Abortion and the Value of Life

Choose Life

In 2017 there were approximately 881,000 abortions in America. The majority of women having abortions are single mothers in their 20s. The main reasons people give for abortions are that they cannot afford the child or that they are not yet ready to have kids. – https://abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/

What is abortion?
Abortion occurs when a potential child in the womb is aborted and the developmental process leading to birth is brought to an end.

Often times when people get pregnant and decide to abort the child, they feel like they cannot raise the child well, or that people will be ashamed of them for having the child (especially if  the person is not married). Some feel that the ability to have an abortion should be the woman’s choice because it is her body. Others feel that she should not have a choice because it does not take into account the voice of the unborn child. Surprisingly very few arguments revolve around the voice of the father.

Surviving Abortion Part 1 with Josiah Presley.

What do Christians believe about abortion and the beginning of life?

Typically, Christians do not favor the practice of abortion. Christians believe that life comes from God and that when it is created, we have no right to end that life. Christians believe that life begins at the moment of conception.

Jeremiah 1:5 reads, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.”

Additionally, Psalm 139:13-16 states:

“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.”

Christian texts outside the Bible as early as the Didache (ca. 90 AD), condemn the practice of abortion and infanticide (killing a child after it is born).

Are there ever instances when Christians do support abortion?

Typically Christians do not support aborting a baby unless the mother’s life is in danger (such as an ectopic pregnancy – where the mother will die if the child is not removed). Abortion is a very sensitive issue and should be handled with care. The choice to have an abortion is deeply personal and it is difficult to understand a person’s situation and feelings in those moments.

Surviving Abortion Part 2 with Josiah Presley.

I believe that even if someone gets pregnant by accident, no human life is an accident.  Life is a gift from God, and all people should be given a chance to live.

No one should be ashamed about having a child, even if the circumstances behind the pregnancy could be considered shameful. That child is valuable.

Responding to those who have had abortions

Christians can sometimes be quick to condemn those who have had abortions, but they have also been known to be quick to condemn those who get pregnant outside of marriage. I believe the church needs to reach out in love to those who have had abortions and they need to help them in their time of need. Many people struggle emotionally with the consequences of the decision to abort a child.

Additionally, if someone becomes pregnant outside of marriage, the church needs to embrace the person and love them through the pregnancy. The church should also commit to helping the person raise the child in the church.

It is difficult to impose our moral beliefs on non-Christians for the same reasons we hold to them. But abortion is an issue that effects all of society and the future of our country. It is a social issue and Christians should in love point others towards the truth that all life is intrinsically valuable.

Surviving Abortion Part 3 with Josiah Presley.

What happens to aborted children?

There is still hope that they will be saved. In 2 Samuel, David’s son dies only a few days after it was born. He grieves, but states that he will again be with the child after his death. Since the passage is part of Scripture, we can draw from it that the lives of unborn and infant children are in the hands of God.

2 Samuel 12 states:  “22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

What if I have had an abortion?

If you have had an abortion, you are not the first person to do something out of step with God’s will. We are all sinners and Christ died on the Cross to cover all sins. You may still come to Christ and find forgiveness and new life. When a woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus in John 8, Jesus challenged the crowd and asked them “who is without sin.” After this, no one condemns the woman. Jesus also says that he does not condemn her and then he challenges her to go and sin no more.

In this instance, Jesus is telling her to stop committing adultery. I believe he would say the same about lying, about stealing, about dishonoring one’s parents, about being a gossip, and about having an abortion. He is willing to forgive and therefore, the church too should be willing to forgive someone who has had an abortion.

John 8:11 states, “She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.””

What are the options?

If you are pregnant and you do not want to have an abortion, you can adopt or raise the child on your own. Both options are good and they will give your child a chance to have a wonderful life.

Links for Help and Further Questions:

To find a Pregnancy Center near You:

https://www.care-net.org/find-a-pregnancy-center

For Pro-Life Help:

https://www.heartbeatinternational.org/about-us

http://www.priestsforlife.org/crisis.html

For Additional Information:
http://www.optionline.org/

http://www.thehelpline.org/