Each year across the world, around 130 million women go through the complex cycle of pregnancy and birth. Gently nestled and protected in a mother’s womb, a tiny human thrives. And together, mother and baby share this journey of life, this magnificent adventure called pregnancy. Only two cells are needed to create a baby. Two cells and a miracle. And in just nine months, this pair of cells blossoms into billions of cells. I recently came across this amazing fact: “During pregnancy, if the mother suffers organ damage, the baby in the womb sends stem cells to repair the damaged organ.”
Inside the womb, a baby’s heart is already beating and pumping blood at around week 5 and 6. In the second month of gestation, fingers, toes, eyes are all forming; the brain, spinal cord and other neural tissue is well formed; bones start to replace cartilage. In the 3rd month (of 1st trimester), the baby can open and close its fist and mouth; the baby has ears, fingernails & toenails; teeth are growing; urinary system is working; the liver is producing bile. By 16 weeks (few weeks into 2nd trimester), a child in the womb can feel pain. After six months of pregnancy, at the end of the second trimester, everything has developed and is functioning as it will in a fully grown baby. It’s all there, just very small and immature.
It is very hard to think that at one point, we all were in a woman’s stomach. Life is amazingly complex but interestingly beautiful beyond comprehension. You and I would never really understand the complexity of humanity until we start to see one another as God’s own handiwork. The Bible (Luke 1) tells of Elizabeth who was barren and was past childbearing capability in her old age, and yet with her husband Zachariah (who was also passed that capability), she conceived and carried in her womb the great prophet, John the Baptist. During the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, she was visited by her relative Mary who arrived in a hurry after the angel Gabriel told her that she was to supernaturally conceive in her own womb and bear a son to be named ‘Jesus.’ Luke tells us that the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy on hearing Mary’s greeting. How amazing!
The awesomeness of God’s power in childbirth could never be fully comprehended by the study of genetics or anatomy or obstetrics. Of what we do know, there are 100 billion nerve cells in the brain, millions of nerve endings in the body, over 200 bones all structured, and more than 600 muscles big and small, and all designed to work perfectly together. The Bible tells of David who was awestruck at God’s power in forming and supervising the growth of a little baby in the mother’s womb. As David reflects on all of God’s goodness in forming him, he said of the Lord, “I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” In Psalm 139, David is telling us that God is the author of life. God is the One who formed our inward parts, and genetic structure. God is the One who put our DNA, genes, and molecules together and knitted us in our mother’s womb. In Jeremiah 1:5, God said, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.”
The Bible makes it clear that the crowning act of creation was when God created man in His own image out of the dust of the earth, and gifted man the breath of life by breathing into man His very own life-giving breath. It really is a tragic thing when some people look upon the fetus as a nuisance as if it is something to be removed just like an appendix, instead of seeing it as a miracle to be admired, the crown of all of God’s creation. One of the worst tragedies in human history is the existence of abortion.
An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It’s also sometimes known as a termination of pregnancy. The pregnancy is ended either by taking medicines or having a surgical procedure. Whatever type of abortion is used, the end goal is always the same. In all truth, the act of abortion is the act of killing, the killing of a unique, innocent, defenseless life created in the image of God. The fact that it’s easier to kill a child in the womb than to adopt a child is scary and sad. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), every year in the world there are an estimated 40-50 million abortions. This corresponds to approximately 125,000 abortions per day.
While the abortion industry is telling women that their preborn children are mere ‘clumps of cells,’ the undeniable truth is this: preborn children, even in the first trimester, are recognizable as human beings. The facts of science are that we can take a cell sample of a fetus at any stage in its development and identify it as human. From conception it is human. A week later it is still human. It’s not a monkey, it’s not a sparrow or an eagle, it’s not an alligator or a striped bass; it’s human. That is a scientifically verifiable fact. Just because we use the term “fetus” doesn’t mean he/she is not a human being.
