I. THE MORALITY OF ABORTION

The first category of evaluation is the morality of abortion. The abortion issue is a moral issue. Anything that the Bible declares to be either right or wrong is a matter of morality. I will give you three Bible reasons why abortion is wrong morally.

A. The Start of Life at Conception. The biggest question in the abortion issue is, Where does life begin --at conception or at birth? There is a concept presented in Scripture with the phrase "a woman with child." It simply indicates that the woman was carrying a child. We often call it a fetus. The Latin term "fetus" means that which is brought forth, progeny. Let me ask you theologically, when does a person become a child of God? The answer is at spiritual conception. The Bible calls it a new birth, but don’t let that confuse you. The seed of the Word of God must be implanted within the soul. When that seed penetrates the hardness of the human soul there is spiritual conception--the soul is born again. The Spirit of God takes up residency within the human spirit. There is no time lapse between spiritual conception and spiritual birth. Physically, however, there is a lapse of nine months between conception and the birth of the child.

At the conception of the Lord Jesus Christ, the angel announced to Mary that her cousin Elizabeth had conceived a son (Luke 1:36); he was not yet born; he was in the sixth month, but was called a son! Upon her arrival at Cousin Elizabeth’s house the record is that the babe leaped in her womb (Luke 1:41,44). The word babe brefoV is used not only of a child in the womb, but a child who has been born. The shepherds are told to find the babe lying in a manger (Luke 2:12, 16). It is impossible to think of the Lord Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary as a "no account" fetus, without life and humanity. He is a babe in the womb of Mary, even as John was a babe in the womb of Elizabeth. Life begins at conception.

B. The Stigma of Being Childless. A second reason that abortion is wrong is that there was a stigma to being childless. Especially in the OT there was a negative prejudice about being childless or barren. Examples abound: there is Rachel, Hannah, even Elizabeth. It was a privilege to bear children. Mothers who were granted children were blessed of God. By way of spiritual application the Christian who goes about childless carries a stigma. We have been called to fruitfulness (Jn 15). I am afraid that we are in the abortion business by not being a witness and winning souls.

C. The Strangeness of Casting (or Miscarrying) Your Young. Another reason why I know that abortion is morally wrong is because of the strangeness of casting (or miscarrying) your young. The language is the same as the cattle casting her young calf (Job 21:10). To not cast the young was considered a blessing from God. The illustration (using the same Hebrew word) is given of the vine casting her fruit before the time (Mal 3:11). Revelation speaks of the fig tree bearing untimely figs (Rev 6:13). The illustrations are all in a negative light. Casting a young one is strange; it is out of the ordinary; it is not normal.

D. The Sacrifice of a Child’s Life. A fourth reason why I know that abortion is wrong morally is because the Bible gives at least two examples of the sacrifice of a child’s life by an "abortion type" circumstance.

1. Purging of a Nation - The first example comes out of the birth of the nation of Israel when she was yet in Egypt. God was providing for a great prophet to lead the children of Israel out of bondage, namely the man Moses. The Egyptian king ordered all males to be murdered. The midwives who feared God saved them alive (Exo 1:17). Moses was one of such boys to survive the terrible reign of the Pharoahs.

2. Passing Through the Fire - The second example of sacrificing children is that of allowing children to "pass through the fire." This was a religious act of offering children as human sacrifice to the gods such as Molech (Jer 32:35). Israel was specifically commanded not to allow this to take place within the nation (Lev 18:21).

All of these moral reasons why abortion is wrong are built on the principle of the sanctity of life. God is the author of life (Psa 139). He is the only One legitimately allowed to give and take life. The OT repeatedly talks about the shedding of innocent blood. Most of the contexts deal with the blood of the prophets, but there are enough of them that refer to the fatherless and widows to tell us that God values life.

The modern emphasis upon evolution (the rejection of God) has brought us to the conclusion that life is worthless, after all, I am just an animal. There is more value put upon the life of an endangered species than there is placed upon the endangered lives of little unborn children. What stupidity is harboured in the modern mind!

II. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ABORTION

Not only do we find moral reasons why abortion is wrong, but find psychological reasons why abortion is wrong. There are at least four emotional reasons why abortion is wrong -

A. A life is terminated.

B. Guilt is real.

C. Emptiness is felt.

D. Testimonies are given.

III. THE LEGALITY OF ABORTION

The third category regarding the matter of abortion is the legality of abortion. There are at least three legal reasons why abortion is wrong.

A. It is murder. The first legal reason why abortion is wrong is because it is murder; it is the taking of a human life. The Bible plainly says, Thou shalt not kill, meaning murder. God is the giver and taker of life. Man has no business deciding on his own who should live and who should die. Not only is abortion wrong, but all of euthanasia is wrong. Granted there are tough decisions to make regarding pulling the plug of life support on a person who is existing as a vegetable. No one professes to know the answers to those questions. But the purposeful disposal of an unwanted being is cowardice, inhumane, and down right murderous. We have lost the value of human existence.

B. It is human sacrifice. Another legal reason why abortion is wrong is that it is nothing short of human sacrifice. Just like the OT person who offered his son or daughter in the fire to the false gods and sacrificed that life, so the man or woman who participates in abortion is making a human sacrifice of the life of a child to the god of pleasure or the god of convenience.

C. It is punishable by death. A third reason why abortion is legally wrong is that it is punishable by death. This, of course, is not so in modern America, but according to the Bible the killing of another life was punishable by death. A specific example is given in Exodus 21:22-23.

IV. THE RATIONALITY FOR ABORTION

The fourth category of evaluation in this matter of abortion is the rationality for abortion. Some folks try to reason their way into thinking that abortion is acceptable. Many reasons are given why abortion should be accepted. All of these reasons are irrational. There are, at least, seven irrational reasons that people give for abortion to be accepted. Along the way we have been making somewhat of an analogy to the matter of soulwinning.

A. I am too young. The claim that one is too young to have children is a claim of immaturity. If you are responsible enough to have sex out of wedlock, you are responsible to bear the consequences.

B. I am too old. The claim that I am too old could be from the perspective of irresponsibility as well. How much more maturity an older person can bring to the relationship than one who is younger. Most of the time the claim us uttered because a new, young life would cramp our style.

C. Children are too expensive. Yes, it costs to have children. The Bible teaches us to count the cost before we embark on any project. But the life of a child (person) is invaluable.

D. Children are too much responsibility. Yes, children are a big responsibility. Most of us learn too late that the responsibility is more than we can bear. We must rely upon the Lord who created the children to give the needed wisdom to raise them. PRAY.

E. There is potential sickness, disease, or death. The potential for sickness, disease, or death can be present with or without pregnancy! If you or the child might die, leave it in the hands of the Lord who is the giver and taker of life. Don’t try to play God in this situation.

F. I have been raped. This is a tough one. But if the life is that of a God created child, once again we have no right to take the life of that child. Granted the emotion of a rape is traumatic, but God can and will help you endure.

G. There is no father. I heard this reason recently. Many of these unwed mothers have no father for their children. But when we have no father the Lord will bear us up (Psa 27:10).