Thoughts on Abortion
I don't pretend to have experienced the effects of this most troubling of acts. That is, I haven't counseled anyone to have an abortion, and (being male!) I certainly haven't had one myself. My thoughts here are therefore aimed at those like me thinking about the issue of abortion from a somewhat simplified perspective - without the strain of past decisions impacting upon us, and perhaps without the strain of personal circumstance clouding our thinking.
If you've had an abortion, please know that I don't write this to condemn or judge. Enough judging is done by others in our society, and if you now regret your decision, my guess is that you judge yourself enough as it is. Please also know that forgiveness, even if you can't find it in those around you or in yourself, can always be found in Christ.
Contents
Abortion Methods (top)
Induced abortion is that which occurs when a mother (and possibly others, for example the father) decide to 'terminate' a pregnancy, by causing the death and expulsion from the mother's body of the foetus.
There are many methods used to carry out an abortion, determined partially on the "age" of the foetus. Contrary to popular assumption, there are no quick and easy methods, certainly none which instantly kill the baby. In order to limit injury to the mother whilst ensuring the death and removal of the child, arcane methods of destruction are used on the baby. These are gruesome and you may find them troubling, so view the details (by clicking the following hyperlink) only if you so desire.
What are the Arguments? (top)
It is a common view that the debate over abortion is a debate over whether or not a foetus is human, and therefore entitled to life. This line of argument does continue centred around abortion, but is nowhere used as an imperitive to abortion, but only as a justification for abortion, when necessitated by other factors. The content of the following four headings summarise the opposing viewpoints.
Why Abortion is Supported (top)
The primary reason given in support of abortion, is that of the woman's right to retain total control of what happens to her body. It is the woman who has to carry the child for nine months, it is the woman who becomes larger, who gets sick and is subject to great hormonal changes. It is the woman who will have to miss work, and stay in hospital; and it is most likely the woman who will care for the baby during its early life. It is the woman who is left with the problem of the child if the father rejects the child and mother, and leaves.
Very often, a young woman will consider abortion an attractive solution to an unwanted pregnancy that would cause her ridicule, or may upset her parents. Sometimes the 'father' of the unwanted foetus, or other family or friends, may pressure the mother into an abortion. The mother may also find herself in a position where she knows (realistically) that should she have a baby, her career prospects will end; she'll have to take leave or resign, and getting a job again after a number of years off and absent from industry and workplace changes will be a tough ask. Of course any combination of the above problems may be true, and there are still more.
The case may also be that the woman considers putting the child up for adoption once it's born; but this is itself a very tough option. Consider first the fate of the child. It may end up in a family that doesn't care for it as it deserves, it may end up in an orphanage. The child will grow and may experience depression or anger after finding out that their mother and/or father did not want it. Consider also the life of the mother. For about six months she will be visibly pregnant to all she meets. For those six months and the months (maybe years) following the birth she will have to explain why she didn't want her child to everyone who remembers that she was once pregnant and asks after the child. She will have to endure the scorn of others who don't understand the problems she faced, who don't understand the very real concerns she had for the child, and don't understand the anguish she likely went through in making the decision. This would be made all the tougher with the knowledge that she actually did a hard and brave thing in deciding not to take the "easy" way and terminate the baby's life. So adoption isn't an easy solution, it too is hard.
Sometimes the situation is complicated further in that the pregnancy may be the result of a rape, or incest; the foetus may have a health problem or show signs of future disability that will be draining and tough on it and its family. It may also be that the mother's health is put at risk if she carries the baby through to full term.
In short, having a baby will unalterably change the life of the woman in a major way. It has the potential to make things very tough for her physically, financially and mentally; it could ruin relationships and job prospects; and after all that, the mother may forsee a life of struggle ahead for the child were it to be born.
Why Abortion is Abhored (top)
There is one underlying reason why abortion is considered to be wrong: it's killing a human being - worse, it's killing an innocent human being who would otherwise have its whole life ahead of it.
