I read an article in my local newspaper this morning that aggravated me. This article is why I have given up on our political system and am convinced that the only way fight injustices is through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the local church. In the words of Billy Hybels, “The local church is the hope of the world.”
The title of the article was, “Abortion issue slows action on trafficking bill.” You can read the article here.
In 2000 Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. This Act provides grants to organizations that fight trafficking, aids law enforcement efforts, and funds a hotline that officials say received more than 11,000 calls in fiscal 2010. It is an important act in the battle against sex trafficking. Three times since 2000 the bill has been reauthorized with bipartisan support.
Lat last summer House and Senate reauthorization bills were introduced. Each bill had about 40 co-sponsors from both parties. However, this time the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) threw a monkey-wrench into passing the bills by denying an anti-trafficking grant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops because the church group refused to refer victims for contraceptive or abortion services.
Now, the bill(s) is being held hostage until something is added to it that supports abortion and contraceptives. As a result, non-profits who depend on the grants to fight slavery are losing their funding. Once again politicians have placed their ideology ahead of protecting the citizens of our country.
There are plenty of governmental programs and non-profits that had help a woman get contraceptives and abortions, but there are not a lot of programs out there fighting human trafficking. I encourage everyone to call or write their Congressman and encourage them to pass these reauthorization bills. In the meantime, I also encourage you to find out the organization in your community that are fighting trafficking and get involved. The solution is going to come from those of us who profess the name of Jesus, not the government.
Floods of Justice 
The only thing that should be added to the bill is a provision that makes it a crime for a US citizen to participate in sexual exploitation even if the act did not occur within US borders and jurisdiction. It is time to end human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and sex-tourism now!