Feminism and Abortion – Censored Series

Introduction

Since the Roe v Wade decision in 1973 there have been an estimated 60 million+ babies killed in abortions. Abortion is a huge issue for most Christians, and shapes how we vote; politicians can support one topic and know they will get many Christians to vote for them over their opponent. That topic is abortion. Sadly, despite Christians wanting this tragedy to end, our politicians have done little to nothing about abortion. There is a much larger issue at play that most Christians don’t consider, our culture is a culture of death. This means that not only do they like death, such as in abortion, but that they like the money that comes at the hands of death. This is why politicians are reluctant to make any real change. Once they do, the money stops, and so do the votes. While we don’t want to abandon the political approach, we must refocus our efforts on our culture as a whole. If we do not call people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, we are not going to change the culture of death, no matter what we do with our laws. To this end, we need to start the discussion of abortion with worldviews. Below is an article transcribed from the notes of our first Censored series topic, Feminism and Abortion.

A Biblical Worldview

It all needs to start with a biblical worldview. We as humans were made in the image of God. 

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

In these passages, we see terms like “breath of life” and “likeness.” We have to understand what is meant by these terms. They aren’t speaking of physical things. We aren’t made in the “likeness” of God, meaning He has a physical body. These terms are spiritual. John 4:23-24 says God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. So, when God created us in His “likeness” he gave to us the “breath of life” and breathed spiritual life into us. While we are spiritual beings, we are also physical beings. God has made us this way intentionally, to be both spiritual and physical. So, like the rest of God’s creation, we are created as physical beings. God has made us unique in His creation in that we are created in His “likeness.” In this, God has given to us several unique abilities in the creation. 

We are created in his likeness mentally in several ways. First, we have the ability to be rational, reasonable people. We are unlike the other forms of creation, who do not have the ability to reason. We can argue, rationalize, and come to know truth. Second, we are creative. We cannot create in the same way that God creates, which is Ex Nihilo (out of nothing), but we can use our environment to create many different things. You can think of the Great Pyramids of Egypt, or the Great wall of China, or the massive cities we have created all over the world, and the technological advancements we have created and know that we can create. Third, we have free will, which is the ability to choose among our desires which desire is greatest and to pursue that. This does not mean that our desires are good, and we also learn from scripture that without God our desires are sinful. Nevertheless, we have free will. God created Adam and Eve in the garden and gave to them the power of choice. He gave them positive commands; go and tend the garden, go and name the animals. He also gave them negative commands; do not eat from the forbidden tree. Adam and Eve were given volition. In these ways, we are made in the likeness of God mentally.

We are also made in the likeness of God morally. We have been made as moral agents, and are the only creatures in the creation that have been made this way. God made the rest of creation and called it good, but when He created us, He said it was “very good.” Mankind was the only part of creation given this designation of “very good.” We began in the garden sinless and unashamed. However, sin entered into the world and death through sin. All now die because of the sin of Adam, and we are all fallen in him. However, we still maintain our moral agency in our fallenness. This is because we have been given a conscience by God to know what is right and wrong. Since we are moral agents, we are accountable to God.

Romans 2:6-11 6 who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.

God will judge every deed that every person does on this earth on the basis of His objective standard of what is good and what is evil. This begs the question, if God is going to judge fairly and equitably, how will people all over the world who don’t have access to bibles, which is God’s law, be judged, and that judgment have no partiality? God has given to us His law on our hearts, so that we are held accountable to it.

Romans 2:12-16 12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

God’s moral code is then exercised by your conscience. Your actions are either excused because your conscience was not pricked, or your actions accuse you of violating the moral law of God when you feel the guilt and shame that follows. The problem for all of us is that we suppress God’s law in our conscience so that we become comfortable and approve of our own sin and disapprove of God’s good and moral law. This is why we all stand condemned before God. Thankfully, God has redeemed us through Christ so there is now no condemnation in Christ Jesus for those who believe!