The problem with the case for abortion is that it argues for the woman's right to choose, but overlooks that except in the case of rape (by definition) the woman has consented to sex, and thus has already made her "choice". Abortion is just a way of avoiding the consequences of a decision already made, at the expense of another person's life, and can be a very selfish, heartless and sinister response to a pregnancy that was always going to be a possibility.
Of course the reasons why different women choose abortion vary widely, and often it is quite a hard situation. But why is abortion considered the "obvious" solution? If the issue is preserving the quality of the woman's life, surely the effect on the mother of knowing that she killed her unborn child is worthy of consideration? Some women seem able to ignore this, others can ignore it for a period of time, for others it eats away at them for years and they never forgive themselves. There are endless accounts from women who confess that they've thought of their aborted child every day since the abortion. While abortion may seem the easy solution, it is in reality, a "solution" to one problem but the cause of others.
Even in the special circumstances of rape or incest, abortion is still not the "obvious" solution. With these cases there is no obvious solution, but why add the wrong of killing a child to the wrong of rape? Why not carry the child through to full term and then if you cannot handle bringing it up, put it up for adoption. It will be a sad and tough issue that the child may have to deal with one day, but it's surely better to give it the chance at a majoritively happy life rather than simply kill it! And let's think also of the adopting family. In many cases, there are a couple of potentially great parents trying to adopt a child because they can't have one themselves, but there are a shortage of children up for adoption. Isn't it better to turn a horrible event in your life into a chance for a family for others? Isn't it better to look back and know that you've produced life, and you've helped another family grow, than to look back and know you've killed your own child?
The special case of a child that will be heavily disabled or persistently sick is again, troubling. There is no easy solution, but we also must be careful not to prejudge the worth of a life. If we were to consider "saving these people form the pain of a lifetime of suffering", are we not saying in effect that a person who is disabled is in some way less deserving of life than a "healthy" and "normal" person? There are many cases of seriously disabled persons leading inspiring lives and making great changes in the world; or simply making great and loving family members.
In the end, it must come down to an acceptance of responsibility: if the woman has consented to sex, she has made her choice and should stick to it, precisely because changing her mind now will kill her unborn child. That said, there are many contributing factors to her situation, and often the father is unhelpful or not present, so the woman may be unfairly left alone. It remains however, that the processes of birth, the function of sex and the responsibility of the woman are not a mystery! Not many sexually active women could plead ignorance about how children are conceived and which gender has the responsibility to bear them until birth!
How Abortion is Justified (top)
In response to the claim that abortion is murder, a separate line of argument has arisen over whether a foetus is a human in the sense that human life can be taken from it, and whether a foetus is a "person" in the sense that as a person it has the right to life. Both of these in essence are used to attempt to justify the position that it is ok for a foetus to die if its birth would impact too heavily in a negative way upon the mother, or parents.
As hard a topic as this might be to discuss, it seems to be a widely held feeling that there is some difference between a 14 week old foetus (i.e, just over three months since conception) and a recently born baby, that would make the death of the latter somehow more tragic than the death of the former - as sad and heartbreaking as that would still be. 80-90% of abortions occur within the first 14 weeks after conception, so we must remember that we are not talking about killing babies, we're talking about terminating less-developed organisms that haven't formed relationships with anyone yet, and who haven't been held or experienced in the same way as even a five-minute old baby. (That said, some may see the difference as negligible or irrelevant.)
As far as development is concerned, the foetus lacks many of the abilities and functions that most of us would consider necessary as part of human life. It isn't conscious, it cannot think or reason, and in the first 14 weeks it cannot feel pain. If human life is a quality independant of and prior to, thought and feeling, what then is human life?
Finally, by insisting on the foetus' right to life, are we not ignoring the woman's right to control her own body? Some women are so desperate to be rid of the foetus that they attempt amateur abortions, which often end in death (of the woman). While abortion is readily available there is no need for a woman to die in that painful and humiliating way; but if abortion is restricted, the incidence of death (of the mother and foetus) from "backyard" abortions will increase dramatically.
Why Abortion isn't Justified (top)
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"What is the meaning of our lives, if we give life with nothing but potential no meaning?"
