I honestly never thought I would see the day when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. O me of little faith. But even though the country of the United States now officially affirms that there is no constitutional right to abort a pregnancy, the population still remains very polarized when it comes to the issue of abortion. Those in favor of abortion ironically see it as an issue of human dignity, despite the fact that it dehumanizes the unborn, while those opposed to abortion often cite the “right to life” as the main reason that abortion is wrong. In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling this past weekend, I thought it would be a good time to reshare an updated version of a post I initially published back in 2019.
Abortion has been in the national limelight more than usual lately [in 2019] with New York’s passage of the Reproductive Health Act, which legalized “abortions after 24 weeks in cases where there is an ‘absence of foetal [sic] viability, or the abortion is necessary to protect the patient’s life or health.’”[1] This legislative action came right on the heels of the annual March for Life and Sanctity of Human Life Day in January and in the midst of other abortion-related legislation being proposed or adjudicated in other states such as Vermont, Virginia, and Iowa.
Heightening the emotional impact of the New York law, is a particularly strong irony that came in the governor’s celebratory act of lighting One World Trade Center in pink. While the new World Trade Center was lit in celebration of the potential for ending unborn lives, the memorial at the old World Trade Center site lists the unborn among those killed in 2001. The contrast is beyond chilling. Also chilling is a contemporaneous video showing a Virginia state representative blank-facedly admitting that her proposed bill would allow abortions to take place even up to the moment of birth. Thankfully, that bill was defeated.
This issue raises incredibly strong feelings on all sides. However, my intent with this post is not to go into the medical arguments against the presuppositions in these laws; others have shared their expertise to show that while delivery might be necessary to save a mother’s life, abortion is not. Neither is my intent to answer the myriad of arguments that self-proclaimed “pro-choice” individuals offer up to rationalize abortion, nor to delve into the scientific and technological advancements that increasingly support the claim that life begins at conception. Instead, my purpose is to share how I have come to rethink what is referred to as the “right to life” and to call us all to expand our view of what we are truly dealing with when we make the case for the protection of the unborn.
Oftentimes in the Right to Life movement, the persuasive arguments center around the unborn themselves: babies (fetuses) are alive, and they have the right to live; extinguishing their lives before they are born robs them of the opportunity to live, to love, and to experience love outside the womb; taking their lives removes their choice for what they want to do with their lives. All of these statements are true, but are they really the fundamental reason why abortion is wrong? In other words, is killing others wrong because they deserve the chance to live and thrive?
Our Declaration of Independence asserts that all of humanity has a right to life. But where does this right come from? Is it a right we give to ourselves? Is it something our Founding Fathers just came up with? As the Declaration acknowledges, the right to life comes from our Creator, i.e. the God of the Bible. There is nothing we bring to the table in and of ourselves that makes us deserving of life. What makes us deserving is not who we are but Who our Creator is. He has made us and, in doing so, has imparted His image to us. That’s what makes us valuable, i.e. worthy of living. So because He is the One who gives us life and who imputes value to us, He is the only One who has the right to take our lives away. Let that sink in for a moment. God is the only One who has the legitimate authority to end a human life.[2]
So when it comes to abortion, while it can be emotionally persuasive to talk about the unborn, to make us feel empathy for their utterly defenseless condition, to horrify us at the callousness it takes to cause a defenseless person pain and then to extinguish their life, I have come to see that these are not the most important reasons we should stand against it.
What is? Just this: to end the life of an unborn human is fundamentally about usurping the power and authority of the almighty God of the universe. And that is a profoundly dangerous thing to do. Look at the consequences of those who tried to become like God—Satan, who incurred eternal damnation, and Adam and Eve, who ensured that they and the entirety of their descendants would be unable to have a relationship with God were it not for God’s intervention through Jesus, are the ones that immediately come to mind. Bottom-line: trying to be like God is not something to mess around with. God is the only all-powerful being and the only all-wise being, so to attempt to assert our own “power” and “wisdom” over His is incredibly foolish. The point, when it comes to abortion, is not so much that the unborn have a right to live as it is that we do not have the right to kill them.
Of course, this is a less palatable point to raise because it heightens the onus placed on those consenting to and performing the abortion. If we’re not careful, making such a point can be interpreted as heaping guilt on an already struggling individual. And in a pro-life culture that has (sometimes justifiably) been accused of doing a less-than-stellar job of showing compassionate care and real tangible and emotional support to mothers and families contemplating abortion, it can be scary to argue for life from this perspective because it increases the risk of coming across as heartless and judgmental.
That is why we must learn how to simultaneously hold onto the appropriately big view of God, including the thoroughly inherent rights He has by nature of Who He is, and to practically demonstrate His love for women who are carrying the lives He has created. We don’t have the right to take a human life, because that right only belongs to God, but we also don’t have the right to devalue those whom He has created in His image, which includes not only the unborn but also the teens and adults connected to them.
Thankfully, many in the Church have already been stepping up to tangibly love and support the unborn, the born, and the mothers of both. Whether through financial giving to pregnancy centers that provide free counseling, ultrasounds, clothing, diapers, etc. to families in need or through personal care for families and children via foster care and adoption, followers of Christ have been demonstrating His compassion to mothers, fathers, babies, and children alike. I personally know at least twenty families who have fostered and/or adopted over forty children (not counting those who have helped raise family members), and many more who have been part of their support network. But there is always more to be done. And in a post-Roe America, the Church has a remarkable opportunity to expand their efforts to actionably demonstrate the love and hope of Christ to women who, for whatever reason, do not want to give birth to their babies.
So as we think about the issue of abortion in the coming days and years, let us consider the greatness of God and our own smallness in comparison. Let us acknowledge that we cannot rightfully end another human’s life, because that right only belongs to Him. He is the one who numbers our days and who allots our time in His perfect design (see Psalm 139:16). Let us not presume to know better than He. And in contemplating His greatness, may we also be overcome by His goodness such that we are filled with compassion for those who are hurting and scared, for those who are conflicted, and for those who are convinced. At the end of our earthly lives, when we stand before God to give an account, may we be able to say, “I stood for preserving your gift of life, and I showed your love to all.”
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[1] Pierpont, George, BBC News, “New York abortion law: Why are so many people talking about it?” accessed 29 January 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46994583
[2] In some cases, e.g. in punishing a human who has killed another human in cold blood, God has delegated this authority, but in the case of the unborn, He has not done so.
So if God is the only one who has the right to end life should we be pacifists? I tend to think so
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question. I've known Christians who have come to that conclusion and others who ascribe to Augustine's Just War theory. As with anything, I think we have to ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance as we study Scripture and seek to discern the answers to such questions.
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