Abortion

In America today abortion occurs at the rate of 4,000 babies per day – one every 21 seconds. More babies are killed by American mothers in five months than all Americans killed on the battlefields from Lexington and Concord in 1775 to
Vietnam. In our nation’s capital in 1980 there were more pregnancies terminated (babies killed) than allowed to progress to full term. Alabamians can boast (hang our head and cry!) that one out of every four pregnancies ended in abortion in 1980.

Abortion brings into full focus the issue of the sanctity of life. If an unborn child is not alive, abortion is simply not an issue. If an unborn child is alive, no one, not even his/her own mother has a right to end that life. Cries of “reproductive freedom” or “a woman has a right to her own body” do not supercede the right of life possessed of the unborn child. “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:6).

An unborn child is alive! It has been medically proven that the baby’s heart starts beating from 14-28 days after conception and by the 30th day almost every organ has started to form! He moves his arms and legs by six weeks and by 43 days his brain waves can be read. In fact, there is no difference between brain waves of infants before and after delivery. By eight weeks the baby has his very own fingerprints, he can urinate, make a strong fist and feel pain. Keith Moore, of the University of Toronto, says, “although it is customary to divide development into prenatal and postnatal periods, it is important to realize that birth is merely a dramatic…change in environment.” That is, the only difference between a child before and after birth is that before birth he lives in the womb, after birth, outside the womb. An unborn child is a life! It is a life to be nurtured, not murdered.

Abortion is a subject of gross irony. In some of the same hospitals where advanced “hi-tech” neonatal intensive care units struggle to prolong the life of a four month premature infant, abortion units are destroying fetuses of the same
age less than 50 yards away. In certain cases fetal surgery is being performed to save a child, yet others will destroy it. What an irony.

What should a Christian do?

1. Recognize that abortion is not an option for the Christian.
2. Teach others that life is precious.
3. Support good works that educate the public about the evils of abortion.
4. Give to organizations that support the alternatives to abortion, such as adoption.

– Steve Housley