A Christians View of Abortion

Shane Pack

  It is estimated that forty-two million children are killed by abortion world wide each year. Since 1973 there have been over forty-two million children killed by abortion in the United States. Abortion reached an all time high in 1990 when about 1.6 million children were killed by abortion in that year alone. These numbers translate into 4,384 per day, 183 per hour or one every twenty seconds.
  There were more children killed in that one year than US solders killed in the Revolutionary War, The Civil War, World War I & II, Korean, Vietnam and the Gulf Wars combined.
  In recent years the abortion rate has declined somewhat but the figures are still alarming. In 2000, 1.3 million abortions took place in the United States at an average cost of $372.00. For less than $400.00 you can legally take a human life.
  Two thirds of the women that had abortions were not married. Seventy-five percent of the women surveyed said that they had an abortion because a baby would interfere with work, school, or other responsibilities.
  Eighty-eight percent of abortions are performed in the first twelve weeks of the pregnancy. Of the remaining twenty-two percent, some are performed as late as twenty-four weeks. These late term abortions are usually performed by a method that is called “partial-birth abortion.” This method is performed by partially giving birth to the baby, killing it (usually by sucking it’s brain from it’s skull), and then the remainder of the baby is delivered. This method shows such an outright disrespect for human life. It is hard for me to comprehend how a nation ,which prides itself on being one of the most civil, could allow a practice such as this to be legal. Other methods of abortion are just as gruesome.
  With modern medical practices, premature babies can routinely be saved at twenty-four weeks. How do you rationalize someone having the right to kill a child because it has not yet passed from the mother’s womb, when they would be tried for murder if they did so to the same child after being delivered in the maternity ward? Is this the marks of a civil nation? In the United States a person who kills a woman and an unborn child can be charged for two counts of murder, yet that woman could legally kill the same child in an abortion clinic. Does this seem rational?
  Many pro-abortionists do not view an unborn child as a human life. Instead, they refer to it as a fetus. When you call it a fetus instead of a baby, it does not invoke as much sympathy. Another example of this is calling it “abortion” or “terminating the pregnancy” instead of saying that they are killing an unborn child. These terms are used to disguise the action and make us feel separated from what is happening. Does using a term that seems to refer to a legitimate, harmless, medical procedure actually legitimize the action?
  There is a big debate over the exact point that life begins. How can we know the exact point in which child emerges from worthless nothingness and becomes a respected member of the human race, claiming all the rights and privileges of it‘s station? Is it possible?
  The following is what some refer to as the “Diary of an Unborn Child.” It takes us through the development of a child from conception to birth. In my opinion, it helps to prove that an unborn baby, or fetus to some, is nothing less than a living human being and should possess all the rights of a child outside of the womb.

Day 1: Baby is formed. All human chromosomes are present; unique human life begins.

Week 3: Heart begins to beat with the child’s own blood, often a different type than the mother's. By the end of third week the child’s backbone spinal column and nervous system are forming. The liver, kidneys and intestines begin to take shape.

Week 5: Eyes, legs, and hands begin to develop.

Week 6: Brain waves are detectable; mouth and lips are present; fingernails are forming.

Week 7: Eyelids, and toes form, nose distinct. The baby is kicking and swimming.

Week 8: Every organ is in place, bones begin to replace cartilage, and fingerprints begin to form. By the 8th week the baby can begin to hear.

Weeks 10 and 11: The baby can “breathe” amniotic fluid and urinate. Week 11 the baby can grasp objects placed in its hand; all organ systems are functioning. The baby has a skeletal structure, nerves, and circulation.

Week 12: The baby has all of the parts necessary to experience pain, including nerves, spinal cord, and thalamus. Vocal cords are complete. The baby can suck its thumb.

Week 14: At this age, the heart pumps several quarts of blood through the body every day.

Week 15: The baby has an adult’s taste buds.

Month 4: Bone marrow is now beginning to form. The heart is pumping 25 quarts of blood a day.

Week 17: The baby can have dream (REM) sleep.

Week 20: Baby recognizes its’ mothers voice.

Months 5 and 6: The baby practices breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid into its developing lungs. The baby will grasp at the umbilical cord when it feels it. Most mothers feel an increase in movement, kicking, and hiccups from the baby. Oil and sweat glands are now functioning. The baby is now twelve inches long or more, and weighs up to one and a half pounds.
(Even at this point, mother’s are able to kill their unborn child.)

Months 7 through 9: Eyeteeth are present. The baby opens and closes his eyes. The baby is using four of the five senses (vision, hearing, taste, and touch.) He knows the difference between waking and sleeping, and can relate to the moods of the mother. The baby’s skin begins to thicken, and a layer of fat is produced and stored beneath the skin. Antibodies are built up, and the baby’s heart begins to pump 300 gallons of blood per day.

