Abortion
The World Health Organization tells us there are an estimated 40-50 million abortions in the world every year. That corresponds to approximately 125,000 abortions per day on planet earth.
So, the question is: What can possibly be wrong with something so common, so popular? If our friends, neighbors and national leaders don’t consider this a problem, why should we?
To answer that question, we’ve got to ask another question: When does human life begin? Or reworded: Is the fetus a human being?
As you look in your Bible, the word “abortion” is not there.
But…….
- The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. It uses the same Hebrew word for children as well as for the fetus in the womb in Exodus 21:22.
The New Testament was originally written in Greek. It uses the same Greek word for young Hebrew children slaughtered at Pharaoh’s command in Acts 7:19 and for the unborn John the Baptist in Luke 1:41,44.
The Bible is not making a distinction between the fetus in the womb and the child after birth.
- Three statements by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Paul have one common message:
Isaiah 49:1 The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother He named me
Jeremiah 1:5 before you were born I consecrated you
Galatians 1:15 He who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb
Excuse me! That was ME in my mom’s womb. Not an “it”. Not a prehuman blob.
God is giving human status to the fetus in these verses as He does not wait until birth to mention His will for their lives but rather assigns a life calling to the person while still in the womb.
- Psalm 139:13 For You did form my inward parts, you did weave me in my mother’s womb
David is treating his fetus as being human when he used personal pronouns here in referring to himself. Yes, David was under construction in the womb but was a person nevertheless. God relates to us and is personally concerned for us before birth.
- Psalm 51:5 Behold I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me
This important passage establishes the humanness of the fetus since only humans and angels can be guilty of sin. David can have the taint of sin that he mentions here only if humanness is ascribed to the fetus. Although this verse is specifically dealing only with David, it has application for everyone.
- Luke records the response of John the Baptist, still in the womb, to the appearance of the pregnant Mary. As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Luke 1:44
Nonhuman or prehuman impersonal pieces of tissue don’t leap. Humans do.
- But the most powerful biblical indication that the fetus is human is the incarnation of Jesus. In Mathew 1:20 Joseph is given an explanation of Mary’s pregnancy. The angel says, for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Now there is a choice to be made here. Either the fetus in Mary was Jesus, a human being from the moment of conception, or for a brief time in history Jesus was a subhuman piece of tissue.
The choice is obvious. The second person of the trinity became a man. Philippians 2:7 states that Jesus took
the form of a bondservant and was made in the likeness of men.
Jesus at no time was ever in a subhuman state. It is unthinkable that Christ in His incarnation would undergo fetal development if the fetus were less than human.
These verses point conclusively to the human status of the fetus.
But… what about two Bible verses that abortion advocates quote in support of abortion?
- Genesis 2:7 states,
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed in though his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
This verse is used to support the view that human life begins with the first breathe. So, until an infant breathes, it has not yet become a human being and may be destroyed.
Such a position is untenable since the verse deals with the unique situation of the creation of the first man. That happened once in history never to be repeated. It cannot be applied to subsequent generations.
- Exodus 21:22,23 states,
And if men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him; and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty…….
Abortion is in no way being condoned here since the injury to the pregnant woman is accidental and the injury is punishable even though it is accidental.
What about other pro-abortion arguments?
Abortion advocates state that a woman ought to be able to control what happens to her body to the greatest extent possible. Whatever one may think of the morality of abortion, it cannot be established that is poses a clear and present danger to the common good. Why should outsiders concern themselves with what happens in a woman’s body? Mind your own business.
Response:
It has been established that the fetus is a human being. To kill is murder.
Argument:
Are we sure on biblical grounds that it is always the best and loving thing to do to bring into this demanding, complex world a badly deformed, perhaps even mentally incompetent individual? While the Scriptures establish the sanctity of life, the stress of Scripture is on the quality of life. Such being the case, and with the accompanying advancement in medical science, could not the decision to stop the growth of a terribly deformed fetus be viewed as an advancement in morality rather than an expression of depravity?
Further, it is now possible to detect that a fetus will be mongoloid, and an increasing number of people are choosing an abortion if that problem is diagnosed.