One of America’s foremost Renowned neurosurgeon, Ben Carson recently said, “I’ve had the privilege of being able to operate on little babies that were 25, 26, 27, 28 weeks’ gestation, and I can guarantee you that they can feel, they can react. You have to give them anaesthesia if you’re going to cut them. They can also respond to comfort and to warmth. And for somebody to say that’s a meaningless bunch of cells, honestly, it’s just totally ignorant”
Timothy Ramjohn (Source: CHOICE42) shared: “Our son Easton was born 3 months early after surviving 65 days without any amniotic fluid in my wife’s womb when her water broke at 19 weeks. Doctors told us to get an abortion because Easton wouldn’t survive without any fluid and my wife could die of infection. My wife said she would rather die than kill her child and laid on her back in the hospital for 65 days to keep him alive and doctors kept insisting she abort during her bedrest in the hospital but my wife didn’t budge. He was born at 2 lbs at 27 weeks after 4 months in NICU… I’m not saying all Doctors are bad, but they are not God and babies are a gift, and not a “choice.” When we fight for them, God will fight for us. No judgement to anyone who has gotten an abortion but please let our story demonstrate that babies are not just a clump of cells, accident or an inconvenience but precious humans that deserve our voice and our love.”
Since it’s scientifically proven that a human being is growing and developing in the womb, then what does an abortion do to that developing human? Abortion does not prevent a potential child from being born – abortion actively targets & kills an “existing” human child. And to say that a developing human being should be killed is dehumanizing! All human beings have equal value. “We cannot diminish the value of one category of human life – the unborn – without diminishing the value of all human life.”– Ronald Reagan. You mattered as much before your birth as you did after birth. It is mind-blowing that one has to even give scientific evidence and argue why it’s not okay to kill a baby in the womb. Ladies, If you’re pregnant, there’s a tiny person inside you. We know this, you know this, with all the technology available today, we all know this. Once a woman is pregnant, she is responsible for two bodies – hers & and her baby’s. From a biological perspective, an embryo inside the womb is not a part of a woman’s body. The DNA code of that developing baby as a distinct identity different from the mother who is carrying that baby.
Someone said, “the most dangerous place to be on this earth today is inside a woman’s womb.” Hollywood actress, Michelle Williams picked up an award at the Golden Globes 2020 ceremony and while giving her acceptance speech, she hinted about how having an abortion allowed her to pursue her career and to be successful. This is the single most toxic idea to ever come about. Real mothers know that children are a thousand times better than any dream they could achieve. If having children stops your aspirations and dreams, then they were the wrong dreams to have. It is sad to think some people value career over family. I know of single mothers who have managed to hold down a career successfully, and raise children all at the same time. Women don’t necessary have to give up their dreams because they are mothers. That is society’s demand which is a fallacy. It is a failure on society’s part to be pro-mother & pro-family at it’s institutions. There is no greater blessing than being blessed with a child & being entrusted with their care. Motherhood begins right in the womb. A mother’s womb should always be a safe place. Being a mother is the best gift life can give. But sadly, selfishness might blind some people from seeing that.
Instead of being born dead in the year 1977, Gianna Jessen was born alive in an abortion clinic after being burned in her mother’s womb for 18 hours during a failed late term saline abortion. Saline in high concentration is said to be toxic. In the womb, unborn babies are accustomed to opening their mouths and routinely drink of the amniotic fluid that surrounds them. Upon ingestion, the saline attacks soft membrane tissues along the digestive tract. As pertaining to its toxicity in the body, it can cause seizures and haemorrhaging of the brain and other organs. It is an awful way to die and can take several hours. In the same year (1977), Melissa Ohden’s body was placed among medical waste after a saline abortion. That was until a nurse heard her weak cries and slight movements. To the glory of God, both Melissa and Gianna triumphantly entered this world against all odds. And today, these two are both alive and well, and have grown up to be strong women using their voices to advocate for the right to life for the voiceless – the unborn.
The right to life is the first human right. Without that right, all other rights are meaningless. “To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.” – G.K. Chesterton. Life does not consist of what you want to do but of what you ought to do. Behind the word “choice” is a person. “With regard to the freedom of the individual for choice with regard to abortion, there is one individual who is not being considered at all, and that is the one who is being aborted. And I have noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born.”– Ronald Reagan. Killing an unborn child is far worse than killing some animal. We certainly can’t be thinking of humanity like wheat that is cropped and culled.
“It may be true that morality cannot be legislated, but behaviour can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless.” – Martin Luther King Jr. Laws and regulations are established to protect the people from others and from themselves. While there may be exceptions to the rule, the exceptions do not determine the rule. For instance, ectopic pregnancy is life-threatening, and unfortunately, it is virtually impossible to save the pregnancy, and abortion is necessary to save the woman’s life. While there have been rare, well-publicized cases where an ectopic pregnancy has been brought to term, pregnancies of this sort are almost universally considered nonviable.
