I wish that I could do the same for people in our world today. I don’t believe those of you who read this tract are indifferent to the abortion issue. But many in our society are. The reason our country has become so involved in abortion today. is not because the pro-abortion forces are so strong in their influence, or because the pro-life forces are so weak in their influence, but because there is between these two positions a large center, a majority of people in our nation who, while not enthusiastic for abortion, are simply indifferent. They do not understand the issues that are involved. They do not understand the terrible and awful consequences that will certainly accrue to our nation as a result of this modern holocaust.
My purpose in this work is to offer an introductory education to the issue of abortion from a biblical and scientific perspective. I would like to begin by introducing two passages of Scripture.
implacable, unmerciful” (Romans 1:31).
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud. blasphemers, disobedient to parents. unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers. incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady. highminded. lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).
In the preceding texts we find the mention of a vice styled “without natural affection.” In the passage from Romans. Paul is describing the pagan world of his day, and the sins of which the were guilty before God. In the passage from Timothy, Paul, with prophetic vision, looks down the stream of time and warns of vices what would characterize the “last days.” The phrase “without natural affection” is the English translation of one word in the Greek New Testament The word is astorge, from a-, negative prefix meaning “no, without,” and storgos, meaning “love of kindred.” Storge was the Greek word for “family affection.” This word bespeaks the natural love of parents for children, of children for parents, or between any kinfolks. So astorge simply means “no love of kindred.” Abortion is one of the clearest expressions of this vice that is condemned by God.
A Brief history of Abortion
Abortion has been called a “crime of civilization.” The practice of abortion has always been most common in societies that were advanced in terms of material prosperity, culture, civilization and education.
In the Greek world, abortion and infanticide were commonly practiced as a means of family limitation. This did not mean that it was everywhere accepted as morally right. The Hippocratic Oath has been for centuries the ethical foundation for Western medicine. It was authored by the Greek physician Hippocrates (460?- 377’? B.C.). White the Oath of Hippocrates comes out of a pagan context, it gives evidence of a moral conscience in the pagan Greek civilization against abortion. In part, the Oath read: “I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest such counsel; furthermore, I will not give a woman an instrument to produce abortion” (World Book Encyclopedia. “Hippocrates”, vol. H.p. 227).
Abortion was also practiced during the period of the Roman Empire. The practice was punishable by banishment or death, but as the Empire grew more decadent, the laws were not enforced.
With the coming of Christianity, abortion was vehemently condemned. Early Christian writings (extra-biblical) reflect the opposition of Christians to abortion from earliest times. The Epistle of Barnabas (AD 138) states “Thou shalt not kill the child by abortions.” The Didache (AD 80) ranks abortion with the sins forbidden in the Ten Commandments. Tertutlian (Al) 240) calls abortion homicide.
From the fourth century through the twentieth century, abortion was generally considered criminal. That changed in Soviet Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution. Abortions were legalized in Russia beginning in 1920. To this day the vast majority of abortions have been performed in Communist or Marxist countries. Japan is another country, though not Communist or Marxist, that adopted a very liberal abortion policy in the late 1940s.
The pro-abortion movement began in earnest in this country following World War II. By the 1960s, the pro-abortion movement had found significant support in the upper echelon of the intellectual and academic communities. A Rockefeller Foundation study commended abortion as an effective means of population control. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, several states were considering laws that would liberalize abortion. Some states had permitted abortions to save the life of the mother. Others allowed abortions to be performed in cases of rape or incest New York State adopted a very liberal (for the times) abortion law in the early 1970s.
In most slates where liberalized abortion laws were being considered, however, the measures were defeated in state legislative bodies or in public referendums. In 1972, Michigan and North Dakota both voted down, by over 60% majority, referendums in legalizing abortion It may be stated that abortion, as practiced today in countless abortion clinics from coast to coast, was illegal in the U S until January 22. 1973.
Since that time countless millions of unborn children have been aborted out of pure selfishness and immorality At this time an average of 4 000 babies are being aborted every day Since abortion was legalized over 30 million unborn children have been slain. In most American cities the number of abortions is almost as a high as the number of live births per year. In eighteen American cities the number of abortions actually exceeds the number of live births including Atlantic City San Francisco, Seattle and many others.
On that fateful day when the Supreme Court handed down two decisions that were to open the abortion floodgates (Roe vs Wade and Doe vs Bolton) the Court ruled that any state abortion law in the future would have to meet certain guidelines. Summarizing the Court’s dictum, we find:
First trimester: During the first three months of pregnancy the states must leave the abortion decision to the woman and her doctor. This amounts to abortion on demand.