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First, it is blatantly obvious that a human foetus is a human. Just as a baby is the infant form of a human, so a foetus is the fetal form of a human. It certainly isn't canine or feline!! Second, if human life is described as necessarily having thoughts and feelings, should someone in a vegitative coma be considered non-human? Certainly not, and neither should a foetus be considered less-than human simply because it is temporarily not self-conscious or able to think etc.
While there does seem to be some difference between the 14 week old foetus and the baby, it must be seen that in most if not all respects, this is a difference of circumstance rather than a difference of substance. Just like the foetus, the baby (after birth) is still dependant upon someone else to feed it, care for it, and keep it in a suitable environment - without care, it would die within days. While brain activity is occurring, it is not going to knowingly contribute anything to society of any worth, and apart from the basic scream and reactions to pain, it is unable to communicate. The primary differences here is that the baby is now separate from the mother and it gathers its nutrients through the mouth rather than through the umbilical cord; and yet it seems almost as if birth is the place where a foetus 'magically' becomes a person after previously being only an "organism".
This idea of birth being the 'right of passage' to human life is shown most clearly in the current approval of Partial Birth Abortions (described in Abortion Methods above). This process involves delivering the 20-32 week old foetus to the point where its body is out but its head is still just inside its mother, then it is killed. Don't forget that current technology allows for supporting babies born as early as 20 weeks. So every Partial-birth Abortion baby if it were outside of its mother would have a chance at survival; but it is held inside its mother so that it can be killed and called an abortion, rather than murder. Thankfully, this method isn't used very often, but that it is used at all shows the extent to which the problem has grown.
There is a tendancy it seems, to describe a foetus (at best) as a "potential human". This is simply not the case. A foetus is rather a human with potential. If we are to compare the rights of the mother to control her own body with the rights of the foetus to live, how do you decide between the two? Surely, when rights conflict, you must decide which is the more important right, not who is the more important person.
Finally, and more philosophically, I ask - what is the meaning of our lives, if we give life with nothing but potential no meaning? What value could we logically see in our own existence if we deny that life is a basic right of every human? In the act of abortion, except in order to save the life of the mother, we're pitting an entire life with all the potential of one that hasn't started living yet, against the temporary pain and troubles of another, and acting as if the temporary pain were more important than the entire life.
A similar idea is found by imagining your parents had come close to aborting you. Are you glad they didn't? Why doesn't everyone deserve the same chance at life as you?
What Input Does the Bible Have on the Issue? (top)
Apart from the Sixth Commandment adding divine weight to the idea that killing a human is wrong, the Bible will add discussion on the presence of the soul and the place of suffering.
The Issue of the Soul (top)
When discussing whether or not abortion is murder, often the presence or absence of a soul in the foetus comes up. At what point is the soul present? The Bible isn't explicit on this, but it seems that God creates a new soul for each person, and "gives" it to their body some time between their conception and birth.
In reality however, a more pertinent issue is that of God's knowledge of us. There are a number of (well-quoted) passages that speak of God "knowing" someone whilst still in the womb. For example: -
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5)
Psalm 22 records David as claiming God as his God whilst still in the womb (Ps. 22:10), and there are many more. What is even more compelling is that God in fact knew us all from not just the womb, but from before we were conceived. He knew us all before creation, let alone before our days on earth (Ps. 139). Any way you look at it, in God's eyes the fertilised egg contains a person.
The Place of Suffering (top)
If there is any clear teaching on abortion in the Bible, it is to be found in the principles of serving others, accepting God's will, and obeying his commands. It is abundantly clear that hard times, loss of jobs and friendships, and even loss of family relationships are sometimes the result of following God. Jesus did say: -
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? (Matthew 16:24-26)
Jesus also said that "everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life." (Matthew 19:29)
The point here is that caring enough to honor God's command not to kill, even when faced with losing family, friends, career or more, is required of you, but comes with the promise of eternal life to all with faith in Jesus.
