THE
NECESSITY OF BEING PRO-LIFE
There are two things to be
determined about the right or wrong of abortion:
- Is abortion (killing) of
unborn children morally right or wrong?
- If abortion is morally wrong,
should government set policy and penalties concerning it?
1. First,
let's establish from the Scriptural record God's relationship to
the womb and to the "fetus," as it is called today:
- TORAH
"If any person goes forth and inflicts a pregnant
woman so that she gives premature birth, and yet no other
damage follows, he shall be surely punished according to
what the woman's husband places upon him, and he shall
pay as the judges determine. But if any damage follows,
then you shall give life for life." Exo 21:22,
23.
- KETUVIM
"I was formed by You in the womb. You are my God
from my mother's womb," Psa 22:10.
"I have been established in the womb by You. You are
He who took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall
be continually of You," Psa 71:6.
"For You possessed my organs. You covered me in my
mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made. Marvellous are Your works, and that my
soul knows very well. My unformed being was not hid from
You, when I was made in secret, and fabricated in the
land's lowest part. Your eyes saw my unformed being,
which was written in Your book, fashioned at the time
when as yet there was none of them," Psa 139:13-16.
"As you do not know the way of the spirit, nor how
the bones do grow in the womb of her that is pregnant,
even so you know not the work of God who makes all,"
Ecc 11:5.
- NEVI'IM
"Listen to me, O coastlands, and hear, you people
from far: The I AM has called me in the womb; from the
bowels of my mother He has made mention of my name...And
now, says the I AM who formed me in the womb to be His
servant..." Isa 49:1, 5.
"Then the word of the I AM came to me, saying,
'Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before
thou came forth out of the womb I made you holy, and I
ordained you a prophet unto the nations,' " Jer
1:4, 5.
"[Jacob] took his brother by the heel in the womb,
and by his strength he had power with God," Hos
12:3.
- Note: there is not a singular
Hebrew word for the English word abortion in
Scripture.
2. Second,
let's establish the clear moral conclusions of these verses:
- The Torah in
Exo 21:22, 23 says that to purposely cause the death of
an unborn child is murder; that according to G-d's
justice such an event is worthy of a life for a life.
- The Ketuvim (Writings)
say that G-d Himself is the creator of the child in the
womb, and that He is the supervisor of the process until
birth. (Birth does not mean life's beginning
in Hebrew, but rather the physical opening and issue
from the womb.)
- The Nevi'im (Prophets)
say that G-d forms a spiritual relationship with children
in the womb, calling them to ministry, making them holy,
and determining their place by their actions.
- Therefore,
these verses prove, according to Scripture, that the
child in the womb is viable human life, already worthy of
interaction with the Creator, and that to purposely kill
the "fetus" is a murderous act.
- Of course,
those who reject the authority of Scripture will continue
to argue for abortion. The purpose of their desire for
abortion can only be either: 1) to allow for sexual
intercourse without the responsibility of child birth, 2)
to assure against the birth of a "deformed" or
"imperfect" child, or 3) to do away with the
"inconvenience" of child-rearing. Since there
are many people waiting for adoptive children, evil is
present to withhold aborted children from caring parents.
Most abortion is performed for the crass temporal ease of
the mother. This is akin to illogically closing down a
profitable business in order to save from having to lift
a box of goods.
3. Last,
let's establish the role of human government:
- Exo 21:22, 23
is set for the purpose of civil judgment, as well as
moral behavior.
- 1 Pet 2:13,
14 says "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man
for the sake of the I AM (the L-RD), whether it be to the
king, as supreme or to governors, as being those who are
sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the
praise of those who do good."
Rom 13:3,4 says "Rulers are not a terror to good
works, but to evil...for he is the minister of G-d to you
for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid,
for he does not carry the power of the sword in vain. [The
Ruler] is the minister of G-d, an avenger to execute
wrath upon the person who does evil."
- Plainly, it
is the role of human government to punish evil and
enforce righteousness, according to the Law of G-d. Once
establishing that abortion is immoral and the murder of a
viable person under God's Law, one cannot help but
conclude that it should be the role of government to
enforce the correction of those who break the Law
concerning abortion.
- Human
government and the human exercise of justice is imperfect
by nature. Without respect for G-d's Law, human
government will likely turn to enforce evil, at least in
part.
- Righteous
people will do their best to convince their world of the
necessity of G-d's Law. First by living in accordance
with it, then by sharing the goodness of G-d to others,
and finally, by calling on their government to establish
G-d's Law as the most excellent standard of justice and
mercy.
- The righteous
should take no physical action against abortion
offenders, for such will only sympathize their work,
thusly making their evil seem more justified. In
addition, only the civil government has authority from G-d
to punish evil doers.
All Scripture
references are translated from Hebrew and Greek by Rabbi David
Hargis.
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Messianic Bureau International. All rights reserved.