For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
-Psalm 139:13-16 (ESV)
What is abortion? And what does it mean to be pro-life? Abortion was made legal in the United States in 1973 after the landmark ruling in the case of Roe v. Wade. This decision was made at the Supreme Court level and then enforced upon the federal, state, and local levels.
Planned Parenthood an organization that runs abortion clinics across the country, paid for largely by tax-payer dollars has recently been involved in a major controversy. Pro-life groups went under cover and videoed conversations with top officials in Planned Parenthood, discussing the sale of fetal body parts from aborted babies.
These videos have triggered outrage on a national level, sparking protests in major cities. The mainstream television media, aside from Fox News has largely ignored the controversy. Many conservative groups have accused major media outlets with biased reporting. Planned Parenthood leaders had a rebuttal to the videos, saying they were highly edited. A few days later the White House issued the same statements as Planned Parenthood, defending the actions of the organization. The Pro-life groups involved have issued new videos week by week, triggering further outrage and plans for legislation to defund Planned Parenthood. Even during the first two Republican presidential primaries the topic of Planned Parenthood came up, and candidates issued statements in opposition to Planned Parenthood, expressing desires to defund the organization.
Despite all the noise and controversy, there are several truths that must be examined: First of all, what do Christians believe regarding pregnancy, birth, rape, and abortion? Second, what arguments do secular materialists and liberals present regarding abortion? Third, how do Christians respond to the political situation, in personal ethics, and in familial conduct?
Is abortion really the extermination of children? For an evangelical Christian, the answer has to be yes. Why? Because God knew you and he knew me while we were still in the womb (Psalm 139). But what if it's God will that abortions should happen? What if God allowed abortion procedures to take place and so following, gave us the choice to do so? Doesn't that make the action of aborting a fetus OK? I don't believe that to be the case. God does give humans free choices, but he also asks us to make wise choices. God gives us the choice to have a cup of coffee or tea. God also gives us the choice to love our neighbor, or kill our neighbor. Just because the choice exists, doesn't mean all courses are moral and approved.
The case is this: Abortion would not be necessary if the Protestant ethic were ruling the minds of the nation. Don't be deceived, only 80 years ago the Protestant ethos was the centerpiece of American culture. It can be again. Don't let anyone tell you that it's gone too far and it can never be changed and "progress" and so on. Anything can happen. The gospel has transformed cultures, transformed entire societies and it will again. Wait and see.
Abortion is the necessary entailment of a culture of sexual depravity. The sexual revolution took place in the 60s and 70s. The natural result of poor sexual conduct, immature sex-no-strings-attached is that a few strings pop up. IE: pregnancy. The sex revolutionist wishes to reject this unfortunate reality of sexual intercourse, therefore abortion is necessary. The unwanted child, a result of a one night stand or a random sexual encounter, must then be exterminated.
Abortion is evil. Watch a documentary or two. Witness an abortion procedure. Watch the developing child sucked out of the woman's body. Watch a partial birth abortion where the child's throat is slit and the corpse is tossed into a bucket for later organ harvesting. Abortion is evil. If people can't see that, it's because they are blind, unknowingly, or willfully, they are blind, and they can no longer tell goodness from hell.
Is abortion child sacrifice? Yes it is. It is another life put on the chopping block for the sake of convenience. It is the natural solution for a consumer society that prefers convenience over liberty, lies over truth, pleasure over principles. Some issues are multiple shades of gray, this one is not. This issue is black and white.
I had a friend who had an abortion. She regrets it to this day. She told me how sometimes she cries late at night thinking about it. She has tried for several years now to get pregnant again in the hopes of somehow atoning for the crime she feels she committed. She's not a Christian. But something deep within her knows that what happened was wrong. I've heard that same story again and again. Another friend of mine got pregnant out of wedlock. In an attempt to terminate the pregnancy, she slammed a bottle of lemon juice. The fetus came out prematurely on her bathroom floor and she laid there crying for hours in horror. This isn't a black and white issue. But it is a women's rights issue. Women are being deceived, and pushed toward abortion. Abortions they often regret. Women have a right to know the truth.
