Abortion (part two)

Abortion (part two)

Abortion is serious issue that faces our country and our hearts. In the years since the landmark Roe V. Wade decision by the Supreme Court of the United States of America, millions of abortions have been performed.

In America, both opponents and proponents of abortion have used the issue to gain elected offices. But abortion should not be a partisan issue.

In America, many have argued that a ban on abortion discriminates against impoverished women, who would have to seek a dangerous back alley abortion in order to keep themselves from becoming more impoverished. But abortion is not an economic issue.

In America, many have claimed that an unwanted baby would create a change in lifestyle for the mother, causing inconvenience or a change of direction or career. But abortion is not an issue of convenience or lifestyle.

In America, many have said that a ban on abortion would be an assault on feminism because it would limit a woman's freedom. But abortion is not an issue about feminism.

In America, many have argued that abortion should remain legal because women have a right to choose what they do with their bodies. But abortion is not an issue about choice.

Abortion is an issue about life.

In America, life has been precious since the founding of our country. We honor those who gave their lives to give us freedom, knowing what a costly price that was made. Our country was founded on the principle that all men and women were created equal, with certain unalienable rights. Our ancestors gave birth to a nation that was committed to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Life begins at conception.

All genetic information ever needed throughout the course of life is provided at the moment of conception. At that moment, a spark is ignited and a new life blossoms into being. It grows and is nurtured inside a mother's womb until it is ready to enter the world.

There is no moment other than conception when that tiny life growing inside the womb magically becomes human. It is human from the beginning. There are stages of development that will include the gradual growth of skeletal, nervous, and circulatory systems, as well as organs like the brain, the stomach, the skin, and the heart; but the fact that a life is in a developmental stage does not make it any less human. If such were the case, amputees, paraplegics, the blind, the deaf, the mute, people with only one lung or kidney; all would not be considered human because they are missing some part of their anatomy or because they are unable to perform certain functions. A human life is a human life from the beginning, the moment of conception, regardless of what stage of development it may be in.

Each human life is as separate and individual as it is precious. There are no identical humans; each has their own personality, their own hopes and dreams, their own spark of life. The womb is where life originates, but a baby and a mother are two separate individuals. An unborn baby cannot be part of a mother's body, even though the mother's womb is physically attached to the baby and the baby is cared for through the womb. By saying that the two are one and the same would be similar to saying that because a driver is seated inside a car, attached by the seatbelt, that they must necessarily be a seat or an engine. Another analogy would be a nurse caring for a bed-ridden patient. Although the patient is nurtured by the nurse, the two are not the same being. In the same way, a baby is not a part of the mother's body, but rather, it is an individual. As an individual, it has a right to live.

The creation of a new life should, by no means, be considered an assault on feminism. The ability to carry a life and bear it into the world is perhaps the most distinguishing feminine characteristic and ability that exists.
Feminism came into being to address the inequalities that existed between the rights of men and women. Abortion has often been associated with feminism because it appears to give women the opportunity to pursue their freedom and their lives. The truth is that abortion is directly opposed to everything for which feminism stands. Abortion not only ignores the rights of a group of people, both unborn males and females, but it physically disposes of that group as well. Only by letting each life, male or female, born or unborn, receive its chance to pursue its rights and freedoms can feminism be true to itself.

Human life cannot be weighed or measured, there is no price that can be set for its worth. Social standing or monetary status cannot be a determinant in the value of a life. Each life is beyond value and every effort must be made to preserve that life, even if it means a change in lifestyle on the part of the parents. Both mother and father need to take responsibility to make sure that the life that they created has the chance to face life on its own. Although difficult decisions may need to be made, whether adoption or perhaps a changed lifestyle, the life must be given a chance.

Millions of women have undergone legal abortions since 1973, but not all of them have been safe procedures for the mothers. Many women have had severe physical complications as a result of an abortion including the loss of female reproductive organs, infections, the inability to have further children, severe hemorrhaging, and in some cases, death. Still more have suffered traumatic emotional and mental effects such as grief, guilt, depression, suicidal thoughts, nightmares loss of appetite and loss of desire to work, as well as many others. While many women may have escaped unscathed, abortion can hardly be labeled as "safe."

