Abortion

Pastor Rick Rogers

Key Verse: Psalm 127:3

Introduction: Abortion was legalized on January 22, 1973 by the United States Supreme Court in the infamous Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decision. Clearly, the law allowed abortion on demand, meaning that the unborn have no right to live if the mother chooses to terminate them. Since that day, one to one and one-half million babies have been aborted every year, certainly involving America in its own holocaust. Currently, about one-third of all pregnancies are terminated by abortion. Thus, by the end of this year, America will be guilty of killing about twenty-seven to forty million of its own citizens. This brings America down past the level of Nazi Germany and the slaughter of over six-million Jews by four to seven times more! The battles continue to rage nation-wide between those who are pro-life and those who are pro-death.

THE TOTALS OF AMERICAN DEATHS

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II. THE TYPES OF ABORTION

A.     First Trimester

1.  Suction curettage: a small plastic tube which is connected to a vacuum like machine is placed through the cervix. The abortionist then suctions around the uterus, tearing the baby away from the lining, into pieces small enough to pass through the tube and into the machine. The dismembered baby is then reassembled so the abortionist can affirm that he has all the parts.

2.  The dilatation and curettage (D & C) abortion: a sharp spoon-shaped knife is inserted into the uterus and the abortionist scrapes the lining of the uterus and removes the baby and placenta. Again, the dismembered babys parts are collected and reassembled to affirm nothing has been left inside the uterus.

3.  RU486: works by blocking the production of the hormone progesterone, rendering the uterus inhospitable to the fertilized egg. this procedure requires three visits to the abortionist, the use of prostaglandin and surgical abortion as a backup for failure.

4.  Morning After Pill, Emergency Contraception: is a mega dose of the hormone progesterone. It makes the lining uterus inhospitable to the fertilized egg. It is usually used in cases of rape or an unplanned sexual relationship within 72 hours after sexual contact.

5.  Methotrexate / Misoprostol: taken in combination to induce abortion in the first nine weeks of pregnancy. An abortionist injects the woman with methotrexate, then one week later the woman ingests four tablets of misoprostol. She then goes her way and "miscarries" within 24 hours.

B.    Second and Third Trimesters

1.  Dilation and Evacuation (D & E): the abortionist alternates between tearing (or cutting) the baby to pieces and suctioning out the parts. Because the skull is too large to be suctioned through the tube, it is grasped with a forceps and crushed, then removed from the uterus.

2.  Saline amniocentesis: a needle is inserted through the abdomen directly into the amniotic sack. Amniotic fluid is extracted and replaced with a concentrated saline (salt) solution. The solution is absorbed into the babys lungs and digestive tract. It burns the babys skin, and usually takes six hours to kill the baby. This time can be uncomfortable to the mother, as the baby often struggles. Usually within 12 hours labor begins. It can take up to twenty-four hours for her to deliver. To reduce the incidence of live births, many inject drugs directly into the babys heart to cause death.

3.  Prostaglandin: the mother takes prostaglandin either orally, via suppository, IV drip or injection. The drug induces labor, which is usually violent and painful. It does not ensure fetal death, so it is not widely used.

4.  Hysterotomy: same procedure as a Caesarean Section delivery, except the abortionist will aspirate brain tissue, inject a heart stopping drug or cause the baby to bleed to death by cutting the umbilical cord. Supposedly, it is necessary to lift out a dead baby, but there are known cases of infanticide performed when a baby is born alive.

5.  Dilation and Extraction (D & X, Partial Birth Abortion): was developed in order to retrieve live fetal brain tissue for experimentation (compliments of the Clinton Administration). After dilation the entire body of the baby, except the head, is pulled out of the mother. While the baby is still alive, a scissors-like instrument is thrust into the base of the skull and a suction catheter is inserted into the hole. The brains are suctioned out, the head collapses and the rest of the head is removed.

Planned Parenthood, the Clinton Administration, N. O. W., and many in federal government condone and endorse these procedures. President Clinton has consistently vetoed every attempt to pass pro-life legislation, and he and his administration have done more harm to the pro-life cause than any other president and administration. He will go down in history as the "abortion president," which I believe is an accurate (though tragic) legacy.

III. THE THEOLOGY OF LIFE

A.    When Does Life Begin?

1.  It would seem as if conception, when the seed and egg unite, is the beginning of life, Jer. 1:5 (this may even argue against contraception!), Matt. 1:20 (note " that which is conceived "), Gen. 3:15 (note the "battle" of the "seeds"). [It is interesting to note that John the Baptist is brephos as a child in the womb (Luke 2:41, 44), as was Jesus Christ after his birth (Luke 2:12), as were the "young children" of Acts 7:19. Whether in or out of the womb, the same Greek word was used for the child].

2.  At conception, each normal baby obtains its 46 chromosomes 23 from each parent. Each person retains those for the remainder of life. Every person has his / her own genetic code, which is different from the mother or father. This would argue against the pro-abortionists view that the child "is a growth of" the mother.

3.  The beginning of life argument was supposedly answered once for all by French geneticist Dr. Jerome LeJeune: "But now we can say, unequivocally, that the question of when life begins is no longer a question of theological or philosophical dispute. It is an established scientific fact All life, including human life, begins at the moment of conception."¹ This was accepted by the Supreme Court. The beginning of life is no longer the issue used by the pro-abortionist. The argument has since become "Is the unborn baby considered a human being with equal rights and protection by the law?" They would say no, definitely not!

Is this the view of our Founding Fathers? The Declaration of Independence says: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The rights to what? LIFE, liberty, happiness. Does that necessarily apply to the unborn?

