A Plea Against Abortion
The legality of it matters.
A Plea Against Abortion
On this day, January 22, in 1973, the Supreme Court published its decision in one of its most controversial cases ever: Roe v. Wade. I purposely do not call it an anniversary because the connotation of an anniversary is much too positive for such an event. Rather, it is a dark day in the history of the United States as it was declared a constitutional right for a woman to have an abortion.
I do not write this newsletter to be provocative or “own the libs” like too many conservatives now do. Instead, I write this newsletter wanting to see the practice of abortion outlawed across the country and for the thought of abortions being performed to be socially abhorrent. With that said, I also want to express that this is not a condemnation of anyone or everyone that has had an abortion. While I do believe that abortion is murder and is absolutely wrong, I know that the grace of God is absolutely more powerful than sin. Like every other sin, abortion is forgiven when one clings to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
However, abortion is absolutely a justice issue that needs to be addressed. A fetus is not merely a “clump of cells” but is a human being that has the same value as all of us. Furthermore, a fetus is a human being that quite literally cannot speak for him or herself. A fetus requires people to stand up for them because they cannot stand up for themselves. A fetus is the most vulnerable among us and needs those of us who have the ability to defend them.
No, it is not a “woman’s body, woman’s choice" when another life is at stake. I cannot choose to kill anyone reading this and it be morally right or legal. If you do not believe that a fetus is a human being then you are believing a lie. By any scientific, rational, or spiritual definition, human life begins at conception. Since that is the case, we cannot judge the value of another human being based on dependency level (without the mom it can’t live) or location (in a woman’s body), or inconvenience (a baby would ruin my life), or economic conditions (I can’t support it). The value of human life is far too great for any of these to be used as reasons to support its termination.
“Why don’t we worry about fixing the underlying issues that allow abortion to flourish?” I always hear this from people who are usually more social justice-oriented that see abortion as a symptom of greater problems. I am all about supporting and caring for women that face the hard circumstances that make the option of abortion seem appealing. In fact, I believe the church has no choice but to care for and support those women. However, that doesn’t take away from the reality that it is legal in this country to kill the most vulnerable human beings among us. We can love, support, and care for women while fighting tooth and nail to outlaw the practice of abortion. Why must we choose?
“Well, I care about lives inside and outside the womb.” Again, I do too. We should love, support, and care for everyone outside of the womb today. But, the government has not made it a constitutional right to end a life when it is outside of the womb. If the life is inside the womb though, then it is a constitutional right for one to decide to end it. This must end.
If slavery was still a constitutional right (according to the Supreme Court in Dred Scott), surely no one would argue that, rather than fight the decision, we should focus just on caring for freed slaves or encouraging slave owners to treat their slaves well. Why should we do this with abortion?
Finally, in case I have not made enough people mad I want to add one more thing: I do not believe a Christian can vote for a political candidate that endorses the killing of other human beings. Now, I am not saying that if someone did or has voted for a candidate that supported abortion then they are not a Christian. I am also not saying that if a candidate is against abortion then Christians MUST vote for them without considering other things. Christians have to still take into account the moral character of a pro-life candidate (see my last newsletter). However, abortion must be a line in the sand that Christians cannot compromise on regardless of the other positions held by a candidate.
If you disagree with me then let me ask you this: Would you vote for a candidate that you agreed with on absolutely everything except they were in favor of slavery? I suspect most would say no. Why is the support of the killing of the most vulnerable among us, not a similar deal breaker? It absolutely should be.
God Bless,
Hunter Burnett