This guest post is from Joshua Brantley, Regent Law J.D. 2018, member of the SC bar, M.Div. Liberty, and CFO LaurenAshley Design:
Can a Christian choose abortion as a feasible option for an unwanted baby? In Jeremiah 1:5, the Bible focuses attention on a baby who resides in his or her mother's womb. There God proclaims that He knew each person who had inhabited the Earth before they even entered into his or her mother's womb. God announces that He has set each human life apart from His other creations because each human is made in His image - the image of God.
Babies growing inside their mothers have
become euphemistically known by terms that seek to diminish them as human. Modern terms like fetus, unborn baby, and parasite
have entered into the vernacular. Jeremiah 1:5, however, places the unborn on
the same plain as those who already inhabit the Earth. A believer who chooses to treat a baby in the womb of his or her mother
as anything less than human can only choose to ignore the words of God.
Abortion has become a birth control option, but the Scriptures clarify that this is not an option at all. If a baby is known to God before that child
enters into the womb of its mother, how much more is the baby inside her mother's womb known to God?! Any believer who labels abortion as a viable option contradicts what
God says about babies, whether inside a mother's womb or outside in the world.
Deciding who lives or dies is not a decision typically left to humans because humanity's fallen nature causes a blurry line between right and wrong; when a human takes another human's life under the law, that human can be charged with murder. Murder is crime that is defined via state codes, or federal statutes.
Fetal Homicide is a specific type of killing that has its own
unique rules and punishments. At least thirty-eight states have defined fetal homicide as a specific type of killing in their state penal code. Eight other states have
enhanced sentences for a murder/assault of a pregnant woman leading to the death or injury of
and unborn child. Many states, however,
differentiate between abortion and unlawful killing of a baby inside its mother’s womb. For example, North Carolina
specifically mentions abortion as acceptable lawful killing, and thus unpunishable under the state’s fetal
homicide law. Abortion is the “lawful killing” that is at the forefront of our society. States may label abortion as lawful killing, but what
about God? Does He consider abortion to be a lawful killing? Reading Jeremiah 1:5 in conjunction
with Exodus 20:13, which commands “thou shalt not murder,” God makes his
position crystal clear. Before a child enters the world, he or she is known to
God. God despises murder. While adults may get bogged down in the ‘my-body-my-choice” narrative, the truth is that our bodies are not our own. I Corinthians 6:19-20. Our bodies belong to The One Who created it. In the same way, a child in the womb of
its mother is no different, and its body is also known to, created by, and belongs to his or her Creator.
Abortion is never an option for the Christian who
understands Scripture and family restoration.
No comments:
Post a Comment