Abortion cannot be how we deal with life
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10, NIV)
The thief described in John 10:10 seeks to lead people astray through wicked lies, to turn them away from the truth and God’s way of doing things. The lies are told by pillow prophets masquerading as a refuge. Abortion is one such deception and its effects are cruel.
Since 1973 with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision, there have been more than 60 million completed abortions in the United States. Certainly, abortions were performed in the United States before 1973, though Roe vs. Wade made it legal.
Through abortion, physicians and patients have been participants and victims of deception. In the earliest years of abortion, physicians were told that the fetus was “just a blob of tissue” and many presumed this to be true. Deception is often cruel. Abortion, hailed as part of women’s reproductive justice, is skillfully marketed to a woman as an on-demand solution during a pregnancy crisis in her life (i.e., “We can make this go away”). But are those complicit in abortion the same ones who will help her when she regrets her decision? Will they help with the physical and psychological harms (ex: increased infection risk, major depression, suicidal thoughts, addiction disorders, etc.) sometimes experienced post-abortion?
Through abortion, we’ve eliminated the talents, gifts and creations of more than 60 million would-be contributors to our society; would-be voices in government, in education, even as payees into our tax base. We’ll never know what we’ve lost in our culture through abortion. This is tragic.
It is an undisputed scientific fact that a distinct, living human being exists in the womb of a pregnant mother. Human development from the scientific perspective is observable and a seamless process from fertilization to birth. The “blob of tissue” has a complete genetic makeup. Personhood has been established. The abortion industry seeks to discredit personhood and the viability of life from the earliest weeks of pregnancy into the third trimester.
But the moment we allow society to question personhood is the moment you and I should know that someone someday may question ours. When life is considered arbitrary today yours may be considered arbitrary tomorrow. From slavery, to the Holocaust, to human trafficking, to violence, to physician-assisted suicide, history has proven that the value of another’s life is subjective. We should seek to preserve, protect and promote life at every stage.
As the Washington, D.C. Area Director for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations , I represent the largest faith-based voice of healthcare professionals on this and other issues with the position to preserve, protect and promote life. In my role with CMDA, I am grateful to partner with the faith-based and healthcare community to disciple and equip our healthcare students and healthcare professionals to serve their patients as the hands and feet of Christ in an industry that wants them to compromise. I am grateful for those who support and pray for our ministry so we can do God’s work particularly in our nation’s capital.
During our 2019 CMDA National Convention held this May in Ridgecrest, North Carolina, John Stonestreet, President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, asked us this introspective question: “What is our salvation for?”
Our salvation is for us as Christ’s representatives to engage with a hostile world.
While more states propose and pass legislation to support life for the unborn (and no policy is perfect), Christians cannot be absent from the opportunity to be a refuge to others in their crisis. Through our prayers, through sharing God’s Word with courage and compassion, through advocacy, through engaging in biblically and ethically informed discourse in the public square, we bring godly wisdom that can move others toward God’s ways. Through Christ’s love, we have been transformed to make Christ and the gospel plain to others (Colossians 4:4, Ephesians 6:19). We pray that through the Holy Spirit, our words and actions will serve as an internal witness to their hearts.
Abortion cannot be how we deal with life. There is an ignorance and arrogance when we trust ourselves instead of God and thereby limit wisdom. This folly comes at a high human cost. God and His wisdom can be known by those who seek Him. May we trust God’s sovereignty in all things. May we allow God the opportunity to work beautifully out of chaos and things unplanned when we fully trust Him.
