By Elisabeth Bloechl
Many, if not most, of those reading this article know that abortion is wrong. We are aware that it is contrary to God’s laws, is the killing of another human, and is detrimental to our society. However, not many of us realize how abortion harms each of us, nor to what extend. In order to understand the gravity of abortion, we need to see its effects. When we see how this sin—like every other—leads to corruption, alienation and death, we will truly abhor it. When we realize that abortion harms babies, women, relationships, government and media, we will begin to see why God commands us no to murder (Ex. 20:13). Seeing the depth of our sin will drive us to Jesus, the only cure for our sinful hearts and sin-sick society. That is the aim of this article: first, to open our eyes to how abortion harms us; second, to direct our eyes to the only cure for our culture of death.
How abortion harms us
Ryan T. Anderson and Alexandra DeSanctis wrote a phenomenal book entitled: Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing. In it they systematically and clearly elucidate the many ways abortion harms individuals and our society. I owe much of the following to them and highly recommend reading their book in its entirety.
Abortion, first and foremost, harms the unborn. “Abortion is a great moral evil, an act of violence against the most vulnerable members of the human family. Every abortion ends the life of an innocent human being in the womb, a child who, because he is human, necessarily possesses intrinsic worth and dignity and thus deserves to have his life protected” (20). It is vital that we internalize that reality. Abortion is not a choice. Abortion is not ending a pregnancy. Abortion is not, as Planned Parenthood describes it, emptying a uterus. Abortion is murder. Abortion is murder as much a day after conception just as a day before birth. When we fail to internalize the reality of abortion as murder; when we instead accept, promote, or wink at abortion, it does more than directly harm the million unborn humans, it harms our own thinking (both individually and on a societal level). When once we considered pregnancy a miracle, now we consider it a disease to be avoided. When once we protected and cherished the unborn, now we see them as inconveniences at best and a parasites at worst. When once we valued the unique contributions of both men and women, now we consider men’s bodies—free from childbearing—as superior (40,48). Women especially are susceptible to and harmed by such contortions to our thinking.
The language used by abortion advocates make abortion sound as simple and harmless as getting a tooth removed. In reality, abortion results in serious physical, emotional and/or psychological harm to a woman. It is estimated that “somewhere in the realm of twenty thousand American women will suffer each year from significant medical problems as a result of undergoing an abortion” (65). The medical problems connected to abortion include both short term (e.g. hemorrhage) and long term problems (e.g. cancer). In addition, a significant number of women have expressed debilitating regret and shame as a result of having an abortion (88). Despite the many harmful effects of abortion on women (many of them well-known, though little publicized), women often consider it a necessity. Believing the lie that pregnancy is a problem that abortion can solve, husbands, boyfriends, parents, and abortion industries pressure mothers into “terminating her pregnancy,” often threatening abandonment or worse. And women themselves fall prey to the lie that abortion is a good and viable option for an unwanted pregnancy. This is especially true for those in minority groups or pregnant with disabled babies (97, 102, 104).
Abortion harms women and the unborn, but by labelling it as healthcare also harms everyone else.“Rather than recognize the child in the womb as a second patient, abortion targets the child for extermination. Rather than using the tools of medicine to heal, abortion uses drugs and surgical devices to end a child’s life” (123). The ones wielding these tools turned weapons are doctors. Should it then surprise us that some doctors who’ve compromised their oath by performing abortions are followed by others who do so in other ways such as performing assisted suicide, or gender affirmation surgery? The more we see this abuse of medicine, the more we can agree that “we are all worse off in a society where many believe that killing a human being is an acceptable and even necessary form of health care. True medicine aims to heal and never to harm. Abortion has perverted that norm, and none of us are exempt from its logic” (149). Indeed, this logic has crept into our laws and lawmaking.
By legalizing abortion, lawmakers created a reality found not in the Constitution thereby harming the courts and even the democratic process. “Roe grounded the supposed right to abortion in the constitutional right of privacy—a right that is not found within the text of the Constitution but rather was discovered by the Supreme Court in ‘emanations’ from the ‘penumbras’ of the Bill of Rights” (157). By inventing a law contrary to the Constitution, the courts took power out of the hands of the people who relied on the Constitution to protect them from just such corruption. This corruption has spread from the Supreme Court to the Democratic party in general. To run as a Democrat today nearly necessitates supporting abortion. Here again, Americans loose power; forced to choose a candidate based on one issue alone. Much of this degeneration of medicine, law and the democratic process is supported and driven by big corporations and media.
