Abortion – What would Jesus say about New York’s new law?

Reconciliation

So how do we reconcile these two concepts? On one hand, we are to obey the governing authorities. They have clearly approved abortion in more ways than one. However, on the other hand, the law goes against something that Scripture is, and Jesus would have likely been, against. The answer, especially in this situation, is easier than you might think. We don’t. Or rather, we don’t need to yet. It would seem that some people forget that though this law passed we don’t have to take part in it.

By ignoring the law and not utilizing it, we are not breaking the law and yet we are not doing something that is against our faith. Yes, we have the right both biblically and politically to speak out against it, but for now no one is forcing us to abort any baby ever. Therefore, I think Jesus would simply say what he always says: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.” This law does not affect our ability to do these two things.

The answer?

While the easy answer is simply to ignore the law, I believe there is much more that we should be doing than that. No, it is not marching to Washington in protest, but you have that right. No, it is not burning down abortion clinics and yelling at doctors. Instead we need to educate and support. The question we really need to be asking is what do we do when someone gets pregnant who might not want to have a baby.

Do we throw them on some television show so that we can laugh at them? Do we brand the teenage girl who made a mistake with a “Scarlet A” and kick her out of youth group? What about excommunicating (either literally, or with our hearts) the woman who gets raped and ends up with an unwanted pregnancy? Do we tell the mother to be carrying a disabled baby that it is a mistake and she shouldn’t have to live with it? No, no, no and NO. We should be repulsed MORE that there are churches out there that do these kinds of things than we are about the law that allows such things.

Abortion is still a choice.

Abortion is STILL a choice (at least in America and New York where this seems to be the highlight area at the moment). As loving people, we need to help women and families in these situations to know that yes, something unwanted may have happened to them, but they themselves are still loved and welcome in society. Christians especially should be making women with unwanted pregnancies feel so supported that they do not even consider abortion as an option. Yes, that woman’s life is forever altered.

Yes, it is going to be hard, maybe even extremely hard, but how many women would choose to keep a baby if they had the knowledge that they would never struggle to provide for it financially (maybe we need a government bill that supports unwanted pregnancies after birth for extreme cases?). How many women would choose to keep a baby if they had the knowledge that they would never struggle to have a community of loving friends and allies to help her take care of the baby. How many women would choose to keep a baby if they had the knowledge that they could put it up for adoption right away and all her medical expenses were going to be covered by the government or her friends and family or church?

Yes, the government may be doing things we find deplorable, but at the same time we may be asking the wrong questions. We have to be asking what is truly pushing a woman to desire an abortion. Is she feeling ashamed? Unloved? Unable to provide for a child? Unwilling to accept the hardships of raising a child? Running from responsibility? “Taking the easy way out” of a mistake she’s made?

Sidenote

(Yes, I understand there are apparently medical situations where an abortion would seem to be the solution. However, it would also seem that such situations are very few and far between. More often than not, at least an attempt can be made to deliver the baby and I think this should be the course of action whenever possible)

At the end of the day, we need to be willing to love people regardless of their mistakes. We must also choose to live biblically regardless of what the government says. This is not just personal convictions, but the truth of God. When it comes to abortion, it is a law that we can choose to reject with no consequence. I believe this is the best and immediate response for Christians. Support pregnant women and continue to love those who are hurting and confused by whatever their life circumstance might be.

Finally, if men were to exercise more biblical principles less unwanted pregnancies might happen as well. (Biblical Manliness)

Further reading

The following is an excerpt from a former professor of mine, Dr. Ken Schenck. He talks about life before in Scripture.

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 “Other passages of interest have to do with God’s calling on the lives of individuals even when they are in the womb. In Jeremiah 1:5, God tells Jeremiah that he had plans for him when he was still in his mother’s womb. God similarly had plans for John the Baptist even before he was conceived (Luke 1:13), and he was filled with the Holy Spirit even while he was in the womb (Luke 1:15).

One psalmist speaks of how he was carefully made in his mother’s womb (Ps. 139:13). God saw the psalmist’s unformed body when he was still “in the depths of the earth” (139:15). “In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed” (139:16).

These passages certainly do not draw a line between individuals at the very earliest points of their existence and their later adult lives. They fit with the idea that God is concerned about us in the womb. God values life in the womb, and everything we know about the values of the biblical world suggest that it was and is important to preserve it as best we can. Modern medicine has made it possible to preserve it beyond the wildest dreams of anyone before very recent history, perhaps even before the sixth month.

Of course, God knows us before we are conceived too, and God has plans for some people well before they come into existence. These verses do not address the question of abortion directly. God allows some to die in the womb too. He does not plan for every unborn child to become a prophet or an apostle.” http://kenschenck.blogspot.com/search/label/abortion