"Yes. The founders of our country envisioned the right to life as extending to the unborn. This is evident from several things. First, the English common law tradition, from which our law came, had laws against abortion. Second, the moral law (natural law) from which Thomas Jefferson came and to which he referred to as "the laws of nature" also opposed abortion. Third, during the time of the founders the unborn was defined in dictionaries as a "child in the womb," and a child was defined as "a very young person." Finally, as of 1716, sixty years before the Declaration of Independence, the common council of New York passed a law forbidding midwives from performing abortions."²

Consider: even if there was nothing directly stated in the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution (and I would say there is!!) silence is a terrible argument for allowing abortion! As you study the Roe v. Wade case, you would realize it was dubious from start to finish.³

B.    Alternative Views:

1.  At implantation, when the zygote becomes attached to the womb
2.  At "humanization," when the embryo has a recognizable human shape
3.  At animation, when human life is evident
4.  At viability, when the baby could survive outside the mothers womb
5.  At birth, when baby draws the "breath of life," Gen. 2:7
6.  At one year of age

Consider: There are no absolutes or factual evidence to any of these views. They are arbitrary, not based upon any Theology or scientific fact (though some may claim they are!). In truth, as discussed previously, the evidence seems to oppose them.

IV. THE TREASURE OF CHILDREN

A.    Conception is Gods design, Gen. 1:18, 29:33, 30:22; Ruth 4:5, 13; 1 Sam. 1:19-20

B.    Children in the womb are considered valuable, Jer. 1:5; Psalm 139:13-16; Mt. 1:20; Gal. 1:15,

C.    Children are a gift of God, Gen. 33:5; Psalm 113:9, 127:3

D.    Children are to bring the Gospel to a generation we shall never see, Deut. 6:7-8; Mt. 28:18-20, and keep the Word of God in the world in which we live

E.    Children were protected from harm or murder by the Mosaic Law, Exo. 21:22-25

Question: Why wasnt there a direct command against abortion, especially in the Old Testament? In a sense there was; the laws governing life and death would have included unborn children. Further, however, abortion would have been unthinkable in the Israelite culture. The more children a couple had, the more blessed they were considered, whereas childlessness was looked upon as a curse. See Gen. 29:30ff, 30:1, 22-23.

V. THE TESTS OF SITUATION ETHICS

A.    Cases of Rape: though this would be a terrible act against the victim, rape rarely results in pregnancy for a number of reasons, such as the timing of the fertile period, the degree of the assault, But in cases that do result in pregnancy, different factors should be considered:

• Would an abortion allow the victim to forget the sexual assault?
• Would she ever forget that she was pregnant?
• Should an innocent victim (the baby) be under a capital crime for anothers offense (the perpetrator)?

B.    Cases of Incest:

• Would an abortion solve the problem of the victim?
• Wouldnt an abortion increase the problem? All an abortion accomplishes is a cover up for the perpetrator!
• As above, why should an innocent victim be punished for anothers offense?

Note: The abortion rate for both rape and incest is less than 2 %, yet it is always the argument you hear from the pro-abortionists. Do not be misled of the 1,500,000 abortions, less than 30,000 are due to rape or incest.

C.    Life of the Mother: though this needs to be addressed, please note: "Fewer than one in ten thousand mothers die in childbirth. It is one of the safest procedures in the country a woman has a 99.99 % chance of surviving childbirth; the risk of maternal death is extremely small."⁴

Consider: is abortion ever justifiable biblically? Some who would accept and defend the pro-life position normally may consider some abortions justifiable. For example, Ryrie says "Is there, then, any justification for abortion? It would appear that one might justifiably abort a fetus if at any stage there is a material aggression against the mother. Such abortion would be in the nature of self defense."⁵ One certainly has the right to defend oneself from death or grave bodily harm. Yet there may be other issues involved. For example, John 15:13 teaches an altruistic love, even to the point of dying. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus demonstrates this type of love to an infinite degree. In the Exo. 21:22-25 passage, is the mother automatically exempt from the punishment? Is a soldier going off to fight a war willing to sacrifice himself for family and nation? What of the sovereignty of God is it possible for Him to intervene?

D.    Physical abnormality: a large percentage of pregnant women that find out the baby has an abnormality seek an abortion, feeling as if it is "better for the baby" than to be born. However, this is an argument based on opinion, not reality.

Consider: Can you prove that non-existence is superior to a handicapped existence? Have you ever talked to anybody who is handicapped that consistently wished they were not born? According to John 9:3 and Exo. 4:11, Psalm 139:13-16, Who makes people how they are? Who determines who is worthy to live and who is not? Who determines what the severity of the handicap is before the death sentence is given? Is there a place for less than perfect people in our society?

Conclusion: The debates and battles still rage, and likely will for some time to come. We must pray and get involved in the process. Your instructor is convinced that this is a "greed" war fitting into a philosophical plan and order for the world, and not about rights at all. If it were about rights, the unborn and the women carrying them would be protected, or the abortion services would be free. God hates the shedding of innocent blood (Pro. 6:16-17) and He punished His people for it (Jer. 2:34ff; 19:4ff). I believe there is a day of reckoning coming for America and it may have begun!

End Notes:
[1] The is from Dr. LeJeunes testimony given at a Congressional Hearing, Washington, D. C., April 23, 1981, quoted in Matters of Life and Death, Francis Beckwith and Norman Geisler, p. 16.
[2] Ibid., pp. 39-40.
[3] See ibid., Appendix 1, and pp. 48-67.
[4] Ibid., p. 98
[5] Biblical Answers to Contemporary Issues, Charles Ryrie, p. 85.