With God’s moral objective of right and wrong, evil and good, we can know several things. First, we know that God exists. If we take one million random people from all cultures, backgrounds and experiences and we ask them all the same question; “Would you consider it good or evil to rape a small child?; we will get the same answer. A resounding yes, it is evil! It is even considered gross to present this question because of how much societies around the world know its answer so clearly. We have to ask ourselves, why is it so clear? Is it because our societies have laid the groundwork to say that it is evil? We all have different societal norms, different structures, different Gods, and ultimately different and divergent cultures, so it can’t be directly from the society itself. It is more ubiquitous than that. It was evil to do such a thing before modern times, before the United States ever existed. It is because God has written his moral law on our hearts. So, if evil exists, which we see with this question, then good must also exist. If there is good and evil, there has to be an objective good and evil. If there is an objective good and evil, there has to be someone to be the giver of that objective moral law. That is God. The second thing that is validated is that we are made in God’s likeness. Since God has put his law on our hearts and we act on it, we are made in His image, even when we suppress the truth in unrighteousness and suppress God’s law on our hearts.

Finally, we are made in God’s likeness in society. God is triune and in fellowship with Himself amongst the trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

We see here the terms “us” and “our.” Who is God talking to? The answer is simple; Himself. God, who consists of Father, Son, and Spirit have always been in close and intimate fellowship from the beginning. Before Genesis 1:1 God was in perfect fellowship and harmony with Himself. Jesus, while praying in the garden, says in John 17:5, “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” In John 17:24, he says, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” The Son and the Father have always been in this fellowship.

God has been in perfect and harmonious fellowship from eternity past, and yet, there is structure and order within the Trinity. In other words, there is subordination and hierarchy within the being of the one true God. God the Father is at the top of the hierarchy. Hence, the command, children obey your Father. God the Father is above both the Son and the Spirit, who submit to Him in authority. Jesus, who is the son of God, submits to the Father’s authority. 

Luke 22:42 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” 

John 5:26 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. 30 “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

The Holy Spirit also submits. 

John 16:13-14 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Why does it matter that we are made in God’s image and are social beings? God has order and hierarchy within the Trinity, and we must recognize that we are made in His likeness in our societies. This means that hierarchies exist, and are not bad. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal, yet submit. The same is true for us.

God has created us, man and woman. 

Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Genesis 2:18 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 

Genesis 2:21 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

This means that, just like in the trinity, man and woman are equal. We are both deserving of dignity and have value. We are equal in the eyes of God, and we should consider one another equal in our eyes. However, this does not mean that there is no hierarchy. Primary responsibility has been given to the man with the woman as the helpmate. This term is also given to the Holy Spirit, who is sent to us as a helpmate.

We are called by God to live according to this Christian worldview. When we do, we are then able to fulfill the greatest commandments, which are to love God and love neighbor. The first, which is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, tells us to keep our focus on what is pleasing to God. We honor Him by living in obedience to His commands. This leads to the second command, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. This is done by submitting to the objective truth that God has presented to us through His holy scriptures. When we do this, we will be more attuned to His moral truths and can act in a way that is truly loving of God and neighbor.

Postmodernism

We have set the Christian worldview, but we must also take a look at the worldview that dominates our culture. Our culture largely partakes of the philosophy of postmodernism, even if they have never heard that word or know what it means. Postmodernism boiled down claims (1) there are an innumerable number of ways in which the world can be interpreted and perceived (and those are tightly associated). (2) no canonical manner of interpretation can be reliably derived. (3) since no canonical manner of interpretation can be reliably derived, all interpretation variants are best interpreted as the struggle for different forms of power. In other words, humanity is simply one long power struggle for your way of life to become the predominant way of life, which is then forced upon everyone else. None of these ways of life are “true” or “correct” so postmodernists argue that attempting to push your view onto anyone else is an attempt to oppress who they truly are.

Postmodernism thinking is always focused on power. The rhetoric is equality for all. In fact, the end goal of the postmodernist is the creation of a free, egalitarian utopia. However, when worked out, it can never be. The concept defeats itself. The idea of a utopia existing under the philosophy of postmodernism requires that postmodernism become the dominant ideology and way of life. It would then become the next oppressor. This is dismissed by proponents of postmodernism. 

In the United States the power struggle has taken on the language of the oppressed and the oppressor relationship. The oppressor is the white, Anglo-Saxon, protestant male and the oppressed is everyone else. This means all minorities, including women (who are the majority numerically, but considered a minority because of their position of power as oppressed), people of color (which is odd because we are all colored by melanin to varying degrees), sexual deviants such as the lgbtq, and any religion besides Christianity. These categories are not mutually exclusive. For example, you can be a lesbian transgender woman who is black and disabled. You would then have many different forms of oppression. This is where we get intersectionality, where your level of oppression can intersect. Those with more intersections are more oppressed and deserve to be “lifted up” more than the others. This means that what they have to say is the answer to solve our current issues falls to them to answer, since they have the most experience and can come up with answers that are the most inclusive. This is why men are told they cannot have an opinion on abortion, but should listen to the woman, who is more oppressed than the man. This causes us to fall away from absolute truths and to focus instead on personal truths, or subjective truth.

