is so important and valuable.”

Prior to joining the staff of One More Child in 2008, Hendry directed a pregnancy care center in Citrus County for a decade. “It’s a calling,” she said.

Women and men who enter these centers are “not judged, but informed,” she said.

Expectant mothers are offered free ultrasounds, which Hendry described as the “Psalm 139 experience.” Psalm 139 declares, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully are 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” (Psalm 139:13-15).

Through an ultrasound, many expectant mothers, who were initially seeking an abortion, see the tiny child who is forming in the womb and instead choose life.

Among numerous services, the pregnancy centers also offer free classes on parenting, relationships and other topics; pregnancy healthcare; baby care items and even abortion recovery care. “God heals the brokenhearted,” Hendry said.

Above all else, the pregnancy centers, she explained, “bring women and men to an opportunity to come to Christ and be reconciled to Him. I believe the church is God’s design for redemption and healing.”

The pregnancy centers, she said, are doing “great work. We will keep doing that work, whatever happens with the amendment. The Lord holds the future.”

‘Rise up and proclaim hope of gospel’

Still, she said, “We are in a pivotal time to have a voice, to rise up with that voice and proclaim the excellencies and the hope of the gospel of Christ” and the clear conviction “that abortion is not the answer.”

Many Florida Baptists believe that, as they enter their polling place to cast their Nov. 5 votes, they are entering a sacred place to affirm the sanctity of human life. Hendry agrees.

Hendry urged, “Continue to pray that there will be a great and mighty intervention from God for His glory and that Florida will be the tip of the spear in this amendment.”

Quoting Isaiah 60:1, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you,” Hendry has one message for Florida Baptists, and it’s a simple message.

“Rise up and vote ‘no’ on Amendment 4.”

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