Cry of the Unborn
It started with changing a definition and it went from there.
Roe V. Wade was the supposed "nail in the coffin" for pro-choice abolitionists that sought to save the world from having to care for the unborn child inside a woman's body. To clarify, I am not a woman, nor do I fully comprehend the cost a woman goes through in their body while carrying their unborn child, and bringing it that precious child into the world. However, I do have a worldview that is ushered and influenced by the Scriptures and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Recently, Congress passed a bill that would make it a felony to perform or attempt an abortion on an unborn child that is 12 weeks or beyond in the womb. This has brought praise and criticism upon our legislative branch once again. Yet again, we are hit with the abortion battle, with similar arguments and counters. I hope to break some, yet not all of these down.
In Roe v. Wade, Justice Blackmun equivocates on the term “human life.” Equivocation is a logical fallacy (an error in right reasoning) that changed the definition of human life, without telling anyone. He says:
“Texas urges that, apart from the Fourteenth Amendment, life begins at conception and is present throughout pregnancy, and that, therefore, the State has a compelling interest in protecting that life from and after conception. 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.”
In the first use of the term “life,” he is referring to Texas’ biological definition of the beginning of human life.
Source:
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 159 (1973). Emphasis added. Jay Floyd, who represented the State of Texas before the Supreme Court in Roe, attempted to argue that the unborn have legal standing in his oral presentation before the Court. In fact, Floyd asserts that the State’s primary interest was to protect fetal life.
Justice Blackmun, at this moment, referred to unborn life as just a heap that is purely biological. He doesn't tell anyone that he means something different in his second phrasing. This is a part of a combination of arguments that brought the ruling we have today. So, then, we must determine what life is. Perhaps, more importantly, what human life is. We can see in the Davidic Pslams, Psalm 139, verse 13, that David is praising the LORD, for creating him and,
"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb." Psalm 139:13 ESV
We can clearly deduct from just this verse alone, that the Creator God, intimately knows the created, even during the formation process. We can see the care that He takes when forming His unique creation. Human life, biologically and spiritually, begins at conception. Here I must sidestep and acknowledge a common, but real, argument. There are deplorable people who have disgustingly prayed upon women and caused them through their evil and heinous actions to become pregnant. These facts and scenarios are real. With real women, with real thoughts, hurts, pains, depressions, along with hopes, and dreams.
In order to obtain real victory over such an attack, abuse, and horror, it is my hope that we as the church would come alongside them. To support, help, and usher healing, in order that the child would be brought into this world to be loved and cared for. An adoption is a real option, and it is in my opinion that we achieve more victory over such abuse. The Church, then, must step into the hurt, and provide alternate means via adoption and foster care.
Abortion devalues human life.
The Bible outlines that humanity is God's unique creation. It [humanity] bears the image of God, making all humans the peak of the created order, giving value to every individual human. No matter physical or mental capabilities or deformities. This year, Iceland has been heralded as the forerunner of elimination of Down Syndrome, not from lack of it, but because of abortion. The citizens in Iceland have deemed, through their actions, that children with Down Syndrome are less than human. Reverting to Ancient Greek practices, that when a child did not meet the "expectations" of the parents, would take them to the nearest cliff and toss them over the side. Iceland has been celebrated for seeming progressive, but have instead, regressed to ancient practices that are less than humane. Not just inhumane, but evil.
Every individual life has intrinsic value.
Life is given to us by the creator God. We all individually carry His image. Even though there are children with handicaps, it does not eliminate any of their value. God desires to know them, and for them to know Him. They are more valuable than any other thing in creation and should be treated and loved as such. To eliminate human life based on the prediction of deformity or handicaps lowers the intrinsic value each life possesses.
The question we must ask is, where do we stop? Do we end life because our unborn children may have asthma? Do we have the right, or should we have the right, to pick and choose how each child is formed? This is putting ourselves in the place of God. When we put ourselves, the created, over the Creator, we sin aggressively against Him.
A common argument.
This argument is on the basis that not allowing abortion is enslaving to women. Forcing them to do something with their bodies, they would not else do. Based on the last decade of information, it is true that the majority of abortions are completed for convenience. Whether because they did not want the child, nor were ready for them. Not because of health, or medical conditions or complications. Again this is where we must, as the church, step in and support single mothers, struggling households, and adoption and foster-care children. When the gospel is truthfully and rightfully preached it enables for the flourishing of our humanity. This does not mean that we can eliminate the needs of all families worldwide. Jesus said that the poor will always be with us, but just because we cannot meet all needs does not mean the church should not encounter those in need.
Ending abortion is key to helping preserve human dignity around the globe.
We know that this age, and the ones before, were capable of horrible and evil deeds in their treatment of men, women, and children. However, we’re also able to catch glimpses of gospel hope throughout history as well. The dignity of all humanity is written in the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self evident...that all men are created equal with certain unalienable rights..." It should be no surprise that the first witnesses of evil entering the world was death. We see in Leviticus 20 that God strictly charges the Israelites to not follow the Canaanite ways of worshiping the god Moloch, who demanded the sacrifice of young children, by passing them through fire.
Things like torture, war, racial injustices, rejecting the sojourner, are not just mean or hateful. It is a pure affront to the image-bearers of God. Jesus in the book of Mark is tested by the Pharisees, asking if they should pay their taxes. Jesus' response is unique, not eliminating their responsibility to pay taxes, but rather speaks to the image. Giving to Cesar what was Cesar's and to God what is God's, was the fact that humanity bears the image of God. We are to devote ourselves to him. In that devotion to Him, we are to obey all He has commanded us, including taking care of the least among us. Those who cannot take care of themselves, or rely on themselves. It is the unborn child that is the most at risk because we cannot see them, they are hidden until birth. Therefore, because the child is hidden, it is easy for individuals to say that the child does not matter. Or that they have no worth.
The Church, however, has a divine King who informs us of something quite different. It tells us that every individual has worth because every individual bears the image. Russell Moore in his book Onward puts it like this,
"To deny man diginty, then, is to kick against Christ himself, since he brings with him nothing of the sort o power or wisdom this age craves. When we care for the vulnerable-the unborn, the aged, the poor, the diseased, the disabled, the abused, the orphaned- such is not 'charity'. These are not 'the disadvantaged,' at least not in the long run. These are the sorts of people God delights in eating as the future rulers of the Universe."
Source:
Moore, Russell. Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel. B&H Publishing Group. Nashville, TN, 2015. Page 136
The church must, un-apologetically, call sinners to repentance, be a home for the marginalized, and a witness against the atrocity that is abortion. It isn't just about being "pro-life", it's about being Kingdom-minded. Thinking, as the Apostle Paul says to “dwell on things in heaven, not on earth,” means to stand against the tide of a culture that seeks to destroy the Kingdom that is indestructible, and halt the Church. Being Kingdom-minded means we take care of all peoples, over all the world, from before birth, to death, praying without ceasing that they would come to know that great King who is worthy to be praised. Jesus Christ.