This makes postmodernism a very dangerous ideology. Not because it is going to destroy the male Christian patriarchy, but because it is against the absolute truth of God and will cause us to turn from Him and towards the whims of mankind. It also places the group identity of someone over the individual. Your identity is placed into your tribe, and you are associated with the guilt of things that you yourself have never done. Your level of privilege, or power, is determined by these groups. So, you could be born poor and struggle your entire life achieving very little, and still be considered an oppressor if you are a white man. Likewise, you can be born into wealth and never struggle with provision and be considered oppressed because you are a black woman. You are your tribe. This is why women are considered to be a minority, they are part of the tribe (of women) who have been oppressed by the tribe of men throughout history. Since they are oppressed, they must overcome their oppressors. They do this by taking power and living according to their own way. The same holds true for the other minority groups. You are to take the power that currently resides with the “other” and take it for yourself. The expressed goal, or the easy to swallow goal, is egalitarianism, or equality. The underlying ideology, however, makes a true egalitarian society impossible. All it will cause is further and further division and fighting, where no two people can agree because the tribalism just extends and pits groups against one another. The end is death and destruction.

This power struggle has presented itself in many different cultures in the past for roughly two hundred years. We saw it in Mao’s China from 1949 to 1976. Mao was responsible for the murder of 40 to 80 million of his own people. Meanwhile, western scholars were enamored with Mao and his socialistic bottom-to-top approach. How is it that Mao could cause so much death and still remain in power? He used the oppressor and oppressed ideology. The same one we see today with only slight variation from Mao.

In 1949, two years into Mao’s rule, he determined that all of the poor and impoverished farmers were to go to their landlords, kill them, and take their land. The landlords were the oppressed and the landlords were the oppressors, the “wealthy” landlords against the poor farmers. So, the farmers went out and killed and took the land, which was then taken over by the state. One to four million people died in this conquest. In 1950 Mao began a counter revolution killing about one million more people. These so-called counter revolutionists were Chinese Nationalists and sympathizers who loved their country and didn’t want to submit to communistic rule. The church of Jesus Christ was heavily persecuted for their faith during this time. There are no numbers that can accurately count how many Christians lost their lives during this revolution. Their message was contrary to Mao’s desired revolution, so they had to go. Then, in 1959-61 Mao campaigned on a new socialistic campaign called “The Great Leap Forward.” It was a social and economic restructuring of China. This movement was meant to eradicate nationalistic China in order to build back better. It destroyed the existing systems in order to start anew. Unfortunately for Mao, the policies did not work as he intended. There were massive famines in China, and Mao was greatly unprepared for this along with natural disasters that caused what is known as the Great Chinese Famine. Estimates are between 15 and 55 million of his own countrymen died under his watch. In the early 1960s he then blamed the famine and deaths on the Chinese Nationalists.

In 1963 he reformed the educational system with the Socialist Education movement. From 1966 until his death in 1976 he pushed to consolidate his power by pushing for the cultural revolution where his policies were put in place to remove capitalism and traditional elements of China. Overall under Mao 40-80 million people died directly from his revolution and policies. He continually relied on pitting people against each other in an oppressor vs oppressed narrative. He redistributed wealth, persecuted the church, reformed the education systems, and pushed for cultural revolution to bring about the communist utopia. He was able to get as far as he got due to this postmodern narrative. When people are divided like this it is easy to keep the focus on the “other” that is oppressing you and not the one who is truly in power and causing all of the issues that are affecting your life.