Second trimester: During the second three months the states may only enact laws which regulate abortions in ways “reasonably related to maternal health.” This simply means that the states may enact laws determining who is qualified to perform abortion and where the abortion is to take place. The states may not enact any laws which safeguard the lives of the unborn.
Third trimester: After the woman’s sixth or seventh month of pregnancy, the states may forbid her to have an abortion that is not determined to be necessary to preserve her “life or health.” The Court, however, went on to define the term “health” in such broad terms—i.e. social well-being— as to make it virtually impossible for a state to protect the unborn child even after the sixth or seventh month of pregnancy
So the Supreme Court, contrary to a long history of legal tradition, overwhelming biological evidence, and the ethical beliefs of a majority of the American people, struck down the laws of all fifty states, even the most liberal. The Court made abortion on demand, at every stage of pregnancy, the law of the land, and gave the US. the dubious distinction of having the most liberal abortion laws in the world.
In subsequent rulings the Court carried this massive assault on life to the institution of marriage and the structure of the family. In Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri vs. Danforth the Court ruled that a wife may obtain an abortion without the husband’s consent. In the same opinion the Court held unconstitutional Missouri’s law requiring parental consent prior to a minor’s abortion.
Most Americans regard the law as a teacher. Whatever is legal is moral. In reality, of course. that is not always true. It was Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis who observed in 1928 that “our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or ill, it teaches the whole people by its example.”
The opinion by the Court that fateful day was so unanimous, Justice Harry Blackmun wrote the majority opinion. “We feel,” wrote Blackmun, “that the right is located in the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty,” but he thought it could also be located in “the Ninth Amendment’s reservation of rights to the people” (Wade. pp. 3 7-38). Vague as to the exact constitutional provision. the Court was sure of its power to proclaim an exact constitutional mandate. It set forth a doctrine of human life that was foreign to the religious and ethical heritage of the nation. Blackmun, in citing the history of abortion, made reference to the Persians, Greeks and Romans. No mention was made of what may be called our Judeo-Christian heritage, a heritage founded upon the moral and ethical teachings of the Old and New Testaments, and a heritage which has guided the Western world for nearly seventeen centuries.
In effect, Justice Blackmun was saying that somehow the legislators of all fifty states, for over a century, had overlooked a fundamental human liberty tucked away in the Constitution of the United States. Wherever the liberty came from and however recent its discovery, it was of very high rank. It was considered “fundamental” and “implicit in the concept of ordered liberty” (Wade. p. 37). With these characteristics, the right of abortion on demand, according to Justice Blackmun, takes it place among such rights as: freedom from illegal search and seizure, the right to a fair and speedy trial, freedom of speech, of conscience rind of religion. It is strange that Justice Blackmun did not see the incongruity of giving so basic a position to a demand which had until his opinion, been consistently rejected by the American people.
The Practice of Abortion
As previously pointed out, abortion is legal in this country right up into the seventh month of pregnancy. However, children have been prematurely born as early as nineteen weeks after conception and have lived. One of these children is Susanna South, and she is pictured in a book entitled The Zero People at the age of three years (at the time of publication).
Considered scientifically, human life begins at conception. Although consisting of only one cell, that cell is biologically a human being, with the complete set of 46 human chromosomes necessary for human life. Within seconds after conception the process of cell specialization and cell division begins to take place that will result in a newborn baby. At this very early stage offend life, the being in the womb of its mother may not look very human, and it may not have the consciousness of its humanity that a mature human enjoys, but it is no less human.
In testimony delivered before Congress, “Physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human being — a being that is alive and is a member of the human species. There is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological and scientific writings” (Report on the Subcommittee on Separation of Powers to the Senate Judiciary Committee S-158. 97th Congress, 1st Session 1981, p. 7; quoted in Abortion: Questions and Answers, p. 40).
Without getting technical, allow me to describe the growth of the baby in the womb of its mother. By the time the baby is 18-25 days old, long before its mother knows that she is pregnant, the heart starts beating. At 45 days electroencephalographic waves can be picked up from the baby’s developing brain. By 9-10 weeks the thyroid and adrenal glands are functioning. The baby can squint, swallow, and move his tongue. By 12 weeks the fingerprints of the hands are already formed, and except for size, will never change. At 13 weeks he has fingernails, sucks his thumb, and can recoil from pain. In the fourth month the growing baby is 8-10 inches in height. In the fifth month there is a time of lengthening and straightening of the developing baby. Skin, nails, and hair grow. All of the internal organs are present and function. This is the month in which the movements of the infant are felt by his mother. In the sixth month the developing baby responds to light and sound. He sleeps and wakes. He gets hiccups and can hear mom’s heartbeat. In the seventh month the nervous system becomes more complex. The infant is about 16 inches long and weighs 3 pounds.In the final eight and ninth months there is a time of fattening and rounding out.
How is abortion accomplished? How is the marvel of a developing human being brought to a screeching halt? Them are three commonly methods of human abortion. The first technique is called dilation and curettage, shortened to D & C, and is carried out between the seventh and twelfth weeks of pregnancy. In this technique the doctor uses sharp instruments to scrape the baby off the wall of the mother’s womb. The body of the baby, though small, is literally cut in pieces. Hemorrhaging is often profuse.
A second technique is called suction abortion. A powerful vacuum tube sucks the baby out of the womb and into a disposable jar rending it to pieces The small parts of the baby s body ate recognizable as heads legs, arms etc. More than 75% of the abortions performed in the U. S. and Canada are performed this way.
Later in pregnancy, when the first two procedures mentioned might cause too much hemorrhaging, the second most common type of abortion is used. This is the salt poisoning abortion or “salting out.” This is the method employed when the baby is 16 weeks old or older. A long needle is inserted into the mother’s abdomen and directly into the sac holding the baby. A highly concentrated salt solution is injected into it. The salt poisons the baby in the womb. The outer layer of skins is burned off the baby by the high concentration of salt. Brain hemorrhaging often results. It takes about an hour to kill the baby by this method. The mother goes into labor about a day later and delivers a dead, shriveled up baby.
At this point I must mention the claim made by the pro-abortion forces that safe, legalized abortion is necessary for the social, medical, and emotional well-being of American women. The fact is, like many operation procedures, there are risks involved, and their are a higher number of risks and risk of serious problems cropping up later, than the pro-abortion people like to admit The problems are medical, physical and emotional, according to a pamphlet entitled Abortion... Legal, But Not Safe published by the Missouri Citizens for Life Education Fund.
There are the immediate dangers that any abortion procedure could result in major hemorrhaging, serious infections, and damage to the woman’s reproductive organs that could render her sterile or complicate future pregnancies. If a woman has had one or more abortions, there is a greatly increased risk of stillbirths and miscarriages in future (when she might want to have a child), premature birth and low-birth weight (when she does have a child), and the very serious possibility of a tubal pregnancy. Add to these consequences the emotional damage that is caused by abortion. Not all women have guilt feelings after abortion But about 1 out of 2 do, and some of the emotional problems that result are very severe. Guilt, depression, grief and anxiety can go on for years, or forever.
A counselor writes, “It has been my clinical experience that a significant number of women are requesting counseling for a depression problem found to be an expression of an unresolved grief issue over a prior abortion” (Skelton, George; “Many in Survey Who Had Abortion Cite Guilt Feelings”; Los Angeles Times. 3-19-89, cited in Abortion.. Legal, But Not Safe. In Japan, where liberal abortion laws have been in place for decades. Buddhist temples began offering atonement ceremonies in the late 1950s for men and women who were agonizing over their decisions to go ahead with abortions. In the words of one Dr. Seto, people are “feeling bad killing their babies” (Lehner, U. C. “Japanese Ceremonies Show Private Doubts Over Use of Abortion,” Wall Street Journal, .1-6-83, cited in Abortion. .. Legal, But Not Safe).
The Significance of Abortion in Our Society
Why do women seek to have abortions? Largely for selfish, self-centered reasons According to research supported by Planned Parenthood, the major pro-abortion organization in America, most abortions are performed for convenience reasons. The following material is from Why Women Abort: The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) which is the research arm of the pro-abortion organization Planned Parenthood Federation of America, conducted a survey of 1,900 women who had undergone abortions in America.... Though the women polled by AGI were from a vast cross-section of different ages, races, and walks of life, nearly three fourths of the respondents shared one major reason for their decision to abort: concern about how having a baby would change their lives. About two thirds of the women who offered this reason went on to say that a child would interfere with their job, employment or career. Almost half of these women reported that a child would hinder their school attendance. About two thirds of women surveyed said they did not feel they could currently support a child. However, a number of these women who listed “can’t afford” as a reason had incomes well above the national poverty level.
Many cite the fact that they do not want their irresponsible sexual promiscuity to be known to parents or friends. Others have been promiscuous and intend to keep on living that way, and have no desire to be tied down to a child or relationship at that time in their life. The following chart breaks down the results of the above cited survey even more exactly:
- Reasons for Requesting an Abortion(AGI Survey)
76% Baby would change life; interfere with job or career.
68% Woman can’t afford baby.
51% Woman has problems with relationship.
31% Woman is unready for responsibility.
31% Woman doesn’t want others to know she has had sex or is pregnant.
30% Woman is not mature enough or too young.
26% Woman has all the children she wanted.
23% Husband or partner wants woman to have abortion.
13% Fetus has possible health problems.
7% Woman has health problems.
7% Woman’s parents want her to have abortion.
1% Woman was victim of rape or incest.
“Abortion for convenience offers such a clear view of the selfish, “me-first” direction abortion has taken in this country. . As the public becomes more aware of the humanity of the unborn child and the devastation of the abortion act, perhaps society will respond to the life of the unborn not with convenience, but with compassion.”
What does all this signify about the practice of abortion?
First and foremost, it signifies a rejection of the knowledge of God. Take a close look at what Paul says in Romans 1:18-31 and compare it to our society. Compare it with the spirit of our age where such vices as abortion on demand are openly practiced. Notice this part of the passage:
Secondly, abortion on demand is a symptom of the fact that family values are on the decline, as well as sexual morals. God’s Word says “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4). But the “New Morality,” which is actually just the old immorality under a new guise, has taken over a large part of the American conscience. The Bible warns, “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). But so many are so crazed with lust they will expose themselves to terrible social diseases and make innocent, unborn babies pay the price for their lack of self-control. Such will be lost, however:
Third, abortion is evidence of a loss of respect for human life. Human life is the special creation of a loving Creator. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26). Man is not just a brute animal, the end result of a long series of evolutionary accidents. He is made in the image of God and is accountable to God as a child is to a father. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7; cf. James 3:7).
Murder is condemned in God’s Word. When Noah and his family came out of the Ark. God gave instructions for living in the cleansed world He gave them and their descendants. One passage in Genesis 9 indicates that human life is to be highly valued, and those who shed innocent life are to forfeit their right to live.
Under the Law of Moses, Israel was told “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). They were warned not to pollute the land with the blood of the slain. “So ye shall not pollute the Land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it”(Numbers 35:33).”Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. and ye know that no
murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15).
Where is all this modern pro-abortion activity leading? Into further encroachments against human life. We are hearing more about euthanasia alt the time. We are hearing about physician assisted suicide. Influential voices are calling for the government to give the medical profession the power of life and death over other sections of the population.. Dr. William Gailin, Professor of Psychiatry and Law at Columbia University, said,”. . . it used to be easy to know what we wanted for our children, and now the best for our children might mean deciding which ones to kill. We’ve always wanted what is best for our grandchildren, and now that might mean killing them... “(Conference of American Association of University Women, Feb. 17, 1972). George Paulson writes, “How long should life be preserved when there is no redeeming social value? If life has no apparent purpose, perhaps it is to the benefit of others that such lives should not be salvaged” (“Who Should Live?,” Geriatrics, Mareh 1973, pp. 136-138). I could fill these pages with similar shocking quotations from the “social engineers” who want to plan our society. These “engineers” will have a larger and larger hand in our society, especially if our government takes over control of the health care industry, as now proposed by the current administration. They propose not only to pay for all abortions on demand under a national health care plan, but also limit the access of certain “non-productive” members of society to health care.
A fourth thing signified by the practice of abortion is that covetousness has just about taken over our land. Children are discarded because they will cramp someone’s lifestyle. Jesus says, however, “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15). When someone would forego the joys and lessons of life that come with being a parent, and choose to live a self-indulgent lifestyle. That bodes ill for their soul and the nation that exalts such conduct
The Word of God vs. Planned Parenthood
Federation of America
The edicts of the courts of men will not last forever. The Word of God will.
“And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me. and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have Spoken. the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47-48).
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead”(Acts 17:31).
What says this Word on the subject of abortion?
First, all life is a gift from God “He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). As already demonstrated, God has ordained that those who take from others this gift; are to forfeit their right to it. Those guilty of murder will be judged by God, certainly, whether they received justice in this life or not. Human governments may legalize abortion, but in the eyes of God it is still murder.
In the Old Testament we read of a practice that resulted in God’s wrath being poured out upon the people of Canaan, other pagan people, and even upon Israel and Judah. In the Bible you will find the word “tophet.” it is a horrifying word. It means “place of burning.” It refers to the burning of infant children in child-sacrifice rituals. The Canaanites practiced this abomination. Scholars tell us that the Canaanites employed this to maintain control over the population, and maintain a materialistic, sensual lifestyle. Israel was commanded to destroy them and to never practice this wickedness (Leveticus 18:2 1; Deuteronomy 18:9-10). However, in time Israel did (1 Kings 11:7; 2 Chronicles 33:6). The “tophet” at Jerusalem was in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, known by New Testament times as Gehenim. Because of the innocent blood shed in Gehenna, God promised to pour out His wrath upon Judah and Jerusalem (2 Kings 23:36; Jerimiah 19:6, 11).
The ancient practice of child sacrifice is still going on in our world. The forms and procedures are different but the sin is the same. The nations of the earth, including America, are making themselves abominable in the sight of God. The religious ritual has been replaced by a clinical, medical one, but the result is the same. Innocent blood is being shed. And God has never allowed this sad situation to continue unpunished. The sexual promiscuity of our day, population control to ensure a “high standard of living”— it is just the old fornication, materialism, and covetousness of the Canaanites brought up to date.
Second, we notice that the Scriptures teach that children are a blessing from God.
In the Bible we can read of people who were childless, and they felt themselves deprived of a great blessing. Several righteous couples who were childless, sought for the Lord’s deliverance from this situation. They prayed for God to give them children. And God often did give children in answer to the prayers of the righteous—Abraham and Sarah come first to mind. But there were others. Isaac and Rebekah, for instance: “And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived” (Genesis 25:21). Then there was Hannah, whose son Samuel was born in answer to prayer (1 Samuel 1 & 2).
In the New Testament we read of Zacharias and Elisabeth, who were blessed to become the parents of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-13). Notice what the angel told Zacharias: “Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard: and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John” (Luke 1:13). We also read Ruth 4:13, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son.” Children are the gift of God. That gift is given at conception. To destroy this gift of God is a sin.
Third, the Bible makes no distinction between prenatal and postnatal life!
Of Jeremiah, God said, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jerimiah 1:5).
It is stated of John the Baptist, by his mother Elisabeth, that “the babe leaped in my womb for joy.” The word “babe” is from the Greek brephos. The word is used of both infants and unborn children. The definition of brephos is “a child; whether unborn, an embryo, fetus", Luke 1:41,44: or just born, an infant, Luke 2:12, 16; Acts 7:19; or partly grown, Luke 18:15; 2 Timothy 3:15. (TheAnalytical Greek Lexicon Revised. p. 73; cf. Thayer, p. 105). Further, Mary was informed by the angel that “...thy cousin Elisabeth, she bath conceived a son in her old age” (Luke 1:36). “Son” is from huios. a word describing the relation of descent whether before or after birth has taken place. Obviously, the Holy Spirit has chosen words to convey to our minds the humanity of John while still in his mother’s womb.
Paul stated that God “separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace” (Galatians 1:15). Even before Paul was a “viable human being.” by the standards of the modem abortionists, God had set him apart to the great work that Paul eventually did. Do people who favor abortion not see the terrible loss in human potential that has occurred because so many have been slaughtered in this way? There may not be other Pauls or John the Baptists, but there have certainly been some Beethoveins, and George Washingtons, and Jonas Salks.
While the Bible never says “Life begins at conception,” the language the Holy Spirit employs leads inexorably to that conclusion. Some forty Scriptures refer to conception as the Start of new life in the womb of the mother. In the Genesis narratives alone, the phrase “conceived and bore” is found eleven times. The close pairing of the two words clearly emphasizes conception, not birth, as the starting point of life (Genesis 4:1, 17; 21:2; 29:32-35; 30:5, 19, 23; 38:3,4) (Fowler, p. 136).
The Scriptures reveal that those who are welcomed into the eternal habitations of the Father will not inhabit the same body they possess in this life. In some way that we cannot begin to guess at we will be different, but it will still be us.
“It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body,and there is a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:44).
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).
We see that human life consists of more than the time between the womb and the grave. In the womb there is human life, and after the tabernacle of this flesh is laid in the grave, life will go on.
Conclusion
While pro-life activism is not an appropriate response for New Testament Christians, we can and should make use of the resources available to us to educate our children and the world at large to the evil of abortion. In our public and private teaching we should take a stand on the issue and present scriptural reasoning to support our position. We need to clearly teach the immorality of abortion, at the same time holding out the blessed prospect of forgiveness to those who have scarred their lives with grief and guilt because they made the “choice” in the past. We need to teach our children respect for human life and the wickedness of shedding the blood of the innocent Perhaps more than anything we need to get down on our knees and pray. We must pray that our national leaders would see the wickedness of abortion, or that they might be replaced by those who do.
P. 0. Box 725, Buffalo,
MO 65622