For the last year before moving to my new posting at the Salvation Army of Escanaba, I worked at a homeless shelter in Wisconsin. There was a girl there who was pregnant, late into her pregnancy. She was considering an abortion. According to Wisconsin law she was no longer eligible because she was so late in her term. She was able to contact an organization in Illinois that would transport her from Wisconsin to Illinois, conduct the abortion, and transport her back to Wisconsin for no cost whatsoever. A group of Christians was trying to convince her to keep the child, or give it up for adoption, but alas, she elected to go have the pregnancy terminated. It's amazing how the funding for such programs works. It's amazing the lengths they will go. And how women are being conned. It's wrong.
What if the child were a result of rape or incest? Think about it. Is the fetus a life? If left uninterrupted would it mature into a human being? If the answer to those questions is yes, then to abort the child created through rape or incest is still murder. When Native American women were raped by white settlers, many of them became pregnant. The children of those violent crimes were raised as members of the tribe. They were loved, and cherished. And some of them became great leaders of the tribe. Could we learn from that example today?
What does it mean for a Christian to be pro-life? For a Christian to be pro-life, it means to speak the truth. Many Christian leaders simply ignore this issue because it might mean less money in their coffers. Unacceptable. For a Christian to be pro-life it also means supporting organizations and causes that fight for life. Yet it also means loving those who struggle with sexual issues. It means loving those who are considering having an abortion, and helping them to realize the sanctity of life.
The Christian worldview set apart from any other, recognizes the sovereign right of a single person. One person is significant, important, and ought to be treated fairly. A single life, made in the image of God is of infinite importance. Life begins at conception. Where else would it begin? These issues are clear. For the Christian we know that every person is made in the image of God. If I impede on their rights as an individual, I'm stepping on sacred ground.
There is a war on in Europe and the United States. It's not a war of tanks or armies, but a war of worldviews. The Protestant/Catholic view of life has largely been supplanted in Europe by the rise of secular humanism. In the United States the Protestant ethos hasn't vanished as easily, putting up a spirited fight against the forces of secularization.
Humanism quietly captured the universities and public areas of culture and society, and now history, politics, science, and philosophy are all being rewritten in it's image. This sort of humanist revolution has captured the educational institutions from public schools up to the universities and in so doing they have turned the tide hard against the remaining protestant forces. Young people are the future. And they're being deceived. Yet young people are starting to wake up to this farce, and they're turning to Christ. Because the reality is, humanism is empty. Humanism is a vacuum, new age ideologies have been found superficial, Christ alone carries weight.
Abortion is a side effect of this revolution of humanism, matierialism, naturalism, scientism, whatever you want to call it. I fear for the future of western civilization if this revolution finishes it's ugly work, building it's fences in every sector of society to keep Christians out. Because in the vacuum of meaning, truth, and morality, has come depravity, crime, depression, rising suicide rates, corruption in all areas of society, and of course, abortion. Abortion, the organized genocide of over 53 million people. People who would have had names. People who would have contributed to society. What accomplishments would they have made? What contributions? What new discoveries? What books would've been written? What wondrous works of art? What breakthroughs of science and medicine? No one will ever know now. They have been killed within the body of their own mother. Think about that, their own mother chose it. How terrible, how truly terrible.
The truth about abortion forces the Christian to be a proponent for life. Being a proponent for life means speaking the truth about abortion. It also means advocating for the mother, and for the dignity of the mother. It means sharing the love of Christ through adoption agencies, free medical care, and support systems for single mothers. It means gathering around the pregnant mother with love, affection, encouragement, protection, and monetary support. It means helping these mothers raise their children to understand that life is sacred, and a gift from God.
God has given us the incredible gift of choice. We can do wondrous things with it, or terrible things with it. God asks us to treat life as sacred. Choose today: Is your answer "yes Lord" or "no Lord?" He gives you that choice. Choose carefully. We will all account for our actions and our words someday. Mark my words. God will call us to give an answer.
In conclusion, abortion must be apposed and abolished. Christians must stand up for the truth. Although humanism has crippled many of the foundations of American and western society, mainly morality, there is still hope for a Christian remnant to renew the culture in holiness. Part of that process is fighting for the right to life. There are many organizations actively fighting to do just that. Here are some organizations that support life:
Abolish Human Abortion
National Right to Life
Pro-Life America
Life News
Students for Life
All Life
Operation Rescue
"For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments 5 and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ." -2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NET)
