Abortion is more than just a controversial issue; it is a polarizing issue. But you knew that. The question is whether we as a society can find a resolution to this issue.
Abortion has become the defining issue for many voters, such that political candidates will win or lose elections over their position on this one thing.
After years of watching and reflecting on the controversy, I have reached resolution, at least for myself. [If you plan to continue reading, I hope you read the whole thing before you decide if my resolution has any merit beyond my own mind.]
The basic issue is whether the government should be able to control what takes place inside a human being. And this much I can agree with those who are pro-choice. As much as I hate abortion and regard those who perform them as morally bankrupt and those who seek them as sinning against God and making the biggest mistake of their lives, I don’t now believe that we should criminalize the activity (in other words, ban it.)
The same people who want to tell a woman she can’t have an abortion are the same people who will complain if the government tells them how large of a soft drink they can buy, whether or not their child can bring a lunch from home to school, or what kind of light bulbs they have to buy.
Obviously, there is much more at stake in a pregnancy than in how much pop you should drink; but the fact is that, while that child growing inside her mother has a separate life from her mother, the life and health of that child is completely dependent on the mother. That pregnant mother makes choices every day that will affect the life and health of that child, whether by drinking alcohol, smoking, eating right, taking medication, using drugs, taking prenatal vitamins, and, of course, by seeing a doctor regularly.
If the government wants to prevent her from ending her pregnancy, it should mandate as well all the other matters of healthy pregnancies.
The abortion debate is not unlike the gun debate. Gun control advocates want to limit access to guns in order to limit the possibilities of gun violence. The pro-life people want to limit or ban abortions to limit the number of pre-born children being killed.
By the way, I read today that it is estimated that before abortion was legalized, there were between 200,000 and 1.2 million abortions in the United States every year. We have averaged about a million abortions a year since. So, as in the gun debate, outlawing something doesn’t mean you are going to prevent it from happening. There are already laws against murder. How is that working out?
Those who oppose more gun control see the bigger problem as the evil in people’s hearts and the need to address that. Having abortion legal does not make anyone have an abortion any more than having guns makes someone kill people.
Smoking and drinking large quantities of soda are not wise health choices, but we prefer that the government not be controlling our lives in these matters.
So I can accept that abortion is legal, and I think we need to assure our women that we are not going to try to make it illegal. We should not be losing elections because of a politician’s view on abortion.
When we have talked about making abortion illegal, I think we may have given the impression that the mother is the main culprit here. I have to ask what kind of morally dead, heartless people actually work in performing these abortions.
But now, having said all this, as a society, as a government, I believe we need to make it clear that because something is legal, it does not make it right. And though abortion may be legal, it is not A right. You do not have a RIGHT to kill your unborn child. We won’t prevent you from doing so, but we will try to dissuade you.
The Supreme Court said women have a right to an abortion. I think that means no more than that the government cannot legally forbid it. Rights can only come from God.
Our children are our next generation, our future leaders, our future contributors to society, and our most treasured possessions. Something is seriously wrong when over a million of our children are aborted every year. Life is not valued, and it is not surprising when there are so many killings. Life is cheap.
As long as that child is inside its mother, that mother is responsible for the life and health of that child. Once the child is born or even in the process of being born, the government has the right and duty to protect that life. [In the rare event that the life of the child or the mother is endangered at the time of birth, I believe the priority should be given to the mother. Parents may want to sign consent forms before delivery addressing who they want the doctors to save first if it comes to that.]
In Roe v. Wade, the Court extended the right of government restrictions even further back to the point of viability except in cases of the life and health of the mother.
The government, meaning our society, has an invested interest in our children. There are many laws that affect abortion that any moral government should support.
1) The government should not financially support abortions. The government has no money but what it takes from its citizens. Printing money doesn’t count because it only devalues the money we already have, so it is essentially a tax, which is taking money from the citizens. Aborting babies is not in the best interests of our country, so we as citizens should not be forced to pay for it.
2) Children should not be given abortions without their parents’ or guardians’ consent. I understand that children can’t even receive an aspirin at school without parental permission. Abortions are not simple procedures without major risks.
3) If states want to mandate waiting periods, sonograms, or other impediments to speedy abortions, these should be promoted as in the best interests of both mother and child and not as steps to the future elimination of abortions.
4) It is a fact, though not widely known or publicized, that many women experience serious emotional problems after abortions. Aborting a child is not the same as removing a tumor. We need to inform women of what many women prior to them have experienced. What is seen now as an inconvenience or an unsustainable burden is often seen later as their own child who they killed.
As time goes on and they see children the same age as what their aborted child would have been, it can be more than painful. People need to be made aware of these things before going ahead with this.
5) If every woman who aborts her child gave birth to that child, the number of women raising a child in a single parent household would explode. Not only is that the leading indicator that that child will grow up in poverty; that child also risks much higher chances of other problems such as their performance in school and getting into trouble.
While, as a society, abortion is sometimes seen as a way to minimize problem children, it ultimately devalues all children in that it makes them out to be consumer products, attained for our benefit and discarded or otherwise avoided when inconvenient.
We need to encourage and strengthen marriages. Families having a mother and a father and children are one of the most important things that we need to ensure the future of our country.