This is the end result of postmodernism, and our nation is falling for the same bankrupt philosophy as Mao and his people. This worldview denies the absolute truth that we find in God and pushes its adherents to view everything through the lens of oppressor and oppressed. It tells the adherent that what is true for me might not be true for you, so speaking truthfully becomes oppression of their true self. Once you are the oppressor, the oppressed have their reason to “break off the chains” you have placed upon them so they can continue to live in their subjective truth worldview. This takes on the form of pluralism in the United States. This is where people take from every religion and worldview they like, pick out their favorite parts, throw out what they don’t like, and attempt to create a singular coherent worldview that is tailor-made for their liking. Ultimately, these pluralistic worldviews are self-contradictory, but even pointing that out is oppression. If we as Christians begin to adopt this worldview, we will be in direct contradiction to the biblical worldview and will not be living according to God’s word and law. Sadly, many Christians have adopted this worldview without realizing it. It presents itself in many topics, but most relevant to this topic, it presents itself in the adoption of feminism and the approval of abortion.

Feminism

Most people assume what feminism is based on historically expressed positions. Historically, feminism was the fight for equal rights between men and women. It was the expression that a woman should be allowed to apply to the same job, compete in the open market, and have a right to education and healthcare as men.  If that were the definition of feminism today I would be a feminist.  Women are equal to men and worth.  We differ biologically but we are the same in intellect and we are equal in the eyes of God. It meant at one time equal opportunity.

Feminism has changed since its foundations and has come to mean something entirely different. It now means equal opportunity and equal outcome and relies on the oppressed and oppressor narrative to make its arguments. It has fully adopted the postmodern narrative and pits men against women using as its evidence the unequal outcomes. It no longer is combating sexism, but rather combating perceived oppression. If you take a look at ten CEOs then five must be women. If not, there must be oppression at play somewhere in the process. This then must be combated. Since finding where the oppression exists is impossible, instead we must “life up” women’s voices and give them positions of power to enforce equality.

This creates inconsistencies in the message of feminism. The arguments about the pay gap and the number of male to female employees are used to show that there is oppression of women. However, these arguments leave out a lot of details, such as: men work longer hours, men are willing to work outside, men take on more physically demanding and dangerous jobs, and men tend to desire working in the STEM fields, all of which pay better. You won’t see women arguing that women should be loggers, trash truck drivers, front line soldiers (although this one is changing rapidly), or any other unpopular jobs. You also don’t see a demand for more men in nursing, teaching, or other fields that women dominate.

Once we accept these arguments and attempt to bring about the so-called egalitarian society that is desired by feminism, we begin to see the consequences of this worldview. Studies have found that the more you remove gender as a barrier of entry for jobs, the more men and women divide on which jobs they choose. The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that gender differences in personality traits across cultures is fairly consistent.

Secondary analyses of Revised NEO Personality Inventory data from 26 cultures (N = 23,031) suggest that gender differences are small relative to individual variation within genders; differences are replicated across cultures for both college-age and adult samples, and differences are broadly consistent with gender stereotypes: Women reported themselves to be higher in Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Warmth, and Openness to Feelings, whereas men were higher in Assertiveness and Openness to Ideas. Contrary to predictions from evolutionary theory, the magnitude of gender differences varied across cultures. Contrary to predictions from the social role model, gender differences were most pronounced in European and American cultures in which traditional sex roles are minimized. Possible explanations for this surprising finding are discussed, including the attribution of masculine and feminine behaviors to roles rather than traits in traditional cultures. Link to the article.

The international Journal of Psychology found that sex differences in personality are larger in gender equal countries which replicate and extend a surprising finding.

Sex differences in personality have been shown to be larger in more gender equal countries. We advance this research by using an extensive personality measure, the IPIP-NEO-120, with large country samples (N > 1000), from 22 countries. Furthermore, to capture the multidimensionality of personality we measure sex differences with a multivariate effect size (Mahalanobis distance D). Results indicate that past research, using univariate measures of effect size, have underestimated the size of between-country sex differences in personality. Confirming past research, there was a strong correlation (r = .69) between a country’s sex differences in personality and their Gender Equality Index. Additional analyses showed that women typically score higher than men on all five trait factors (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness), and that these relative differences are larger in more gender equal countries. We speculate that as gender equality increases both men and women gravitate towards their traditional gender roles. Link to the article.

Attempting to achieve the goals of feminism have proven to be ineffective. This is not because of the power of the patriarchy, but rather that the correct worldview is the Christian worldview. Men and women are made different, and are equal. We don’t have to be the same, or fulfill the same roles, to be considered equal. When we focus on the outcome and expect men and women to be exactly the same in outcome, we err and cause harm.

Since the adoption of modern feminism we have seen several failures in our society. One of those failures is failed marriages. As the rise in feminism has increased, so has the rise in divorce. In the 1970s there was a defense of traditional roles. The American Sociological Review by Sabino Kornrich, Julie Brines, and Katrina Leupp, entitled, “Egalitarianism, Housework and Sexual Frequency in Marriage” reported, “(I)f men did all of what the researchers characterized as feminine chores like folding laundry, cooking or vacuuming — the kinds of things many women say they want their husbands to do — then couples had sex 1.5 fewer times per month than those with husbands who did what were considered masculine chores, like taking out the trash or fixing the car … the greater the husband’s share of masculine chores compared with feminine ones, the greater his wife’s reported sexual satisfaction.” Another study looked into why it is that “Benevolent Sexists” are happier. Benevolent Sexists are men who have the traditional role of men and women who love and protect their wives.

Research indicates that the endorsement of sexist ideology is linked to higher subjective wellbeing for both men and women. We examine gender differences in the rationalisations which drive this effect in an egalitarian nation (New Zealand). Results from a nationally representative sample (N = 6,100) indicated that the endorsement of Benevolent Sexism (BS) predicted life satisfaction through different mechanisms for men and women. For men, BS was directly associated with life satisfaction. For women, the palliative effect of BS was indirect and occurred because BS-ideology positioning women as deserving of men’s adoration and protection was linked to general perceptions of gender relations as fair and equitable, which in turn predicted greater levels of life satisfaction. Link to the article

Feminism fails again and again to accurately predict and explain human behavior because it has diverged from the God who created us to be men and women. As feminism has grown, we also see that there is an increase of the shedding of innocent blood through abortion. In an attempt to free women from the responsibilities of womanhood and motherhood, abortion has been pushed. Proverbs 6:16 says, “16 There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.” Yet feminists defend abortion and the shedding of innocent blood, believing it to be the way to their freedom.

Abortion

We must understand what abortion really is. Abortion is the systemic execution of unborn babies. Abortion is first degree murder. It is the premeditated taking of a life, all in the name of prosperity. If a woman goes to an abortion clinic with the intention of aborting her baby, she has premeditated her baby’s murder. When you look at pregnancy from a legal perspective you see that a woman with a child is considered to have two lives present. For example, if a woman is killed while with child the killer will be charged with double homicide. How then can we consider abortion, when the mother desires it, to also be murder?

The argument of the feminist pro-abort is that there is no life present, or that life does not start at conception. Rather, what is being removed is a clump of cells and is nothing different than a cancerous tumor or a parasite being removed. This argument has been thoroughly debunked by scientific research. If you aren’t aware, science is the best friend of the Christian because it seeks to discover what is true. If we let science be science, which is the questioning of what we know to be true about the physical world, we will see that science always has and will continue to conform to the biblical worldview. Let’s take a look at what science has to say about the beginning of life.

Human life begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm unites with a female gamete or oocyte (ovum) to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marked the beginning of each of us as a unique individual.” “A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo).”

—Keith L. Moore, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 2003. pp. 16

“Fertilization is the process by which male and female haploid gametes (sperm and egg) unite to produce a genetically distinct individual.” 

—Signorelli et al., Kinases, phosphatases and proteases during sperm capacitation, CELL TISSUE RES. 349(3):765 (Mar. 20, 2012)

“Although life is a continuous process, fertilization (which, incidentally, is not a ‘moment’) is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is formed when the chromosomes of the male and female pronuclei blend in the oocyte.”

Ronan O’Rahilly and Fabiola Mueller, Human Embryology and Teratology, 3rd edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2000, p. 8). [emphasis added]

From the zygote stage onward there exists a distinct human being. It has a unique genetic code and is a whole human organism. It is not a part of a larger organism, but is itself a whole organism. Five weeks into pregnancy the baby has a heart that begins to beat.  The baby has cognition, lungs and stomach that have already formed.  By week eight the nose has formed at the face, legs and arms start to be developed and the baby even has fingernails. It is a baby.

We also need to look at how abortions are performed. In the first trimester the woman’s uterus is filled with a fluid to dilute it. Then a vacuum-like suction device is inserted into the womb to suck the baby up like trash off of the carpet. The remaining pieces of the baby are then scraped off of the wall of the uterus. In some cases a metal tool is used to dismember the baby before it is sucked up. In the second trimester the executioner fills the uterus with a saline concentrated amniotic fluid that begins to burn the baby alive. A tool is then inserted into the womb to begin violently jabbing and dismembering the baby in the womb. The pieces are removed one at a time and reassembled on a table to make sure no pieces are left behind. A tool is then used to scrape the uterine wall to make sure no remains are left. Since Roe v Wade we are now crossing 60 million murders through these acts of abortion.

There is also a lot of money involved in abortion. In the 1970s in NYC abortion clinics the remains were thrown out on the curb in trash bags for the trash truck to pick up. Then one day it dawned on some capitalists, “Let’s start selling these bodies.” So, in the name of science, organizations such as Planned Parenthood began to make money selling our dead babies to biotech firms and labs. At the outset of this practice aborted babies were bought by the pound, just like you would buy a piece of meat from the store. Since then, these aborted babies have been used to create medicines such as: Enbrel (Amgen) to relieve Rheumatoid Arthritis., Zoastavax (Merck), a Shingles vaccine, renal failure is prescribed Arensep (Amgen), blood product Repro (Eli Lilly) angioplasty, MMRII (the Merck Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine), and (Senomyx/Firmenich) a San Diego Based bio engineering company has made artificial taste buds for artificial flavoring of their products.  In order to make those flavors and taste buds they used the remains of our aborted babies.  These artificial flavors are found in energy drinks and coffee creamers. 

There have also been ties to abortion and suicide that go largely unreported. Suicides after having an abortion rather than carrying the baby to term in Finland went up 600-800%! After these findings were published, researchers at the South Glamorgan Health Authority in Great Britain decided to examine their own data on admissions for suicide attempts both before and after pregnancy events. After their pregnancies, there were 8.1 suicide attempts per thousand women among those who had abortions, compared to only 1.9 suicide attempts among those who gave birth. Dr. Barry Garfinkel, head of the University of Minnesota’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, surveyed teenagers to determine what factors contributed to depression, stress, and thoughts of suicide. The study found that girls who had abortions were four times as likely to attempt suicide as girls who had not aborted. (“Suicide More Likely Among Aborted Teens” National Right to Life). Teen girls are 10 times more likely to attempt suicide if they have had an abortion in the last six months than girls who have not had an abortion.

Given this data, we need to ask ourselves, how have we been so greatly deceived into supporting abortion as a society? First, we must recognize the spiritual warfare at play. Satan is the father of lies, and a deceiver. He delights in leading us away from God and His law. John 8:44 says of Satan, “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Throughout history, we have seen societies follow after their father, Satan, who is a murderer from the beginning. The Aztecs, Incans and Mayans all committed child sacrifice to appease their false gods. Now, in California, classrooms are allowed to chant to the same Aztec gods that required the blood of the young, but you can’t speak about the Lord Jesus. In Uganda and South Africa, as well as other areas of Africa, witch doctors and shamans sacrificed children. These types of sacrifices occurred all over the world among all people, from ancient times until modern times. The Phoenicians committed child sacrifice to their gods. We have large biblical and extra-biblical documentation of the child sacrifices of the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites and Moabites. Those ancient tribes worshiped their god, Molech.

Molech worship was the ancient form of abortion, with modern abortion closely mirroring the reason for this ancient practice.

Leviticus 18:21 21 You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.

Leviticus 20:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “You shall also say to the sons of Israel: ‘Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name. 4 If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his offspring to Molech, so as not to put him to death, 5 then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.

These tribes were practicing abominations before God for the sake of their own prosperity. Molech was the god of prosperity, and you gained your prosperity by offering your child on the burning statue of Molech. They would heat the statue of bronze until it glowed red, then the mothers would offer their children to the outstretched hands of their god. The babies would scream and cry in pain as they were burned to death on the altar. The women were then blessed with “prosperity” as their child was murdered. This same reason is given today for abortion, we need to abort the child so the mother can get or keep a good job, or have a “better life.” Similar practices were performed in the Greco-Roman era. Women would abort their babies to cover up adultery, or in an attempt to avoid financial burdens, or to avoid the ruin of their beauty brought on by the changes of childbirth. Once again, we see reasons given for abortion that are for the generic purpose of prosperity.

