Today came news about research that demonstrated that babies feel pain in much the same way that adults do. In light of this news can there be any doubt about the horrific murder that abortion is?
Americans have murdered more than 60 million pre-born children since it became legal. And there seems to be no sign that easily obtainable abortion will end anytime soon. This is because we live in a society that values pleasure above all else. Children are often seen as an impediment to pleasure and are violently removed from the womb so that that pleasure may continue. This is unjust.
Though our society accepts abortion as legal, this does not mean that abortion is morally right. Let me provide some brief fundamentals on morality and then give you six reasons why abortion is always morally wrong.
Fundamentals:
Morality is not about what is legal
Morality is not about community standards
Morality is not about cultural differences or norms
Morality which transcends circumstances is based upon something that is outside circumstance or situation. If there is nothing that is always right or always wrong, then there can be no true moral standard by which we may guide our behavior or judge the behavior of others in any way.
Only a morality which stems from the eternal God can meet this criteria. Therefore, I turn to the Bible to define for us what is right and wrong because only God offers a transcendent morality.
Why is abortion wrong? Let me offer six reasons why abortion is morally wrong.
Abortion takes the life of a human being
The child developing in the womb is a human being. It is not a “potential” human being, but a real human being, regardless of its state of development. Killing another person outside of war, self-defense, or capital punishment is always wrong. The Bible gives us simple command, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Why is this command so important? Because man is made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). This means that our value is more than what it is to other people, but our value is supreme in God’s estimation. The murder of people is not just an attack on the one killed, but is an attack upon the God in whose image we are made.
Abortion values the life of people at the level of an animal
It is routine for animals to be killed for convenience: for food, to lessen suffering, to protect the lives of others (animal attacks), etc. We usually don’t regard this as wrong because we recognize that animals are a different and lower kind of life. While we should avoid killing animals whenever possible, God has given us animals to sustain us and therefore, their lives are in our hands (Genesis 9:3). This is not true with human beings. Only two entities have been given the life of people to terminate (1) God, in judgment, and (2) The State, in matters of criminal justice and war.
Abortion violates God’s covenant with Adam & Eve
God’s covenant with Adam and Eve was for them to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). Killing people wrongly prevents a person from living out God’s covenant—God’s plan for his life. It puts man in the position of God, and he arbitrarily takes life from the innocent. It is a violation of the first covenant, which is still in force today. It is also in violation of the Noahic covenant (Genesis 9:1-17), which is also still in force today.
Abortion is outlawed in scripture
Some say that the Bible has nothing to say about abortion. This is false. First, the Bible regards all killing of human beings outside of war, self-defense, and capital punishment as morally wrong. This applies to abortion because the Bible makes no distinction on the value of a person as lower just because he happens to reside in the womb. Secondly, Exodus 21:22-25 regards a miscarriage in self-defense as a capital crime. In other words, the person who causes a miscarriage is guilty of killing the pre-born child. What is abortion other than an intentional miscarriage? Thus, the Bible regards the pre-born as fully human and fully worthy of protection as a human being.
Abortion is killing for convenience
I can only think of two instances when a society agreed that average citizens killing for personal convenience (Ezekiel 22:27) is acceptable: (1) Abortion, and (2) Slavery. They aren’t much different. Which brings me to my final point.
Abortion makes a child a possession (slavery)
We say that our children are ours, but that does not mean that we own them. Human beings are not possessions. Children are not possessions. Children are a stewardship. If a child is not a possession, then there can be no moral right to take that child’s life, no matter his or her address, inside, or outside the womb, at any stage of development.
A Final Point
Abortion is morally wrong and a great sin and injustice. But it is not unforgiveable. No matter how grave the sin we have committed, God is willing to forgive it if we only confess that sin to him and ask that the blood of Jesus shed for us cleanse us of that sin. His resurrection from the dead can give us hope that that sin, and all others, are forgiven and there awaits for us the experience of forgiveness and love that only Christ can bring.
