Are we as Christians going to protect innocent life in the womb? American Lawmakers are not! In this article we are talking about a baby’s rights, not just a mother’s rights. Our own Declaration of Independence declares that certain truths are “self-evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator” (this is a source of truth higher than the Supreme Court) “with certain unalienable rights” (because they are given by God, they cannot be taken away by lawmakers). “Among those are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Surely the first is the most important. If the right to life is denied, liberty and the pursuit of happiness do not exist.
An eight-week-old human fetus has a beating heart, an EKG, brain waves, thumb-sucking, pain sensitivity, finger-grasping, and genetic humanity, but under our present laws is not a human person with rights under the 14th Amendment, which says that “no state shall deprive any person of life … without due process of law.”
Why is it legal to maim, mutilate and kill a pain-sensitive unborn human baby - but not an animal? Kill an animal and go to jail.
If you destroy the egg of a bald eagle, you can be fined thousands of dollars; if you destroy an unborn baby, you get paid for it. Here is the sad truth. The most dangerous place in America is not some ghetto in the inner city; it is inside a mother’s womb. You have a one in three chance of not making it out alive.
Is an unborn baby really a human being? Think about this: From the moment of conception, a baby has an individual identity. The baby has a complete set of genes and chromosomes. A baby’s sex has been determined before the egg is implanted in the womb. Nineteen days after conception, the eyes begin to develop. At 24 days, the heart begins beating. At 30 days, the unborn baby is only one-quarter of an inch long and yet he has a brain, eyes, ears, mouth, kidneys, and liver. At 35 days a baby has developed fingers. At 40 days brain waves can be detected and recorded. In the seventh week after conception, a baby moves spontaneously. During the tenth week, a baby squints, swallows and hiccups. He has fingerprints that will stay with him for the rest of his life. In the 12th week, a baby responds to touch and begins to suck his thumb. By the fourth month, his ears are functioning. And he can hear his mother’s voice. By the seventh month, he can see, hear, taste and touch. A baby recognizes his mother’s voice when he hears it. By the ninth month, a baby weighs between six and nine pounds. His heart is pumping 300 gallons of blood each day and he is fully capable of life outside the womb. If only he gets the chance!
In Romans 1:31 the KJV Bible says, “Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:.” This is part of a long list of the sins of those who have turned away from God. The Greek word is astorgos, translated in the King James as “without natural affection” and in the English Standard with the word “heartless.” This word was used in the first century for parents who abandoned their children by exposing them to the elements. This is unnatural cruelty. To treat your own child with such callous unconcern reveals that you are astorgos, you do not have natural affection. When we look at abortion in that light, it not just another sin. It is a mark of a depraved and godless society. Repeatedly in this context Paul states that “God gave them up” to commit the various sins that are listed. Surely Romans 1:32 does not describe Christians in the 21st century. “Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” We cannot remain silent and “give approval” to our lawmakers.
Abortion is wrong because killing babies is murder! It is as simple as that. I don’t know of any other conclusion that is consistent with our faith. We know the truth. But, what will we do? As God’s children we cannot be neutral nor can we be silent. This is no time to look the other way.
Today, when the killing of babies has become not only tolerated but accepted, and when politicians not only support abortion but wear their support of legalized baby killing as a badge of honor, Christians must speak out. Our voices must be heard loudly and clearly. We must speak out for the unborn who cannot speak for themselves. We must “let our light shine!” Matthew 5:16
