Who Is to Blame for the Abortion Tragedy?

Ultrasound

Many who defend the practice of abortion attempt to classify it under the heading of “health care” or as “a woman’s right to choose.” The reality is that the practice of abortion is the act by which the life of a child in the womb is deliberately terminated. In other words, when an abortion is performed, an unborn child (a human being) is intentionally killed.

In our society, the issue about abortion has shifted away from the question about when life begins. If it does not matter when life begins, then it does not matter when an abortion occurs. This means one of two things:

  1. EITHER abortion is wrong at every stage of pregnancy (this is the pro-life position);
  2. OR abortion is acceptable at every stage of pregnancy, even up to the point of birth (this is now the pro-abortion position).

The Bible indicates that God is the giver of life (Acts 17:25), is credited with the formation of life in the womb (Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5), and makes each one of us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27; 9:6). Since murder is wrong (Genesis 9:5-6; Exodus 20:13; Romans 13:9), abortion is wrong.

Yet there are many in our society who boldly defend the practice of abortion. They will not call it murder, but they do argue that a woman has the right to choose to terminate the life of the child within her. Increasingly, the argument is being made for the “right” of abortion up to (or even immediately after) the point of birth.

How did we get here?

There is not one person or one group that is to blame for this tragedy. There are many that share the blame for this. The following groups are some of the primary contributors:

  • Men and women who engage in sexual activity outside of marriage – While there are some married women who have abortions*, the overwhelming majority are those who are unmarried. Therefore, they should not even be engaged in the activity that results in the pregnancy in the first place. The Hebrew writer said, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).
  • Women who put their lives/desires over the life of their unborn child – Paul described his concern for the brethren in Thessalonica by likening it to the way “a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children” (1 Thessalonians 2:7). This love and care is natural, yet there are some “without natural affection” (2 Timothy 3:3, KJV) and disregard the life of their unborn child. As a husband is to love his wife “just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25), mothers should have the same type of love for their children.
  • Abortionists who are willing to terminate the lives of these unborn children – At every stage of development, abortion terminates the life of an innocent unborn child. Sadly, there are many who are willing to do this. One of the things “which the Lord hates” are “hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:16-17).
  • Civil authorities who refuse to fulfill their God-given responsibility – Paul described the purpose for which God ordained civil authorities: “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil” (Romans 13:3-4). Since abortion is the deliberate taking of an innocent human life, civil authorities are to “bear the sword” and punish those who practice this. Unfortunately, instead of arresting and punishing those who perform abortions, we have civil authorities who praise and subsidize them.
  • Those who use the issue of abortion as a way to gain or hold onto their power – Many politicians become staunch advocates of abortion and promote legislation that defends or expands the practice because they see it as a way to get elected or re-elected. We can find the same attitude in Amos’ prophecy against the people of Ammon: “Thus says the Lord, ‘For three transgressions of the sons of Ammon and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their borders” (Amos 1:13). Killing the unborn was seen by them as a way to expand their power. Though slightly less graphic, this same mentality exists today in those who rise to power or remain in power by championing the “right” of abortion.
  • Those who continue to defend the practice – After listing several sins which are “worthy of death,” Paul mentioned those who “give hearty approval to those who practice them” (Romans 1:32). Isaiah wrote, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20). Sadly, there are many who “call evil good” and encourage women (or even teenage girls) to have an abortion – parents, family members, friends, counselors, so-called religious leaders, etc. Rather than offering help, they encourage the mother to terminate the life of her unborn child.

As Christians, we must continue to teach the truth about this issue – not because we are trying to involve the church in politics, but because the way of truth found in the word of God is under attack in the name of “politics.”

Abortion is a terrible sin and there are many who have helped it become as popular as it currently is. However, each one who shares in the guilt of this – those who choose to have abortions, those who perform the abortions, those who defend the practice, etc. – can be forgiven. Paul wrote, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15, KJV). If Paul – “a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor” (1 Timothy 1:13) – can be saved, anyone can be forgiven of their sins and be saved. But this salvation and forgiveness is only through Christ (Acts 4:12; Ephesians 1:7); therefore, we must turn to Him on His terms if we want to enjoy the blessing of forgiveness and salvation (cf. Acts 2:37-38; 22:16).

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“Among the 42 areas that reported by marital status for 2014, 14.5% of all women who obtained an abortion were married, and 85.5% were unmarried.” (CDC)


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Comments

  1. Great points! Some people have consciences that are “trained in covetousness” and are “accursed children.” Others have consciences that are seared with a hot iron (2 Pet. 2:14; 1 Tim. 4:2). The abortion mentality has been trained into people to the point that the practice of abortion does not bother them at all.

  2. Wayne teel says

    Thank you, Andy, for speaking out in defense of the innocent unborn baby. Every Christian need to raise their voice against the murder of the unborn child. We need to keep talking about this terrible sin and perhaps we can stop it if we can persuade enough people that this is an evil they can quit any time they choose. The Bible says, “choose life” and it will always encourage us to do that. Not just choosing life for ourselves, but life for the unborn child.