In 1973 the US Supreme Court ruled in Roe V Wade that the unborn have no constitutional rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The High Court did not recognize the status of the unborn as persons. Thus, with a five-to-four vote, open season was declared on the unborn in America . Since then, any woman who does not want the child in her womb has been allowed by law to hire a willing doctor to kill it
A hot national debate began regarding the practice of abortion with the Roe V Wade ruling and rages to this day with no end in sight. . A host of other abortion-related issues, such as whether tax-payer dollars should be used to pay for abortions, whether parents of minor children should be informed if their child is considering an abortion, and which specific abortion practices are acceptable. Most of these issues have also been settled with the typical five-to-four vote. Sometimes the court has ruled on the side of pro-life advocates, sometimes on the side of the pro-choice advocates. Hence, every time there is a vacancy in the Supreme Court the country goes wild. Each side hopes to seat a judge that would move that five-to-four balance in the opposite direction, or even better, move it to a six-to-three position in their favor.
A Moral and a Legal Issue
Let us be clear about one thing: legal and moral are not identical concepts. Just because something is legal does not make it right. Likewise, that a thing is illegal does not make it necessarily wrong or immoral. Right and wrong are ultimately defined by our Maker and Judge, the One with the Real Supreme Court. Legal and illegal are defined and redefined by human lawmakers. And many laws relate to moral issues. Wherever they do, right and legal, wrong and illegal, should be properly aligned.
That there is serious disagreement among learned men and women about the status of the child in its mother's womb is an indisputable fact. Even on the High Court there exists disagreement, five-to-four. For a moment, I would set aside all other arguments and say that the Roe V Wade decision violates a strongly held legal principle in our land, that of granting benefit of doubt where a life is in the balance. No criminal is put to death in American with a jury of 12 advocating execution seven-to-five, or even eleven-to-one. When someone's life is at stake, we demand there be no reasonable doubt in the decision. That 1973 Supreme Court decision violated the historical position of law in our land, existing even prior to the framing of our Constitution. Clearly enough reasonable doubt has existed to require protection of the life of the unborn. And in this, the five judges who originally voted against protecting life in the womb (and all other judges who have likewise voted since then) shall someday answer for this hypocrisy of law.
Those judges will not answer to me or to you. But they will answer to the Author of Life. And so will everyone who, in their selfishness, chose death for an unborn child. So will every doctor who enriched himself at the expense of these innocent ones. Our gracious and merciful God has provided one, and only one, cleansing agent for the bloodstains left on these hands by the millions of aborted innocent children. That cleansing agent is nothing but the blood of Jesus. His blood is, however, only efficacious for the penitent. We can either seek and receive God's forgiveness for our wrongs or attempt to justify ourselves. We cannot do both.
Science Supports the Pro-life Position
Now, I will share a few facts that need to be seriously considered by everyone. Many people like to debate when life begins. Much of this debate is actually designed to cloud and confuse the issue. Why do pro-life people argue that life begins at conception? The answer is rational. First, I would have you consider one scientific fact. At conception a single cell called a zygote is formed when the sperm and egg unite. This single cell contains all 46 chromosomes that identify a human cell. The DNA of this cell is unique.
In that single cell is all the DNA material that identifies a unique human being. In the zygote is all the information that determines all of your physical features: your gender; your eye color; your hair color; your skin color; how tall you will be; and whether you will look more like mom or dad. All that the zygote needs is nutrition and protection. If we choose to consider this zygote or the developing fetus as only a "potential person", then we must also consider the newborn, the toddler, and the first-grader as only a potential person, in that they, too, are far from what they will ultimately become when fully mature.
That original single cell multiplies quickly under the direction of some amazing internal programming. Soon after conception, the new life conceived in the mother begins to form the placenta to create an interface between the bodies of mother and child. The placenta fulfills several functions, one of which is to protect the fetus from the mother's autoimmune system. Without the placenta, the mother's body would recognize the fetus as a foreign body within her body, attack it and destroy it.
Those who suggest in the abortion debate that a woman should have control over her own body miss this important fact. What is aborted is NOT her body, but rather the body of a completely different person. In fact, in the abortion procedure it is critical that every piece of the fetus' body be removed from the womb. If any piece is left, a serious even deadly infection can develop from this foreign tissue.
