ABORTION
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· 2 viewsWhat is abortion? When does human life begin? Is a developing human fetus a human being?
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Proverbs 24:11–12
11 If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death,
And those that are ready to be slain;
12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not;
Doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it?
And he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it?
And shall not he render to every man according to his works?
Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?” (Proverbs 24:11–12)
Mother Teresa of Calcutta said these words at the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, Washington, DC, February 12, 1994:
“I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?… By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems.… Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”
Abortion is not about a choice, it’s about a child!
Therefore if we, as the children of God, are going to make the right decision, we must consult God’s word concerning the matter.
A. What is Abortion?
The Oxford Dictionary states that abortion is “the procuring of premature delivery so as to destroy offspring.” Abortion is an umbrella word for the different methods used to destroy a developing human fetus. Some of these methods are as follows:
• The “Morning After” Pill … a chemical swallowed in the first trimester, within the first 72 hours of a pregnancy
This drug contains a high concentration of the chemical in birth control pills—but three or four times stronger. Although a female may not know whether she is pregnant, this pill is designed to stop a possible pregnancy by expelling the fertilized egg.
• The RU-486 Method—“The French Abortion Pill” … a chemical swallowed in the first trimester, from four to nine weeks
The drug RU-486 is a synthetic steroid that destroys the hormone (progesterone) necessary to sustain life in the uterus. The baby starves as the nutrient-rich lining disintegrates. The mother is given the drug twice within ten days. She becomes violently ill, and the usual result (but not always) is the delivery of a dead baby.
• The Vacuum-Suction Method—Suction Aspiration … surgery in the first trimester
The womb is dilated and inserted with pencil like tools (dilators) and inserted with a hollow tube (cannula) connected to a suctioning apparatus. The vacuum is so powerful that in early pregnancies the baby is instantly broken up and suctioned out. This is the most common procedure used for abortions.
• The Dilation and Curettage Method—“D & C” … surgery in the early part of the second trimester—13 to 14 weeks
The womb is dilated to admit a loop shaped knife (carelle). The doctor uses the knife to cut the baby and placenta to pieces and scrape the uterus wall. Then the doctor scrapes the pieces out of the womb.
• The Dilation and Evacuation Method—“D & E” … surgery in the second or third trimester
The mouth of the womb is stretched (dilated) to admit large forceps that are used to crush the baby’s head. The body is then cut apart and removed piece by piece.
• The Saline Method—“Salting” or “Salt Poisoning” … a chemical injected in the second or third trimester
A needle is inserted through the mother’s abdomen and as much as a cup of the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby is removed and replaced with a lethal saline solution. The baby breathes in, swallowing the salt, and is poisoned to death within two hours. The baby dies of suffocation, brain hemorrhaging, and convulsions. The salt often burns the baby’s skin. The mother is then given a drug (pitocin) that induces labor. By this process the organs and tissues are burned, and the baby is delivered dead or almost dead. In most clinics, this method is no longer used.
• The Prostaglandin Method … a chemical injected in the second or third trimester
This procedure is similar to the saline method except the baby’s skin is not burned. A woman’s body naturally produces prostaglandins, which assist the birthing process. An injection of artificial prostaglandin stimulates the uterus to contract, and the mother delivers her baby, whatever its size. This method can result in live births, but usually the baby is left to die. This method is no longer used in most clinics.
• The Partial-Birth Method—Dilation and Extraction, “D & X” … surgery in the second or third trimester, after 20 weeks, most often between six to nine months
The baby’s leg is grabbed with forceps and pulled through the birth canal. The baby’s entire body is then delivered except for the head. Scissors are jammed into the baby’s skull and opened to enlarge the hole. A suction tube is inserted and sucks out the brain, causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed. This procedure is used after 20 weeks of pregnancy, often between six to nine months. Opponents label this procedure “homicide.”
For those whose ways go against God’s will, the Bible says,
“Is this the way you repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?”
(Deuteronomy 32:6)
B. When Does Human Life Begin?
Human life begins at conception. Biological and medical science provides us the following data.
Chronology of a New Human Life
• First Month
— Immediately upon fertilization, cellular development begins. Before implantation, the sex of the new life can be determined.
— At implantation, the new life is composed of hundreds of cells and has developed a protective hormone to prevent the mother’s body from rejecting the unborn as foreign tissue.
— At 17 days, the new life has developed blood cells. The placenta is a part of the new life and not a part of the mother.