Response:
There has not been a single organization of parents of mentally challenged children that has endorsed abortion. A “defective” child may be the direct gift from God to a family as an instrument for the greater glory of God. One particular challenged child became the means of leading the parents to establish a home for such children, resulting in many answered prayers and blessing to many families.
Argument:
“I would allow abortions for general health reasons including too many children, too close together. I would allow abortions for social reasons, when the children would disastrously affect the mother’s life. I would allow for abortion for economic reasons when a child would heighten poverty or be resented for the financial burden it places on the family.”
Response:
If the fetus is not human, this reasoning makes sense. But since the fetus is clearly human, preservation of life has a higher priority than the strain it places on the family.
Argument:
Abortion should be permitted if the mother’s life is in danger.
Response:
Great caution should be used with this argument. Some would argue that the birth of the baby might cause undue stress on the mother, but a realistic look at the situation would clearly reveal the mother’s life is definitely not in danger.
In the rare case when it is clear that either the mother or fetus will die, saving one at the expense of the other is not abortion but an act of lifesaving. A murder aka abortion takes place only where the motive is sinful. Saving a life can in no way be classified as sinful. Therefore, this situation does not come under the label of “abortion”.
Conclusion:
It is easy to be intimidated by the pro-abortion position. Its plea to spare parents the responsibility of having a deformed baby or to give women the right to their own bodies or to spare an impoverished family another mouth to feed seems compassionate and humanitarian.
A believer seems callous by turning his back on such seemingly noble desires. The Bible, however, gives the believer an even more noble goal – the preservation of life.
The fetus is human. A believer should defend the right of a fetus to live.
But what do we say to women who have had abortions?
We should say:
- Forgiveness:
1 John 1:7b the blood of Jesus… cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Psalm 32:5
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
What wonderful assurance those verses provide. Was getting an abortion sin? Yes. Does that mean that those who submitted to abortion (or strongly advocated it) have no hope? NO! In Christ genuine, thorough, deep, lasting forgiveness can be found. When Christ died for our sins, He died for all our sins – including abortion. Receive the forgiveness that only He can offer….and wants us to have.
There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ who live according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. Romans 8:1
Embracing Jesus as our Savior from our sins starts our healing journey. Put your faith and trust in Christ now. Receive the forgiveness He offers now.
- Grieving:
Look at the trap that society has for women who have had abortions. They have been told that the new life that was in them was not a life. Therefore, those women have no right to grieve because there is nothing to grieve for. Some unwanted tissue in their bodies has been forcibly ejected, don’t give it a second thought, get on with your life. You have no right to any normal grieving. You have lost nothing.
Label that cruel, heartless, dehumanizing.
The fact remains grief is normal. Grief is needed. “…Jesus knew the life-giving value of grieving after death. He wept with Mary and Martha after Lazarus died, asking,
Where have you laid him? John 11:34
He went with them to the tomb—not just to remember, but to demonstrate God’s glory. After abortion, He will go with us, too. He’ll help us find God in the midst of our loss and grieve if we face the truth.”
- Assurance:
The aborted baby is dead. But the aborted baby is not destroyed. He is in heaven.
In Job 3:1 Job is not in a good mood:
Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
In the following verses he pours out his gloom.
Job 3:16,17
Why was I not hidden like a still-born child, like infants who never saw light? Why didn’t I die in my mother’s womb? There the wicked cease from troubling. There the weary are at rest.
What is his point? Job is saying it would have been better if he had been a miscarried fetus. If he had been a still-born he wouldn’t have to deal with the toughness of daily living but instead would immediately enter into rest. Rest = heaven.
A fetus that dies before being born – whether still-born or aborted – goes right to heaven. What wonderful assurance that is about the aborted baby! What started tragically could not have ended better!
To those who refuse abortions:
Let’s help!
Let us salute women who choose life. But let us take supportive action, also. Prayer for the new mom and newborn would be the place to start. It is priceless and needed and powerful. But so are concrete actions such as
babysitting, encouragement, wise counsel, financial aid, and other stress reducing, burden bearing actions. Let’s reward moms who chose life by being there for them.
In a world where people constantly, loudly demand their own rights, let us realize there is no more basic right than the right to live. Let us stand with the unborn and allow them the right we have experienced – birth. It is overwhelming to realize that someone might get the opportunity to live because you spoke up for life.