With Roe v Wade overturned, the fight for life is on at the state level. This week, we explored some of the most commonly asked questions on the subject.
From the Chair of Theology:
Question 1: “Jesus didn't talk about Abortion. In fact it isn't even mentioned in the Bible, why are you so against something that is not even mentioned in the Bible?”
Answer: But what does the Bible say about actively taking life? Life may be hard, and for many it is, but when did murder get an exemption?
Psalms 139:13-16
“13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Jeremiah 1:5
5 “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.”
Exodus 20:13
“13 Thou shalt not murder.”
Question 2: “What do we say to someone who believes that the child is an imposition on the mother and she cannot be burdened to carry this child?”
Answer: But what does the Bible say about motherhood? In secular humanistic terms, perhaps one could argue that humans dictate morality based on cultural norms. This Theology was very widely implemented in the 20th Century in Europe and Asia. Atheism and Humanism are responsible for more death than any other religion. When man decides that expedience determines morality and not God, the young, sick, and elderly die. Do you want to go down that road?
From the Chair of Philosophy:
Question 1: “If the child is conceived from incest or rape, does that not give the woman the ability to abort the child, even if the child is a human being?”
Answer: In what situation is this logic ever accepted? One evil man did evil to both the woman and the child. How does this translate to the woman now committing a second atrocity onto her child in her womb? If it is murder, then it is no different than a mother of a 2 year old murdering her child because her husband violates her after the child is born.
This is also what we call in philosophical terms: A Red Herring (something that is unrelated being presented as part of the argument.) Less than 2% involve these circumstances. The question should be asked, if we allowed abortions for rape and incest, would you consider restricting purely elective abortions. No? Then these women's suffering is simply a tool being used to justify killing infants.
https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/pubs/psrh/full/3711005.pdf
Question 2: “If you are pro life, then you cannot possibly support the death penalty. So why NO to abortion and YES to death penalty if you are pro life?”
Answer: The death penalty is not related to killing infants. If a person murders someone else in cold blood and there are two or more witnesses, the Bible tells us in Genesis 9:6:
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.”
This is not murder, but a form of societal standard that reduces crime by deterence. How many murders should an unrepentant murderer be allowed to commit? How many children should a pedophile be allowed to harm? How many born alive babies should a Kermit Gosnell be allowed to murder?
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/us/kermit-gosnell-abortion-doctor-gets-life-term.html
From the Chair of Culture:
Question 1: “Isn't it better to have children who are wanted? Do we not already have an overloaded foster care system with 400,000 unwanted children? Where's the Church here?”
So, you are saying that you would rather we kill these children than allow them to live because the adoption process needs reform? I'm glad no one really thinks that way about immigration, healthcare triage, or any other aspect of policy. There are an estimated 1-2 million families waiting to get through the red tape, many of these can't have children and want them. They would love these babies who are being flushed down the sink.
Question 2: “Since it takes two to conceive a child, would not the father of said child have any say in wanting that child? Especially if the father would want to raise this child that is a separate individual (body) than the body of the mother?”
Absolutely, there are countless stories of fathers watching their partner abort their child to the horror of these men.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49240582
From the Chair of Politics:
Question 1: “We live in a nation that is built on individual freedoms. Does this not interfere with the woman's freedom? Does not the presence of the child encroach on the woman's autonomy?” *See Violinist Argument*
Answer: How does a 8 month pregnant mother's autonomy differ from the autonomy of an 8 month old's mother? Can the mother of the 8 month old ditch her child in a trash can or throw her child into a wood chipper? The issue of autonomy is complex, but it is very simple when it comes to the active act of ending someone else's life. Your autonomy does not allow for that.
Question 2: “Do you think that the GOP has done a poor job of framing the argument? If so, what would the best framing of the political argument be?”
Answer: “Sometimes we get bogged down in the statistics, data, and politics, but this is purely an issue of good and evil. The government has the duty to protect innocent life. Is the baby a human life? If yes, then it is simply the government's job to protect it.
From the Chair of Economics:
Question 1: “Are we not putting undue burden on 14 year olds who simply made a mistake? We wouldn't even allow these girls to adopt, why force them to have a child?”
Answer: That is a hard question. However, there is a lot of support for these girls in the churches (the good ones) and the pregnancy centers (both of which are being firebombed lately). Reform of the adoption system is critical, we recognize this. We need to have a system that can fast track these sort of adoptions to reduce the load on the foster care system.
Question 2: “Abortions are cheaper than hospital births, why are you putting the higher cost on Women? What answers do you have for women who are poor and an Abortion is cheaper and safer?”
Answer: Are they cheaper though? You may be correct to an extent, but if someone is in that situation, we have hospitals that will help you out or even forgive the debt. We do have these sort of entitlements that are being threatened by abortion. In fact, one could make the argument that abortion has been the single greatest enemy of government funded healthcare. Our country has become top heavy in population with 70 million taxpayers being aborted by those who now rely on a nearly insolvent social security system. So not only have we committed the worst type of genocide, but also made it more difficult to run the system doing it in the process.
All of that to say, when discussing these things with others, the Christian must be winsome. Let us approach these situations with the firmness and tact of Christ with the woman at the well. Let's be Christ's hands, feet, mouths, and ears in this debate by being prepared with an answer.