The UK’s Abortion Act 1967 was never applied in Northern Ireland, and up until 2019, abortion was illegal there except to save the life of mother. Here are some interesting stats: Between 1998 and 2018, the Police Service of Northern Ireland recorded only 17 cases of ‘procuring illegal abortion’ and 3 cases of ‘intentional destruction of a viable unborn child.’ In several years within that time frame, no offences of this type were recorded!
Most people obey the law. Many women and girls would never choose abortion if it were illegal. The reality that some minority of people will violate that law, even to the detriment of themselves and their children, does not justify not having the law. Some people are going to steal from others, but everyone would laugh if I suggested that we legalize robbery. Just because some still may make that choice, doesn’t mean we should make it legal. “No law can give me the right to do what is wrong” – Abraham Lincoln. If abortion was made illegal and someone chooses to provide illegal “back alley” abortions, that is their choice with consequences, but we as a society have to let it be known that it is wrong. Likewise, the same is true for someone choosing to get an abortion. Dr. Kathi Aultman, a former abortionist and Medical Director for Planned Parenthood said the following:
“There is no such thing as a safe abortion. One person is killed and the other is at risked of serious complication (including death). Historically speaking, legalizing abortion did not make it less deadly for women. From the 1940s to the 1970s, death of women due to abortion rapidly declined because of better medicine and increased use of antibiotics, not because abortion was made legal. In 1972, the year before Roe v Wade, 39 women died from illegal abortion, and 24 women died from legal abortion. In 1973, the year of Roe v Wade, 19 women died from illegal abortion, and 25 women died from legal abortion. So, in the year that abortion was nationally legalised, more women died from legal abortion than illegal abortion. The truth is that whether it is legal or illegal, abortion poses long term physical and emotional harm for women, including and increased risk of suicide, future infertility, pregnancy loss, and damage to internal organs. The reality is, legalizing abortion has not made abortion safer – it has only led to the deaths of more children and has harmed more women.”
This isn’t just about a law. It is about an entire society putting the safety and health of all humans before profit, career, ambition, etc. We need to change our cultures to be pro-mother, pro-father, Pro-family, and pro-child. In this world of sexual emancipation, many young women end up with unplanned pregnancy, and from there opt for an abortion. Easier access to effective contraception (that never kills a fertilized egg in the womb) would likely decrease the need for abortion. The point behind banning abortion is to save the baby’s life, but at the same time we shouldn’t lose sight of trying to save the mother. We should offer as much support and help as possible to women with unwanted pregnancies so to avoid them making that ‘choice’ or from harming themselves. The existence of life is greater than quality of life. Every life is precious and worth fighting for, and we ought to do all we can to save both mother and baby.
“Is God OK with legalized abortion? Is God glorified in abortion?”
Regardless to whether some people within the Christian community are OK with legalized abortion for one reason or the other, the all-important question we ought to ask – “Is God OK with legalized abortion? Is God glorified in abortion?” As Christians, we are to stand in the side of what is right account to God’s word. God instituted the civil government whose principal task and regards is to protect, maintain and sustain the sanctity of human life. In Scripture (Exodus 20:13), the sixth commandment – “Murder not” is specifically directed to murder in cold-blood or killing with passionate rage, or with impunity. The sixth commandment is specifically directed to taking of life unjustly or unlawfully, reason being that taking life unlawfully and unjustly violates Gods sovereignty and robs God of his glory.
Proven in the Bible (Proverbs 6:16-17), murder is an absolute abomination to the Lord. God is seriously against hands that shed innocent blood. The Bible makes it clear that the blood of the innocent cries out to God (Genesis 4:10). David said of the Lord, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, everyone them, the days that were appointed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:16. For us Christians, life is gift and a mystery. God is the one who gives life and He alone can take away life and this is why abortion, euthanasia, infanticide have created a culture of unlawful death of breaking of God’s sixth commandment. And once we legalise a culture of death, there is no stopping.
I’ve heard some people say a man does not really have a say on the subject of abortion, but that is a faulty reasoning. An argument’s validity has nothing to do with who says it, but what the evidence behind it unbiasedly states. Men are equally are responsible for the offspring they help create. More importantly, as Christians, the Bible says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are defenseless and appointed to die, ensure justice for those being crushed” – Proverbs 31:8
In Christ Alone 