  What gives us the right to say that an unborn child should have rights at seven months and not at six? How can rational thinking human beings draw a line at any point during a baby’s development and say that until they reach it, they are not considered as a living person?
  So far, I have given you statistics and facts. It seems that anyone with any compassion whatsoever would look at these and be convinced that abortion is a brutal act and could only be classified as murder, even by worldly standards not to mention Biblical standards. This brings me to the question: “What does the Bible say about abortion?”
  First of all I would like to deal with the argument that a lot of politicians and pro-abortionists make. They say that they are not “pro-abortion” , they are “pro-choice” . You may wonder what the difference is. What they mean by this is a woman has the right to do with her body whatever she sees fit and they have no right to tell her she is wrong. They avoid confrontation and make themselves feel better by saying that they do not actually support abortion, but they support a woman’s right to choose. They do not have enough fortitude to make a stand on either side of the issue.
  I see two things wrong with this view. 1.) Matthew 12:30 says: “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” If we do not take a stand against an issue like abortion, it is the same as if we take a stand for it. We can not simply say "If you think it's okay, go ahead and do it". If it is wrong, we must take a stand against it. 2.) We do not have the right to do whatever we please to our bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 says: “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Our bodies are not our own. We do not have the right to do anything we please to ourselves. We are not our own, we are God's. And just because a baby growing inside a woman, she does not have the right to kill it.
  Does the Bible give us any indication of when life actually begins? In Luke 1:15 speaking of John it says: “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” Even while in the womb, John was filled with the Holy Spirit. I believe that from this we could safely say that John was a living person while in the womb. Also speaking of John in Luke 1:41 it says: “And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” We can see from this verse that a baby in the womb is capable of experiencing joy. Surely it could be classified as a living person separate from it‘s mother.
  In Psalms 139:13-16, David speaks of himself while he was in the womb.“ For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You. When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” Do you suppose David considered himself a living being while he was still in the womb?
  As I have mentioned earlier, pro-abortionists use the term “fetus” to refer to an unborn. child. They do this to promote the idea that there is a difference between the unborn (fetus) and the child that has been born. In the Bible the word brephos, translated babe or infant, is used to describe a child in three different stages. This term was used to describe John while he was still in the womb in Luke 1:41. “And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” It is also used to describe a newborn child when Jesus is spoken of in Luke 2:12. “And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” In Luke 1:15 it is used again describing infants that were being brought to Christ. “Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” The Bible shows no difference when it describes the unborn, the newly born or the young child. We have no basis to consider what some call the “fetus” as anything but a living human child.
  I believe without a doubt that it can be proven that life begins at conception and any willful termination of it should be considered murder! We all know what happens to murderers. Revelation 31:8 says: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
  Under the Old Law, there were very strict laws concerning someone harming an unborn baby. Exodus 21:22-25 says: “If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” The life of an unborn baby was as important as an adult. If their life was taken, then a life was to be given. The Lord did not view young human life with the same disregard that pro-abortionists do today. Do you think that it is reasonable to think that His views have changed?
  In Titus 2:4 Paul tells the older women to"admonish the younger women to love their husbands and to love their children." Do you think abortion falls under "Loving a child"? When someone takes the life of another person, do we call that an act of love? No, it is considered an act of violence, the totally opposite of love. I can not see how a mother could be so void of compassion that she could abort her own child. How can a woman snuff out this tiny life that she has been blessed with and divinely commanded to love?
  Ephesians 4:28 says that we should labor, working that which is good. Do you think God views a doctor in an abortion clinic as working that which is good.
  The majority of women who have abortions do so because they do not want to be inconvenienced by having a baby. They do it because they are selfish. This goes directly against the teachings of the New Testament. In Matthew 22:9 we are told to "Love our neighbors as ourselves" In Philippians 2:4 it says: "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Do you think someone that has an abortion is looking out for the interest of the unborn child? With the majority of women having abortions being unmarried, abortions are the result of selfishness and a lack of self control. If people would control their bodies and abstain from committing fornication there would be far less unwanted pregnancies.
  Some people make the argument, "What about women that have been raped or the victims of incest." Only 1% of abortions are the result of such cases. This argument is just a ploy used by some pro-abortionists to legitimize abortion. Two wrongs never make a right.
  Some others ask the question “What if the mother’s life is in danger?” This argument shows a lack of faith in God and a disregard for the power of prayer. I have heard of more than one instance where women were told this and decided to have the baby anyway with success. They showed their faith in God and refused to be shaken by the doctor’s estimation.
  In conclusion I would like to refer to Proverbs 6:16-17. “These six things the Lord hates, Yes seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, HANDS THAT SHED INNOCENT BLOOD...” If and unborn child is not innocent, what is? What stronger words could be used in their defense?



Sources:

The Alan Guttmacher Institute www.guttmacher.org

Centers Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov