#12 - Abortion. "You shall not Murder." [Exodus 20:13]

I want to talk about a subject that many individuals will be upset about.  However, during our time of Lent we need to be self-reflective.  We need to look at the culture that we are a part of and ask what we are doing and see if we need to make changes.  On the subject of abortion, I have no doubt that we need to make some changes.

What I would like to do is share a link to an article that I read this morning.  The link is as follows: [highlight the link and copy it into your web browser - then when finished come back to the article.]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9113394/Killing-babies-no-different-from-abortion-experts-say.html

I don't know if this is going to work but I hope that it does.  Please read the article before you continue in this post.

Now, the, "Telegraph" is a British paper.  This is not the United States.  However, the author's of the article are actually quite logical in their thinking.  Their thinking goes something along the lines of this, "abortion is widely accepted.  No one would say that the, 'fetus' is not human.  Of course it is human.  The question is whether or not the,'fetus' is a person with all the attendant rights of a person." 

The question then becomes, "what makes a person a person?"  The answer to this question makes all the difference in the world.  The author of the article seems to believe that a person is not a person until that person can recognize themselves as a self-conscious self, aware of their surroundings and able to value their own life.  Since, in their mind, a newborn child cannot do this then they are not yet a person.  Instead, they are, "potential persons" - just like a, "fetus" and they can be exterminated upon the wish of the parents - or the State.

This is logical...if that is your definition of personhood.  Alzheimer's patients, those in a coma, those with dementia, or severe brain maladies, would also cease to qualify as persons.  This is what logic would dictate.

I want to be clear - I see absolutely no difference between killing the child outside of the womb of the mother and inside the womb of the mother.  The reason I believe this is because of my definition of personhood.  I believe that personhood begins as soon as God gives life - and this begins at conception.  Which one of us did not begin our existence as a conglomeration of cells in the womb of our mother?  We all did.

I know that the abortion debate is often couched in terms of a woman's right over her own body.  However, I am not talking about the woman's body here at all.  The unborn child has a different and distinct DNA and genetic code from the mother.  A woman does not become a hermaphrodite when she carries a child of a different sex.  There is a separate heartbeat, set of lungs, all organs, etc...with the child and the mother.  The child has a different soul than the mother.

And even if this does not sway us, can we at least say that there is doubt about the personhood of the unborn?  If you were a demolition crew about to demolish a building and someone came up to you and said, "we do not know if there is a person in the building...maybe there is and maybe there is not...." would you not counsel the demolition crew to wait until they are sure the building is empty?  Of course you would.  Can we not give the same thing to the unborn? 

We betray our prejudices in the way we speak.  No one goes up to a woman who is carrying a child and says, "awwwww...how is your pre-birth material progressing?"  No one says this.  What they say is, "how is your baby doing?"  In many places if you murder a pregnant woman you are charged with double homicide.  How can this be?  So is the mother's desire to keep the child make the child a person?  Is, "wanting" the child what makes the child a child?  If that's the case then I can assuredly say that there is at least three persons that always want the child - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

I know that many people who read this have had an abortion - or have recommended an abortion to another.  Please know that there is forgiveness for this available.  Jesus has died for all of us and all of our sins.  He took upon Himself on Calvary murder, greed, adultery, blasphemies, pride, and all other sins.  I too am a sinner and I too need forgiveness badly.  All those who confess their sins to Him are forgiven.  But the first step is to admit that we have sinned.  The first step is to admit that we, as a culture, have sinned.  I pray we do.  Amen.