(Part 1)
The population of Brantford Ontario is just over 100,000. It would be considered a tragedy if some disease or industrial accident wiped out the whole city. It would be genocicde if an invading army did it, and that nation would be guilty of war crimes.
But to put this into perspective, Canada puts to death almost that many children each year and there is no outcry. It is done quietly, out of sight and almost completely out of mind. And while mothers seek abortions for a variety of reasons, no one can restore the lives of the unborn, once taken. Children are treated as non-persons by Canadian law and are unprotected from those whom they should fear the least.
This is happening because Canada is no longer a Christian nation. Human life is no longer precious in the sight of the law – all of which has dire consequences for our society.
Generally speaking, people hold one of three views on abortion.
They are that:
1) Abortion is always acceptable
2) Abortion is sometimes acceptable
3) Abortion is never acceptable
The view one holds is determined by how one sees the unborn. If the fetus (which means young) is human, then laws against murder apply to abortion. But if the unborn is not human, then they do not. This distinction holds both for Christians and non-Christians. The real question under consideration is…when a fetus becomes a human being or is it always so from conception onward?
Those who say that abortion is acceptable all the time, would also hold that until the point of birth the fetus in something less than human. Those who say that abortion is acceptable some of the time would say that the fetus is potentially human and only becomes human sometime during gestation. And those who would say that abortion never acceptable would say that the fetus is human at conception. By identifying the right viThis is happening because Canada is no longer a Christian nation. Human life is no longer precious in the sight of the law – all of which has dire consequences for our society.
To determine which of the above views is the correct one we can look to scripture and ask: at what point does God regard the unborn to be human. We can take a medical or scientific approach to this matter to see if it contributes pertinent information. These two things should help us answer this basic question about human life and decide if abortion is just another medical procedure or is in fact the wrongful taking of innocent human life. Murder.
The scriptures that we have envision situations that do not include modern medical capabilites. That is, they do not answer the question directly, since at the time that they were written, this option was not on the table. But they do weigh on the matter indirectly with implications that are hard to misunderstand or misrepresent.
The First of these and possibly the most important is Exodus 21:22-23. The reason this text is especially significant is that it is often used by pro-choice groups to say that the Bible differentiates between the born and the unborn. They say that the unborn are not given equal rights. But a close reading of this passage teaches exactly the opposite.
This scripture says:
“If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no 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 life for life,”.
A misinterpretation of this passage holds that if the baby is miscarried (and even if it dies) then only a fine is imparted showing that it is not considered a human life. Only if the mother also dies is a death penalty required.
But this argument is based on a misunderstanding of mischief in the KJV and totally falls apart when the passage is read in a modern translation. What this passage really teaches is that the life of the unborn infant is equal to that of the man who killed it. A premature death need cause the child to die. The survival of the child will spare the life of the offender. But its death results in the death of the one who caused the premature delivery.
Another key passage often used by pro-choicers is Genesis 2:7. They claim that this passage indicates that until there is breath there is no life.
There are two problems with this line of reasoning: They are citing a situation that has never and will never be repeated after Adam. All other human life comes into existence through sexual reproduction and is nurtured in the womb from conception onward. Oxygen is provided by the mother until birth when breathing takes over. This argument would mean that anyone who is unable to breath by their own power is not human. This would include those on life support, clearly this argument in nonsensical.
No biblical passages treat the unborn as ‘less than human’. Quite the contrary. The unborn are seen as created in the image of God and valued a persons. So for example:
- Luke 1:41-44 refers to both John and Jesus as children before they were born.
- Jesus is said to be human while still in the womb in Matthew 1:20-21
- Jeremiah 1:5 and Isaiah 49:1 indicate that God knows the unborn and even calls or commissions them.
- Samson’s Nazirite vow was in effect from the point of conception in Judges 13:2-7 .
The Bible knows nothing of unborn non-humans. Each is a person, a human being created in the image of God. God is the one who imposed the death penalty for causing the death of the unborn. A life for life. Both alive at the time of the offense.
So the abortion question is not really about ‘the right to life’ as it is ‘the right to keep on living’. The Biblical teaching is sufficient and authoritative and should be accepted by all who view the Bible as the inspired word of God. Murder is murder, no matter when it takes place during the continuity of life. And as it is with all truth, the Bible and science are in agreement.
From a scientific standpoint, abortion also ends a human life. The most obvious way of demonstarting this is our genetic makeup. From the point of conception, the fetus has 46 Chromosomes that will determine all of its physical characteristics. The only difference between a 10-minute-old fetus and a 10-year-old child is time and nutrition. Given the necessary nutrients, the fetus will develop everything else. This means that nutrition has become the determining factor of humanness which again, can be logically extended to say that anyone lacking the means to develop is less than human.
The early development of the fetus is another strong indication of humanness. It has already been noticed that at the point of conception the infant has all of the genetic material that it will ever have. By the first month the fetus has a heart beat as well as head arms legs. By forty two days brain waves can be detected. During the second month the baby will have it’s own blood type, finger prints and is sensitive to touch. In the third month the baby will swallow, swim, suck its thumb, and be able to feel pain (remember abortion is commonly performed any time prior to the fifth month). By month four the infant will have reached half its birth weight and be eight to ten inches long. Finally by month five the baby has hair, nails, can cry, and live outside the womb. When all of these physical characteristics are considered it is hard to even imagine destroying this little life.
Biologists have long observed that when the male and female of a species conceive, the result is another of the same species. Two dogs produce other dogs. Two humans produce other humans. As the Bible puts it, each according to its kind.
So the disagreements that arise with respect to unborn humans is not biological – it is a matter of status or legal standing. The biological reality is clear.
In order for a society to affirm the legitimacy of the taking of human life, it must also accept the possibly that certain lives are ‘not worth living’. That certain lives can be deprived of the right to ‘keep on living’. That protection under law may be withheld from a person or class of persons by the arbitrary decisions of others. The measure of any society is found in its treatment of those least able to defend themselves and who have no voice. This happens most often at the beginning and the end of life.
But once this door is opened…once a society creates and accepts a category of ‘expendible human life’, then no one is safe. Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Mau justified mass killing on precisely these terms. And our western society stands on that same brink. We may be a step or two from the edge…but safeguards are being removed.
Western society as a whole generally holds a view that human dignity ensures certain rights. But if human life is judged on a scale of relative value instead of equal intrinsic value, we are truly in the midst of a moral quandary. A sliding scale opens the door to racism, slavery and human trafficking. It means that in some cases institutions need not be concerned about human rights violations if those violated are lower in value and less protected.
Abortion is the wrongful taking of innocent human life. It is murder, state sanctioned and for now, untouchable. The Christian response is to value human life from start to finish and to protect those lives that God place in our hands. It is to spread the good news of salvation in Jesus, so that God’s protection may spread all over the world. It is to pray fervently for the progress of the gospel. And it includes prayers for our leaders…to extend protection to the unborn, who are a gift from God entrusted to us all.
To be continued: