By Russ Atmore
The tragic saga of abortion is all around us. While we sit in our
comfortable homes, it is probably true to say that we never give a
thought to the millions of unborn who tragically lose their lives on a
daily basis. The truth is that God is exceedingly sorrowful at the
wickedness of men and women. The truth is that God is exceedingly angry
at the wickedness of men and women at the same time. We live in days
like the days of Noah (Matthew 24:36-42). Men and women do as they
please. They ignore God. This is even more tragic when it is Christians
who do as they please and ignore God. If God defends a cause we are
expected to defend a cause. There is no option to debate with God. His
standards are His standards. He does not negotiate His laws. They belong
to Him because they are an expression of His character. When it comes to
the murder of innocent unborn children we are strangely silent. Oh, yes,
we disapprove, and mutter about the tragedy of our times, but who will
defend the unborn? They certainly are unable to defend themselves. What
are their rights? Can we defend the rights of the unborn? Here are some
guidelines to use in defense of their rights.
Abortion is sustained today
by the argument that without access to abortion, women are exposed to
the experience of untold suffering, sometimes death, especially in
poverty stricken countries of our globe where they have no access to
contraceptives. This kind of defense seems to promote this line of
reasoning. The bottom line is the right of the woman not to be pregnant,
and certainly not to endanger herself with an unsafe abortion. Justice,
reasons against this way of thinking in a number of ways.
1. Justice moves on the
assumption that if one person’s legitimate right must be limited to
protect another’s legitimate right, the limitation that does the least
harm will be the most just. This raises the question of what
constitutes injustice. Injustice is the denial of the greater right to
preserve the lesser right. John Piper says that “denying rights that
protect lesser values to maintain rights that protect greater values is
what good laws are supposed to do.” We refuse the right to drive at a
speed of 120 kilometers through a school drop-off zone because the value
of life is far greater than my value of being on time someplace else. In
very few cases, pregnancy does not threaten as much harm to the mother
as abortion does to the child. Harm to the child is beyond
understanding. It is a violent death. Harm to the mother is
significantly less. She continues her life as normal, thankful that the
ordeal is over with the least amount of fuss. It is therefore, just to
deny the mother the right not to be pregnant at the cost of killing the
unborn child.
2. Justice states that when
either of 2 people must be inconvenienced or suffer hurt to ease their
predicament, the one who has the greater responsibility for the
situation must bear more of the inconvenience or suffering. If I take my
son to rob a bank and we are arrested for the crime, I must bear greater
punishment because my responsibility is so much greater. Except in few
cases, pregnancy is owing to the free and conscious choice that the
mother made in engaging in sexual relations, whereas the unborn child’s
situation is through no choice whatsoever of that child. It is
therefore, just to require greater accountability from the mother, and
not to require any penalty from the child.
3. Justice further works on
the assumption that persons may not force or coerce another person into
doing harm by threatening voluntary harm on themselves. If you threaten
to commit suicide in order to force someone to do what you want (let’s
rob a bank or kill someone), you commit a great injustice. Women who
threaten to harm themselves with unsafe abortions, if society refuses
them a safe and legal abortion, are using unjust coercion of harm toward
another person, namely; the unborn child.
Therefore, we can say the
following:
Since the right of an unborn
child to live is greater than the right of the woman to use abortion as
a means of birth control, and since, the woman’s right to be free from
pregnancy is not as great as the unborn child’s right to be free from
life-threatening violence, any law, therefore, that reverses the
order of these rights is unjust.
How do you feel about your
rights now? They are insignificant compared to the rights of the unborn
child. Let us pray that God will open our hearts and eyes to the plight
of these unborn children who suffer violent and vicious death every day
in this our country. Right now, in the nearby vicinity, some precious
unborn child is being murdered, so that someone else’s life or lives
might not be inconvenienced. When Jesus returns, will he extract justice
from His enemies? You bet He will!
Open our eyes, Lord, to the
danger that surrounds us,
I am
indebted to John Piper for these thoughts that have stimulated my own
thinking.
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