A ban on abortion would not completely eliminate abortion. There would no doubt be back alley abortion clinics that could cause even further physical harm to women, but the continued legalization of abortion is not the answer. An argument could be made that because many robbery related crimes are violent and could result in death, theft should be made legal to protect citizens from violence. The logic for such an argument is faulty. Abortion is no different.

The debate about abortion is so fierce and the opponents are so divided that the lives of those affected by it are sometimes forgotten. While choice is often used as a word to promote abortion, there are many young women, like Kate, who feel like they don't have any choice. They lack support from parents or from their boyfriend or spouse. They lack financial means to support a child. They feel ashamed or embarrassed by carrying a baby to term.

There are organizations and people who are willing to help young women make the right decision, but many of the women do not even know that they exist or where to find them. If you are considering an abortion, or if you have had an abortion, I encourage you to seek out one of those organizations. If you feel like you would like to help support life, seek out an organization and find a way to invest yourself in it, whether you give of time or money or prayer.

I sincerely pray that reading part of Kate's story has touched your life. My prayer is that at the very least, no matter how you viewed abortion before reading these blogs, they will cause you to think carefully about what you believe on the issue. Hopefully, they will have raised questions. Pursue the answers. Don't let go until you find them.

Abortion is such an emotional issue and one that almost always will bring about the strongest reactions in people. Perhaps there are some reading this blog that have undergone an abortion or are thinking about getting one. To those people, I say this, "There is another way, there is a hope, and there is a love that cannot be broken."

Until now, I have been talking about a physical life, but there is another type of life which is equally, if not more, important. It is eternal life. The burden can be lifted.

All have sinned, all carry within themselves the stains of guilt and shame. We have become imperfect and unholy creatures, separated from the holiness we were for which we were created. We can feel the weight of our sins, we can sense in our hearts the awful price that we should have to pay. Our sin would forever condemn us, but there is hope. There is hope because there is love.

God so loved us that he was willing to become a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus died on the cross to pay our terrible price so that we may once again be holy and pure. We no longer have to pay the price, it was paid for us, once for all.

God is calling to our hearts, desperately, longingly. He loves us without condition. Our hearts cry out to him as well, if we will listen. There is space, a void, a gnawing emptiness that only God can fill. He is always there, calling and waiting, but God will not force himself upon us. We must turn to him and invite him to share in our lives.

The apostle Paul said this in Romans 10:9-10, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
Don't hesitate to invite God into your life. Ask him to make himself real to you. He is always there and he will give you hope and he will give you strength.

I cannot say where your road will lead, whether it will cross mountaintops or valleys, or whether it will be easy or hard, but remain true to Christ. I pray that the Spirit will give you strength and courage to do all that He asks of you. I pray that He blesses you with joy and peace, patience and righteousness, mercy and love. May you always remain in His will. May the God of all comfort, righteousness peace and love be with you everywhere you go.

Amen.

If you are wondering what the Bible has to say about abortion, the following verses might be of use:

Psalm 8:2 "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger."

Psalm 72:4 "He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. "

Psalm 78:1-7 "O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old- what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

Psalm 127:3 "Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him."

Proverbs 17:6 "Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children."

Isaiah 29:23 "When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. "

Isaiah 57:4-8 "Whom are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars? You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags. The idols among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion; they, they are your lot. Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings and offered grain offerings. In the light of these things, should I relent? You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill; there you went up to offer your sacrifices. Behind your doors and your doorposts you have put your pagan symbols. Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed, you climbed into it and opened it wide; you made a pact with those whose beds you love, and you looked on their nakedness."

Jeremiah 31:15 "This is what the LORD says: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more."

Lamentations 1:16 ""This is why I weep and my eyes overflow with tears. No one is near to comfort me, no one to restore my spirit. My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed."

Lamentations 2:19 "Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street."

Lamentations 3:32-33 "Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.

Ezekiel 16:20-22 "'And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood. "

Matthew 11:25 "At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."

Matthew 18:3 "And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 19:4 "Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.""

Matthew 21:15-16 "But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant. "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, " 'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise'^? "