Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Tough Questions - Situational Abortion

Trough out the whole experience with the Pro- life Day of Silent Solidarity I have been asked a lot of questions regarding "situational abortion". What if the girl was raped? What if she was poor and the baby was going to have a hard life? The problem with these questions is that they are looking at situations rather than the core of the issue, personhood. These are arguments for the procedure of abortion that ignore the personhood of the child.

While all of these situations can be heart wrenching and seem logical, they have to be weighed against the core truth of personhood. Every single child from the moment of fertilization is a full human person. We cannot take the life of an innocent human person and, therefore, those situations are not valid arguments for the procedure of abortion.

I especially wonder how so many Christians can support these situational arguments. We have the ultimate truth in the Word of God to guide us in questions like these. The Bible clearly states, "thou shalt not commit murder". There are no exceptions written next to that commandment, no footnotes that claim in highly emotional cases it is ok. It is a command.

We also have scripture that tells us about the life and the begriming of life. I am sure you have all heard the most popular verse for pro-lifers about God forming us in the womb. Have you read Psalm 51:5? Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. From the moment of conception you have sin. What does sin stain? It stains your soul, not your flesh. You have a soul at the moment of conception.

Lets look at Luke chapter 1: 39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist and was about 6 months along in her pregnancy. Mary was only a few days pregnant with Jesus when John the Baptist recognized the personhood of Christ and leapt in the womb. It cannot be any clearer when life begins.

When we talk about abortion we must always bring it back to the core issue, personhood. If the child in the womb was not a human person abortion would not matter. The child is, however, a human person and therefore must be afforded all rights as a human person. If we say that in certain circumstances that abortion is ok, then we are saying that there are times when the child is not a human person: that is simply not the case.

For Christ I stand,

Bryan Kemper

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