We should also consider that life signs that are generally important are detectable very early in fetal development. For instance, at about five weeks after conception the fetal heart is formed and functioning. The heart can typically be seen beating on a sonogram. And it is pumping the unique blood of the child, often a different blood type from the mother. Brain development is rapid through the first 12 weeks, such that the head is almost half the baby's size by this point. Arms and legs and hands and feet are well defined at this stage of development, and the brain is connected to these members enabling intentional, rudimentary movements by this tiny human being.
Let's be Civilized, not Barbaric
One mark of civilized life is the profound respect for human life. We should expect one another to respect life, to value life, to protect life, and to only take life when morally justified beyond reasonable doubt. That a child in the womb could be stripped of its human status, and denied its right to life, simply because it is not wanted by the parents or has some subjectively intolerable defect in the eyes of its parents is not a civilized viewpoint. We do not tolerate parents killing their children in the nine months after they are born; we call it what it is murder. We are hypocrites to allow it in the nine months before they are born.
There is a culture war in America and the issue of abortion is central to it. Lives are literally at stake. Innocent lives are at stake. With every presidential election we hear about this issue from both sides. One side is determined to keep the argument about freedom of choice for women. That sounds so noble until you face the fact that it is a choice to kill an innocent, dependent, defenseless, human life. That side fights every attempt to even restrict or regulate abortions. That side cares nothing about the barbaric means of murdering the unborn; their end justifies any means. That is because they view the unwanted unborn much like a malignant tumor in the body of a woman. And that is precisely how they wish women to view the "product of conception", the "contents of the womb", or the "fetal tissue". Be assured that the Maker who "knit us together in our mother's womb" sees differently (PS 139). And in this culture war, you have a voice. It's called a vote. I hope you will speak for the ones who cannot speak for themselves. I hope you will not turn your head and be silent. The writer of Proverbs said this: " Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter." ( PR 24:11 ).
This one issue is worth being your litmus test for political candidates. The violence we decry in our land is related to the violence we tolerate in the womb. The crisis of self-worth throughout our land is related to our schizophrenic view of life in the womb. One woman will mourn over the miscarriage of her wanted child. Another woman will abort her unwanted child without acknowledged shame. We go to extreme measures to preserve the life of prematurely born children who are wanted. At the same time, we will kill another child who is viewed as an embarrassment to, an inconvenience to, or a burden to its mother.
It's no wonder that teenagers, and young adults, and even older adults have such poor views of their own worth and the worth of their fellowman such that they commit murder and/or suicide. If I discover in my school years or adult life that I am not really great at anything or actually fail horribly at something (like a business or a marriage), it could be easy to conclude that I am worthless and my parents should have aborted me. Based on such thinking, I may be a short step away from concluding that I'll just have to take care of what they failed to do years ago.
Until America gets this issue right again, God's hand of blessing may not return. And His hand of blessing has been withdrawn over the past 30 years. This may be news to some. While you were at work making money so you could go to the mall and get more stuff, you may not have noticed that our nation is crumbling. Consider the prevalence of violent crime. Consider the prevalence of sexual crimes. Consider the prevalence of alcohol/drug abuse. Consider the prevalence of gang activity. Consider the growing depravity of the entertainment industry. Consider the new diseases like AIDS and other new drug-resistant "bugs". Consider our rising personal and national debt. Indeed, it is time for change! And that change needs to begin on a personal level with a return to old values and virtues, starting with a renewed esteem of life and a reverent submission to the Author of Life.
I believe God wants to bless America again. You and I play a part in this. He is absolutely pro-life. But He is also pro-choice, leaving this choice to us. He is the Judge to whom we are all ultimately accountable. He will judge not only what we do but also what we approve. What will the law of the land be in America ? You have a voice. I beg you to speak.
Dane Tyner is founder and director of Home Improvement Ministry, a Christian family counseling service in Tulsa, OK.The ministry website is http://www.forhim.org.
What a wonderful article, Dane. I, like Terry, cannot ever vote for a pro abortionist. It is legalized willful murder and certainly contrary to the will of God. You have built an eloquent case here that can only be refuted by those who don't care for the life of a child. Thank you very much and I am thankful that I ran into your article.
Excellent. We are all just older zygotes at heart.
This issue truly is a divisive testament to whether we fear God, or fear opinion. If pro-abortion supporters are in question as to when life begins, if they can't pinpoint when a fetus is officially a "person", then why not err on the side of life? We should always err on the side of life.
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