“Abortion supporters know that what Americans watch changes the culture and that culture shapes people’s beliefs, so they are hard at work pushing the people who create America’s films and shows to change how people think about abortion” (218). We are transformed by what we commit our time to viewing. Pornography is a perfect example. The very act of looking at illicit images transforms the way the viewer thinks about other humans, relationships and sexuality in general. The same is true of the images and messages we associate with abortion. And the scary thing, is it happens without our conscience realization and big corporations and media know that and take advantage of it (222). While abortion did not create corruption and greed in corporation and media, by promising a payout, it certainly fuels and feeds it.
In short, living in a culture that calls killing healthcare and justifies it with corrupt laws, harms everyone. It harms the baby whose life is ended, the mother whose health is compromised, minority groups whose population is jeopardized, doctors who compromise their conscience (and their patients who suffer as a result), our laws, our freedom, the movies we watch and stores where we shop.
The Cure
Hopefully, it is abundantly clear that abortion is a sin that taints and muddies all of us. However, in order to address the evil of abortion in our society, we need first to address the sin in us. When I was pregnant with my third child, there were times I wished I wasn’t pregnant. I was embarrassed to be one of those families with three children three and under. I began to think of my unborn child as a nuisance, physical drain, and added burden. I started to think of my ability to bear and nurture children a hinderance to a fuller freer life. This mindset continued after our son was born. Without realizing it, I had believed the lie that children—at least some children—are a nuisance and burden. I had assigned his life value based on my personal convenience. I had fallen prey to the lies of an abortion culture. Thereby, I had sinned against my son and against God; despising both His good gifts and Him as the giver.
How many of us have done the same? How many of us, while not ending life, have held the lives of others (especially the unborn) cheap? How many women have shaken their fist at God for their role in reproduction? Or maybe we have—believing the lie that the value of another’s life lies in personal convenience—advocated for ending the ninety year old’s life. Or have we wondered why we should bother to keep fighting for the life of a cancer patient who is not responding to treatments? In short, how many of us have sinned against God and neighbor by considering, and living like, our neighbor’s life is worth less than our money, time, or sacrifice (Mark 12:31)? In order to address the issue of abortion in our society, we must first repent of living like abortionists.
When we have examined our own hearts and repented of the many ways we have broken God’s commandment not to murder, we can, like Daniel repent on behalf of our society. When Daniel saw the sin of Israel, he prayed:
Oh, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, we have done wrong, and acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land (Dan. 9:4-6).
So ought we to pray—as part of (not removed from) this culture. In our prayers, we, like Daniel must look not to ourselves but to our Savior.
In stark contrast to our personal and societal devaluation of human life, Jesus considered the life of the least as worthy of His very life. While on earth, He continually healed, comforted, and touched, the sick, outcast, and diseased (Matt. 8:2-3, 9:33, 15:21-28 Luke 7:2-10). He welcomed little children and sinners (Matt. 19:14, Luke 7:36-50). He poured out His life, gave His time, and inconvenienced Himself for His image-bearers. Not only did He not murder, He actively protected life. And in the greatest display of His love for mankind, He laid down His own life that those who believe in Him might have life and have it to the full (John 10:10). That is our standard. It is not enough for us to repent of murder and refrain from doing it. We must actively protect life at all ages and stages both in heart and deed—even when it means our own death. None of us is able to do this perfectly. Left to ourselves, we will not even see how we have sinned in this regard, much less repent of it. Therefore, none of us is able, in ourselves to undo this culture of death. What hope then is there for us? Much.
When the Holy Spirit quickens our hearts to repentance and faith in Christ’s completed work, His work is counted as ours. Because of Christ, God sees us no longer as murderers but as protector of life. Furthermore, because we have been given a new heart, we (who were once able only to sin) are now able to follow in our Master’s footsteps. His Holy Spirit works in us, enabling us more and more to value, cherish and protect life. In short, the gospel is the only cure for this culture of death. For, in order to end abortion, we must make abortion unthinkable (231). That is only possible through the gospel. So if we want to end abortion, we must first and foremost preach and proclaim and live the gospel. All of the other necessary steps to ending abortion—criminalizing it, establishing more crisis pregnancy centers, creating pro-life media, etc.—flow out of that gospel.
Abortion harms, but the gospel heals. Abortion is founded on lies, the gospel on truth. Abortion tears us apart, the gospel is the only thing that will mend. If you want to fight this culture of death, look to Christ and His gospel. His hand is not too short to save. Through His work, we can become no longer a culture of death, but one of life.
Who Am I? 