Planned Parenthood continues to do this work. They are the priests of the god of feminism, who take the woman and assist her in offering up her sacrifice to the god of prosperity. The woman is then encouraged in her good works, and the benefits of her personal life that will follow. She only had to give the life of her child to achieve it. The practice of Planned Parenthood began with a woman by the name of Margaret Sanger. She was a eugenicist and white supremacist who wanted to rid the world of those who are a burden on society. Those who are a burden are those who are poor, uneducated, and more often than not, black. Sanger never used negative sounding language to promote her ideas. She presented it as a positive for those who are poor and can’t afford children. Her goal was not for the benefit of the women she deceived, but for the betterment of all humanity. If you can rid the world of the poor, the uneducated, and those of undesirable genetic lineage, then the world will be better off. So, she convinced people murdering their children was for their benefit. This is why Planned Parenthood is often found in poor and minority communities. Those are the “undesirables” that Margaret Sanger wished to target. When Texas recently passed their law allowing those caught performing abortions to be sued in civil court, a large combatant of this law was a group called Lilith. This group is named for a gnostic figure, who is said to be the first husband of Adam and a female demon. Lilith is known for killing her own children, sacrificing them for her own benefit. This group came out to support the pro-abortion side, showing the true colors of the pro-abort, the cult of death.

Many different arguments are given to attempt to give credence to abortion in some circumstances, but all of them fall flat. One rebuttal is “my body, my choice.” Every Christian can affirm this saying, but there is another body in play here. The baby is an entirely different being than the mother, so she can do what she wants with her body, but she cannot bring harm to the child. We all recognize the truth of bodily autonomy ending when it brings harm to another. If I punch the air, nobody cares. If I punch the air in the path of your face, suddenly you care, and recognize my choice is no longer valid. Another rebuttal is that it is legal through Roe v Wade. This also doesn’t work. Roe v Wade is a court opinion, not law. Joe Biden recognized this during one of his town halls. Addressing the concerns of a woman that sanctuary cities from abortion were popping up, Joe said he would work as hard as he could to make Roe v Wade into law. Existing laws already outlaw abortion in many states.

The most difficult objection to address is when a pregnancy comes about through incest or abortion. The truth of the answer here is easy, but the emotion involved in answering the question is what makes it difficult. For one thing, these cases are incredibly rare, only accounting for at most one percent of abortions. So, the pro-abort is attempting to justify 99% of abortions for the case of the 1%. “Can we agree that the 99% are not necessary?” you could ask. The answer will be no. This objection is meant to trick the hearer with an emotional charge rather than arguing over the actual topic: is abortion murder. In these cases, the Christian affirms that they are horrible situations. In rape, the Christian ethic would be to execute the rapist for his heinous crimes. Oddly, most of those who support abortion find this to be too harsh a sentence on the man, but find it perfectly acceptable on the baby. The baby should not be punished for the crime of the father. We also would desire to come along-side the woman and help her emotionally as she brought the baby to term. There are many women who have had babies by rape, and the baby is the silver lining of this horrible situation. They love and care deeply for their baby, even though the situation of their conception was a horrific event. Other women find it too emotional and difficult, and we would help her by adopting her baby to another family and coming along-side her for emotional support before and after the birth of her baby.

Grace

These topics are not easy to discuss. There can often be high emotions, especially if a woman has had an abortion in the past. She will want to justify her actions and will feel an attack on abortion is an attack against her. This is an understandable response, and Christians aren’t to be callous towards this. We understand that we as humans attempt to justify our life choices continually. The consequence is that we often don’t see the sin we commit before God. Our message, and God’s message, to anyone who has had an abortion is that God can cleanse you of your sins. Christ died on the cross for sin, including the sin of abortion. You are not so far gone that you cannot be redeemed by Him. We call you to repent of your misdeeds, and change your mind on this topic in obedience to Christ. God is gracious to us who are sinners, and he calls us to be gracious as well. To this end, Christians should not hate those who have abortions, but preach to them the gospel. Our God is a gracious God.

Conclusion

We must be clear when it comes to the abortion of topic. If we are not, then not only will the culture support this death practice, but Christians will also support it. Scripture is clear, God created us in His image, and he knitted us together in our mothers’ wombs. We need to view human life the same way God does. It can be difficult to know how to join the fight against abortion, especially if you haven’t thought about this topic in depth before. There are several organizations that are working to fight abortion from a Christian worldview perspective. One such organization is End Abortion Now. I would encourage all to get involved in some way, whether it is through active participation, prayer, or giving. If we work together we can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, bring our people out of this abhorrent practice and protect the truly innocent, our children.