Whether you believe that life evolved from swamp gook or was created by God, women have been entrusted with the gift (and the privilege) of bearing our next generation. Children are the most treasured things we will ever have. We teach our girls that they need to become physicists or soldiers or CEOs to really become all that they should be. And children are often depicted as unfortunate hindrances to that fulfillment.
I believe they have been lied to.
Photo Credit: -nanio- (Creative Commons)
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To say that I am disappointed with this article is an understatement. It seems as though Mr. Craig has no knowledge or understanding as to who God is! To enlighten you sir, God is the creator of all that there is; it is His Ten Commandment by which man should live, they are not suggestions, they are commandments, His LAWS. The Bible makes it extremely clear that as the Creator of everything that there is above the earth, on the earth and all that is beneath the earth, He has the right to set the guidelines by which man should live his life. Therefore, He has also set the consequences for those that disregards His Commandments.
We are created beings and as such the Creator is the true owners of our own bodies and His Word clearly states, cursed are they who shed innocent blood.
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure Jer. 17:9. Most always those that follow the ways of the crowds will fine themselves at the end in a ferrous battle that they can’t win and it will most likely cost them a separation from God for all of eternity.
Man may have the legal right to murder the child within the womb but he certainly does not have the moral right to shed the blood of the most innocent of all life. Thus God’s Judgment upon America has been made clear for not only this horrendous crime,,, but also for the sins of homosexuality and the worst of all, the rejection of Christ.
To read God’s judgment for America, google: “ The Message For America, Hand of Help Ministries. ” For what I think will be the 2nd major terrorist attack for America, google; “ The Eagle and the Serpents, Hand of Help Ministries. ” And again for where I believe will be the location of this 2nd attack, google: “ The Eagle and Serpents (Part 2), watchman48. ” For how I was led to this, google, Watchman On The Wall, America ~ Mystery Babylon.”
I think this is a realistic perspective on abortion from a Christian point of view. God does not condemn entire nations for the sins of a few. Why would God strike down a sinner, and destroy his hope that they will repent? After we read the Old Testament, there is a New Testament to teach us about forgiveness. The moral battle against the practice of abortion should always be fought, but with the painful acknowledgement that abortions will still occur, regardless of the law. The most important ambition should be to keep the mother from making that choice. Since this is America, land of the free, people have the freedom to make bad decisions. Rather than draw a line in the sand between “good” people and “bad” people, we should strive to help everyone make the right choice.
@watchman48
I read your article about the Eagle and the Serpents. Do you ever wonder why horoscopes are popular? It is because they are so vague and general that they apply to anyone who reads them. That way, the horoscope’s prediction is never wrong.
How is abortion, homosexuality and the rejection of Christ the sins of the few? True the numbers of those that at are guilty of actually doing these sins may not be the vast majority, but when you factor in the number of those that have support these abominations with their encouragement, money and votes for those politicians that do support the legislation for these atrocities the numbers are staggering. With God, to know to do what is right and not do it is a sin and to support sin can be no less than sin.
I did read my horoscope back when I was a teenager and I didn’t know any better, that was 50 years ago….. If you are interested in the truth and the future you need the read the Bible, which has never been wrong…. True it does tell of a lot of mistakes that man has made throughout history but God doesn’t make any mistakes.
watchman48, you can spend a lifetime analyzing every line of the Bible, but all that effort holds little value if you refuse to accept the message. He is a God of love, and HE will judge those who do not repent before the end, not US. This is the 21st century. If you really want to make a difference in this world, then you need to come to terms with that. Women considering abortions do not need you judging or threatening them. They need you to understand them, and show them there is another way. The only way you can do that is by first recognizing the time and place in which they live. Instead of demonizing people who are pro-choice, open a dialogue with them. Otherwise, you will never change anything.
My comment about the horoscope was a reflection of your article. In your first comment, you claimed your aticle would reveal “the location of the 2nd terrorist attack”. Turns out, your article was written in the same style as a horoscope. It is so vague that you can go whatever direction you need to go with it, depending on what actually happens in the future. That way, you can claim your “vision” was correct. That’s a pretty cheap way to give your website face time.
I saw no mention of how many people are waiting to adopt these babies. I also know there are facilities for “unwed” mothers which care for them. There are couples who pay for the care of a pregnant woman and the medical expenses and then adopt her baby. This should be encouraged but some call it “buying” the baby. It is much better than killing the infant! Jesus Christ was conceived of an unwed teenage mother! THINK about the ramifications. Each baby has the possibility of becoming important. My own grandmother’s last child was conceived during menopause and became the beautiful person he is today: my uncle who is seven years my junior ! God has a purpose for everyone of His children. They aren’t really ours, you know. We are here to care for them. NOT to murder them.
subhub35 – Evidently you didn’t go to the articles that I mentioned…. God is just as real today as He ever was.. meaning He still speaks, reveals and He still gives visions. I guess if you never read Revelation you wouldn’t understand, but God still judges nations as well as the individual. Sadly most Christians today doesn’t believe all of this. Without Christ there is no hope for this world or the one without Christ in his heart.
Galatians 2:16
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Faith and Deeds
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. James 2:14-19 I know of several friends who claim to be Christian but when the Holy Spirit is mentioned they become quite defensive… their actions have proven through the years revealing they are lute-warm Christians at best. Christ must be first above all.
I have been donating to anti-abortion organizations for over 25 years, I have spoken at youth groups against abortion and I will never stop sharing my stories about abortion until He calls me calls me home.