As most of us are aware, a decision of the United States Supreme Court this past Friday, June 24, reversed the 1973 ruling in the case known as Roe v. Wade. After nearly 50 years, the constitutional right to abortion no longer exists in the U.S. It is a matter to be decided by voters in individual states.
Taking the lives of innocent young people, even babies, did not originate in America 50 years ago. Do some research on how ancient civilizations brutally tortured and sacrificed their children. Horrific!
Both before and since the SCOTUS opinion was announced, those called “pro-choice” decried and protested the decision. Those considered “pro-life” celebrated the news with joy and thanksgiving.
Politicians quickly weighed in on the consequences of the Court’s action. Some hope that before midterm elections, the issue will distract attention from other prominent issues in the U.S., such as inflation, recession, supply chain problems, energy costs, and stock market woes.
All that aside, the topic of abortion begs for clarity on this fundamental question: Is the embryo inside a woman’s womb part of the woman’s body and therefore hers to terminate because she has the right to control her own body? Or is the embryo a distinctly separate human being who has a right to life?
Psalm 139 says: “For you (God) created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your eyes saw my unformed body.”
Yet not everyone cares what the Bible says. So, what does science say about this question? Medical documentation I’ve seen and studied is unanimous in stating an embryo is the early developing fertilized egg that is growing into a new individual person. Here’s a representative quote:
“At the moment the sperm cell of the human male meets the ovum of the female and the union results in a fertilized ovum (zygote), a new life has begun.” [Considine, Douglas (ed.). Van Nostrand’s Scientific Encyclopedia. 5th edition, 1976, p. 943]
An embryonic baby isn’t the mother’s body. It’s the baby’s body, connected to the mother’s body and residing in the mother’s body. That baby is a human being in his or her own body, with the right to life.
Pregnancies that threaten the very life of the mother obviously deserve special consideration and mandate difficult decisions, guided by prayer, medical consultation, and competent spiritual counsel.
A friend of mine wrote: “Roe V. Wade has been overturned. It is my prayer that Christians will strongly support organizations and policies that support mothers and children, that help reduce factors that have historically led women towards abortion, and that are pro-whole-life, not just pro-birth.”
I agree, and quickly add strong encouragement for sensitivity to and support for women who struggle with unwanted, problematic, rape-induced, one-night-stand, or any other troublesome pregnancy. Carrying full term and giving birth to a child under those circumstances is undoubtedly very difficult.
Those of us who are parents by adoption are thankful that such mothers, and others, endured the stress and challenge, recognized their limitations, acknowledged their inability to raise their child, and opted to place their child in the arms of loving adoptive parents.
One final obvious observation. Abortion becomes a consideration only when a woman has become pregnant. Moments of passion do produce lifelong responsibility, which some are not ready to accept.
A simple way to avoid the question of abortion would be for the man and woman whose physical union produces a pregnancy, to think before they act, consider the consequences of their intimate moments together, take appropriate precautions, and thus avoid any necessity of even thinking about terminating the embryonic life their relationship is about to initiate.
Perspectives 