— At 18 days, occasional pulsations of a muscle occur—this is the heart.
— At 19 days, eyes begin to develop.
— At 20 days, the foundation of the brain, spinal cord and entire nervous system has been laid.
— At 21 days, the heart begins beating.
— At 28 days, the backbone and 40 pairs of muscles are developed along the trunk of the new life. Arms and legs are forming.
• Second Month
— At 30 days, regular blood flow is evident within the vascular system; the ears and nasal development have begun.
— At 40 days, the baby’s heart is beating faster than the mother’s heart and produces almost 20 percent of the energy of an adult heart.
Week 6
— The baby is one-half inch long.
— At 42 days, the skeleton is complete and reflexes are present.
— At 43 days, electrical brain wave patterns can be recorded. This is usually ample evidence that “thinking” is taking place in the brain. The new life may be thought of as a thinking person.
Week 7
— The baby is three-fourths of an inch long.
— At 49 days, the fetus has the appearance of a miniature doll with complete fingers, toes, and ears.
Week 8
— At 56 days, all organs are functioning—stomach, liver, kidneys, brain—all systems are intact. The new life has all its physical parts and now needs only nourishment. All future development is simply that of refinement and increase in size until maturity at approximately age 23.
This stage is approximately two months before “quickening,” or the mother’s feeling movement. The mother will usually not feel the child’s movements until four months after conception.
• Third Month
Week 9
— The baby is two inches long. Fingerprints appear.
— At 9 and 10 weeks, the new life squints, swallows, and retracts the tongue. The contour of the face and body look more like a baby’s, and the physical characteristics are obvious.
— At 11 and 12 weeks, arms and legs move, while fingernails and toenails appear. Along with thumb sucking, the new life inhales and exhales amniotic fluid.
• Fourth Month
— At 13 weeks, hair appears on the baby’s head.
— At 14 weeks, the baby brings both hands together and sucks on the thumb.
— At 16 weeks, genital organs are clearly differentiated. Hands are able to grasp (see Hosea 12:3). The new life swims, kicks, and turns somersaults, although movement is often still not felt by the mother.
• Fifth Month
— At 18 weeks, the baby is 12 inches long, and the mother can feel her baby move. Vocal cords are working.… The new life can cry.
• Sixth Month
— At 26 weeks, the sensory organs are all working—the baby is able to hear, see, taste, and touch.
Although no one fully understands all the ways and works of God, He will do what is right on behalf of both you and your child. Each precious life in the mother’s womb is being formed by God, the Maker of all things.
“This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, who has made all things.”
(Isaiah 44:24)
C. Is a Developing Human Fetus a Human Being (Person)?
Yes. A human being is defined as a member of the species homo sapiens. Each individual human being has its own genetic code (DNA) that is singularly unique and established at the time of conception. The DNA of a human fetus is distinct not only from animals, fowl, and fish, but also from the mother’s DNA.
“All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.”
(1 Corinthians 15:39)
• Scientific Evidence
The eminent geneticist, Professor Jerome LeJeune, M.D., Ph.D., at the Rene Descartes University of Paris Faculty of Medicine states:
— “If a fertilized egg is not by itself a full human being, it could never become a man, because something would have to be added to it, and we know that does not happen.”
• Medical Evidence
— The Hippocratic Oath is a code of ethical values that has governed the medical profession since ancient times. A profession that has the power to kill as well as the “power to cure” demands a set of moral commitments that are nonnegotiable. Even within pagan cultures was an innate conviction that abortion was wrong, as evidenced by “the oath of Hippocrates,” which prohibits abortion. This oath, which has dominated western civilization since at least 400 BC to recent years, reads in part … “The regimen I adopt shall be for the benefit of my patients according to my ability and judgment, and not for their hurt or for any wrong. I will give no deadly drug to any, though it be asked of me, nor will I counsel such, and especially I will not aid a woman to procure abortion.”
• Biblical Evidence
— The personhood of the unborn child is clearly demonstrated by John the Baptist, who “leaped for joy” while still in the womb.
John’s mother, Elizabeth, exclaimed to Mary, “As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44).
— God is actively involved at the earliest point of a person’s development even before the unborn looks like a baby.
The Psalmist David said to God, “Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16).
— Scripture explicitly states that God not only forms the unborn child in the womb, but also has a plan for his or her future even before conception.
“Before I [God] formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” (Jeremiah 1:5)