Abortion Part 2
In addition to Exodus 21:22-23 and Genesis 2:7 the Bible in many places talks about the unborn fetus not as something less than human, but as a human being created by God. In Luke 1:41-44 the unborn are referred to as children. In Matthew 1:20-21 Jesus is said to be human while still in the womb. Jeremiah 1:5 and Isaiah 49:1 indicate that God knows the unborn and even calls them. In Judges 13:2-7 Samson’s Nazarite vow is in effect from the point of conception. There can be no doubt that the Bible knows nothing of the unborn as being anything but human beings created by God.
If one simply considers what the Bible says about the unborn that would be sufficient to show that abortion is murder in the eyes of God and therefore sinful. However as with all truth the Bible and science are in agreement. From a scientific standpoint abortion is also ending a human life. The most obvious way this can be demonstrated is by considering that the genetic makeup of the fetus is no different from what it will be at birth or at 75 years of age. From the point of conception the fetus has 46 Chromosomes that will determine all of its physical characteristics. The only difference between a 10 minute old fetus and a 10 year old child is time and nutrition. Given the necessary nutrients the fetus will develop everything else. This means that nutrition has become the determining factor of humanness which again, can be logically extended to say that anyone lacking the means to develop is less than human.
The early development of the fetus is another strong indication of humanness. It has already been noticed that at the point of conception the infant has all of the genetic material that it will ever have. By the first month the fetus has a heart beat as well as head arms legs. By forty two days brain waves can be detected. During the second month the baby will have it’s own blood type finger prints and is sensitive to touch. In the third month the baby will swallow, swim, suck its thumb, and be able to feel pain (remember abortion is commonly performed any time prior to the fifth month). By month four the infant will have reached half its birth weight and be eight to ten inches long. Finally by month five the baby has hair, nails, can cry, and live outside the womb. When all of these physical characteristics are considered it is hard to even imagine destroying this little life.
There is also the understanding accepted by all biologists that when two animals of a species conceive the result is another of the same species. No one says when a dog is pregnant that it is carrying anything but more dogs. With regards to human beings though there is confusion as to whether or not the human mother is carrying a human.
Before we leave this idea it must be stated that in addition to Abortion the concepts being discussed here have many further implications. If we as a society can decide that certain human’s are not worthy of the same rights and privileges as others there are many things that become allowable. Western society as a whole generally holds to a view of human dignity that ensures certain rights. If humans fall on a scale of value instead of having equal intrinsic value we are in a moral quandary. This opens the door to racism, to slavery and prostitution which is a close cousin to slavery. It means that in some cases institutions need not be concerned about human rights violations if those violated fall lower on the scale of value.
It would seem that what we think about abortion has far reaching consequences for many moral and ethical issues. The immediate one is euthanasia but there are many other issues. A better more consistent and more moral view would be that God grants life and humans are not at liberty to take it outside of very specific circumstances related to defense of self or nation or in the enacting of Justice on behalf of the government.
~ Kevin Cleary