The Bottom Line (top)
Of course, the situation for the mother is not always as dire as the reasoning above suggests. It is reported that concerns for the mother's or baby's health only account for 6% of abortions; rape or incest only account for 1%; financial concerns (21%) and concerns for how the baby would change the mother's life (16%) together account for 37% of abortions; while feelings of immaturity (32%), relationship problems (12%), having enough children already (8%), and other social reasons (4-5%) account for the remaining 56%.
Abortion is no longer seen by everyone as a terrible option, that if used at all must only be used under the worst of circumstances. It is becoming socially acceptible as a response to any unwanted pregnancy. Based on the figures above, about 65% of abortions result from relatively insignificant social factors. Therefore, the number of unwanted babies killed before birth this millenium, in the developed world, for reasons other than health, rape, incest or probable serious financial or relational issues is about two thirds of .
Ultimately, with unwanted pregnancies, everyone loses out. Everyone. The reasons listed in Why Abortion is Supported are real issues. They are real problems and no current solution will leave the situation as it was before the pregnancy. It remains, however, that abortion is an extreme and terrible course of action, that often only solves one problem whilst creating another. No matter how sad the situation may be for the woman, the fact remains that she is ending the life of another in order to improve her own situation. That is directly opposed to the Commandment "You shall not kill" (Exodus 20:6) and is wrong. While it was with her consent that she was impregnated, she should bear the responsibility of her actions.
That said, it will be a brave woman who can do so. She may be without the father, without family, without money. She may be experiencing judgement from religious groups or friends, she may find herself on the street. She may be considering adoption and all the trials that go with that. It will be a brave woman who bears the baby to full term, and she'll need the support of all around her.
There are no easy answers. While making abortion illegal would be a theoretically ideal answer, we know form the past that it will continue regardless, in less supervised, and therefore more dangerous ways (many women die each year from "backyard" abortions, especially in countries where professional abortion is illegal). It seems that putting firm restrictions on who can get abortions (for example only for medical reasons or in cases of rape) would be a great start and I don't see why this isn't acheivable in the near future. But as well as this, we must aim for greater sex education, more reliable contraception, and a wider awareness of the issues a troubled young mother-to-be can be facing. These must all begin with us. Be prepared yourself - vote for the politician who promises stringent restrictions on abortion (who knows - they may mean it!); understand the function of sex (to reproduce!); use reliable contraception, or better yet, if single, practice abstinence (as God intended); and finally, be there in support not judgement for any woman facing these issues.
Abortion-Related Links (top)
- My Abortion Counter: This is a script for Webmasters to put on their site and shows the (incrementing) number of abortions that have occured so far this millenium, in the developed world. An example is found within the text above, at the end of the second paragraph of The Bottom Line. (It uses CSS, so you can easily change the appearance as you desire.)
- New York State Right to Life Committee: I found this to be one of the most balanced "pro-life" resources on the web.
Bibliography (top)
- The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "Facts In Brief: Induced Abortion Worldwide", http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/fb_0599.html (27 April 2004).
- Baird, David T., et. al., (eds), Modern Methods of Inducing Abortion, Blackwell Science, 1995.
- Craig, William L., Hard Questions, Real Answers, Crossway Books, 2003.
- Devanny, Joe, "Abortion" debate summary on International Debate Education Association Debatabase, 2000, http://www.debatabase.org/details.asp?topicID=30 (29 April 2004).
- Flower, Michael J., "Neuromaturation of the Human Fetus" in Beauchamp and Walters,Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, Dickensen, 1985.
- Grimes, David A., et. al., "Induced Abortion: An Overview for Internists" article in Annals of Internal Medicine, Volume 140 issue 8, 20 April 2004, pp.620-626.
- Lockwood, Michael, "When does a life begin?" in Beauchamp and Walters,Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, Dickensen, 1985.
- Grudem, Wayne, "Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
- National Right To Life, "Why Do Women Have Abortions?", http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/reasonsabortions.html (26 April 2004).
- Veatch, Robert M., "Definitions of Life and Death: Should there be Consistency?" in Beauchamp and Walters,Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, Dickensen, 1989.
- World Health Organisation, "Medical Methods for Termination of Pregnancy", Geneva, 1997.
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