Joseph Lieberman

An Open Letter to Senator Joseph Lieberman – August 28, 2000

Has God Chosen You “For Such a Time as This?”

Dear Senator Joseph and Hadassah Lieberman,

Congratulations on your selection as a candidate for the position of Vice President of the USA. When chosen by Al Gore to be his running mate, you claimed that your selection was “a miracle.” Have you considered that perhaps God has chosen you “for such a time as this?”

God chose Joseph and placed him in a position of leadership in Egypt in order that many might be saved from a seven-year famine, including the Jewish people. Although his brothers meant to do him harm, God meant it for good. Gen. 50:20. Joseph answered the call.

God chose Moses to lead the Jewish people out of the land of Egypt. He used an Egyptian princess to save Moses so that he might save the Jewish nation from oppression by the Pharoah. Exodus 3:10. Moses answered the call.

God chose Esther (Hadassah ) to be queen of Persia so that the Jewish race might be saved from destruction at the hand of Haman. Mordecai, her older cousin, challenged her “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14. Esther answered the call.

In modern history, three major tragedies epitomize man’s treatment of certain segments of the human race as inferior, or even less than human: slavery, the holocaust , and abortion. It took the effort of heroic leaders to bring the first two of these human tragedies to an end. Who will end the third one?

William Wilberforce was used of God to lead the effort to rid England of the “social blight” of slavery . It took Wilberforce until 1833 (46 years) to accomplish his goal of abolishing slavery in England. God raised up Abraham Lincoln in the USA to accomplish the same goal by the year 1865.

Before WWII, Winston Churchill warned the world of the evil intentions of the Nazi regime led by Adolf Hitler. England did not listen. When WWII began, God placed Churchill in a leadership position so that he might put an end to the Jewish holocaust. Six million Jews were killed before this tragedy was brought to an end. [My own parents hid Jews in the attic of their home in Holland during WWII to save whom they could. Hadassah’s family lived through this holocaust. Even now she serves on the Board of Directors of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation, which memorializes the victims of the Holocaust.]

The third major human tragedy in modern times is happening right here in America. Abortionists are taking the lives of the pre-born at the rate of 1.5 million per year. Abortion was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade case on January 22, 1973. Justice Harry Blackmun issued the majority decision, stating that “We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy , and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.”

The medical evidence for life in the womb is now overwhelming. For example:

  1. At conception the embryo is genetically distinct from the mother.
  2. The baby’s heart is formed by the 24 th day in the womb. A heartbeat defines life.
  3. Individual brain waves are detected in the fetus in about 45 days.
  4. Ultrasound shows distinct baby features – eyes, ears, fingers – in the womb at 8 weeks.
  5. The movie “The Silent Scream” depicts the mouth of a 12-week fetus opening in reaction to being killed in the womb.
  6. 21-week “old” Samuel grasped a finger of the surgeon operating on him while in the womb. Shown in USA Today, September 7, 1999.

The philosophical arguments against abortion are growing and center around the key philosophical question – when does a human fetus become a person? Here are some of the arguments in support of the personhood of the unborn:

  1. The Supreme Court has tragically decided that partial birth abortions are now legal. The AMA has called the procedure “bad medicine” and stated that it is “never medically necessary.” Even Justice Antonin Scalia predicted that “today’s decision … will be greeted by a firestorm of criticism – as well it should.”
  2. An industry has been started to harvest and distribute the tissue and organs of aborted babies.
  3. Abortion has effectively opened the door for infanticide and euthanasia.
  4. Passage of “The Innocent Child Protection Act” bill by the U.S. House of Representatives by 417-0 demonstrates that people do recognize the personhood of the unborn child.

There has never been any theological uncertainty about when life begins. You have stated that “my faith is part of me. It’s been at the center of who I’ve been all my life.” Your own prophets clearly supported the sanctity of life. For example:

  1. “You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13.
  2. The Old Testament legal code exacts the death penalty for someone who kills an unborn baby. Exodus 21:22-25.
  3. “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13.
  4. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” Jeremiah 1:5.

Norma McGorvey [Roe] neither obtained an abortion in 1970, nor supports abortion today: “I think it’s safe to say that the entire abortion industry is based on a lie … I am dedicated to spending the rest of my life undoing the law that bears my name.” Dr. Bernard Nathanson, co-founder of NARAL, having himself presided over “60,000 deaths”, used ultrasound to produce the film “The Silent Scream” of a “fetus” undergoing abortion. It clearly showed the fetus opening its mouth in what looked horrifyingly like a scream of fear and pain. Dr. Nathanson has changed his position on abortion and now defends the rights of the unborn. The photographer who filmed little Samuel in the womb now condemns abortion.

Tens of thousands of pregnant young girls have seen an ultrasound picture of the life in their womb, and decided that they could not kill their unborn child. Despite the righteous outcry of the many, and the lack of support for abortion by the majority of U.S. voters, the butchery goes on. When the truth about abortion is known, people will see it for what it is – the murder of convenience of the innocent unborn – and abhor it. The truth is known now – and it demands that Roe v. Wade be struck down.

Al Gore chose you as his running mate to distance himself from the scandals and immorality of the Clinton Presidency. Have you considered that God placed you in this position for another reason – to speak out and finally end the killing of our unborn? If you are chosen to be Vice President of the USA, you could prevent the murder of convenience of six million (the holocaust number) more unborn children. Your new book “The Man Who Stopped The Trains to Auschwitz” attests to your strong feelings about the Jewish Holocaust. What will you do about the American Holocaust?

Mr. Lieberman, how long will our government, which is sworn to protect the rights of the vulnerable, allow abortion to continue? Will you be a Joseph, a Moses, an Esther, a Wilberforce, or a Churchill and answer the call ? Or will you sacrifice your high moral standards and principles on the altar of political expediency? The choice is yours. God is watching and waiting for your answer.

On behalf of the unborn,

Heinz Lycklama, Ph.D.
17818 Oxford Dr.
Arlington, WA 98223

Copies of this open letter have been sent to all 540 Senators and Congress(wo)men in Washington, D.C. I’ve also included some information suggesting action that you can take, if you are in agreement with the open letter to Senator Lieberman.

These letters are also available in Microsoft Word format. They can be opened by clicking on the document names below.

  • lieberman.doc – Open Letter to Senator Joseph Lieberman.
  • senators.doc – Letter sent to all Senators and Congress(wo)men.
  • takeaction.doc – How to take action and publicize the open letter to Lieberman.

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