Abortion is a lie from its beginning to its end and at every place in-between. There have been over 55 million abortions done in the United States since Roe vs. Wade. Over 55 million lives lost to a lie. I would like to give an overview of three of the most powerful lies of the abortion industry.
Lie #1: Unborn babies are not full human beings
Is the unborn a human being? This is one of those questions that should be simple, but has been made complicated by the pro-abortion agenda. Whenever the culture wants to relegate a group of people to property the first question asked is, “Are these people fully human?”
The reason we ask this question is because we generally believe all human beings have the right to life and freedom. Our nation is founded on this belief:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.- Declaration of Independence
If the people we want to possess as property can be proven to be fully human then they hold what we recognize as the natural God-given rights of all humans, that of life and freedom. If their humanity can be denied, their rights to life and freedom can be denied and it becomes easy to relegate them to property.
Slaves and aborted babies unite
A recognized example of this is American slavery where African-Americans were denied their personhood because of the color of their skin and made property to be bought, sold, worked, used, and abused.
African-Americans did not have a legal leg to stand on for protection because they were judged by the law to be less than human.
We now look back at that time in American history as an injustice. We wonder how the slave traders and plantation owners were unable to see the full humanity in the African-American standing in front of them.
We shake our heads in disgust that something like a person’s skin color could be used to deny their God-given rights. And as we cast our judgment on the people of that time, does that same judgment not return on our culture unable to see the humanity of the unborn?
It baffles me we argue life does not begin at conception. When does anything start? At the beginning. Why would life not start at the beginning? Why would it start somewhere in the middle or down the road?
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On the contrary, conception is the precise moment human life begins and is humanity’s common ground. Whether black, white, Asian, Middle Eastern, Hispanic, or any other people group, we all begin the same way: the uniting of a sperm and egg.
Ultrasound and technology have made it possible for us to get a good picture of how a person begins life and develops. Life truly is a beautiful miracle!
From conception to birth
We now understand every time a sperm and ovum unite during fertilization a new and unique human being is created. All the DNA that will direct this new person’s continued growth and development throughout life is contained in that one cell.
A baby’s heart begins to beat as early as the 20th day after conception. As early as 7 weeks the baby is kicking, moving, and can suck its thumb. Evidence shows that as early as 8 weeks babies can feel pain.
At 12 weeks a baby’s taste buds work and their sex is identifiable. By 4 months the mother can often feel the baby’s movements. At 6 months the baby can open and close it’s eyes and can hear sounds outside the womb.
This amazing video, Conception to Birth, allowing us a glimpse into the womb and the growing and developing human inside. The video was created by Alexander Tsarias, an author and image-maker.
The images captured show us our own beginning–the beginning of our children, spouses, parents, friends, neighbors, and strangers from all around the world. Human life begins one way and at one point in time–conception.
Let the sea turtles live!!
There are many examples of the inconsistency of the argument that life does not begin in the womb, but here is one we have experienced.
My family and I enjoy vacationing on Hilton Head Island. We often see signs reminding us that sea turtles are an endangered species and are protected by the law. Interestingly, sea turtle eggs and nests are protected also. Why?
Because an adult sea turtles start as a developing sea turtle in the egg. The hatched sea turtle is not something different from the unhatched sea turtle. Both are sea turtles in different stages of development. Logic follows that to destroy a sea turtle egg is to destroy a sea turtle.
We understand this truth concerning sea turtles, but deny it concerning humans. It is a lie that abortion does not end a human life. It does.
Every human life aborted will never be repeated again. This is the tragedy of abortion: it is not a general, abstract loss of life, but a specific loss of unique and individual people.
Lie #2: Abortion gives women equality with men.
This is a popular claim by advocates of abortion. President Obama put forth this claim when he acknowledged the 39th anniversary of Roe vs.Wade as the chance to “continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.”
Women having equality with men in value and opportunity is a good thing, but does abortion give women this equality? Many would say abortion gives a woman full rights over her body.
No one is arguing a woman has rights concerning her body, but we are not talking about the woman’s body when we talk about abortion. We are talking about an entirely different person’s body. A person with their own brain, heart, blood, arms, legs, fingers, toes, and life. Equality does not give a woman the right to take another person’s life. Abortion has nothing to do with equality.
Unborn babies are not parasites feeding off an unwilling host, as many in the abortion industry would have us believe. Unborn babies are human beings created in the image of God. Their existence and development inside the womb of a woman is not unnatural or alien.
Cooperating with God
Pregnancy is not a disease or a sign something about a woman’s body is broken. A woman’s womb is not evil or her enemy. The ability for women to carry life inside their bodies is a privilege and God-given gift. Men can’t do it.
It is an honor solely belonging to women. Through pregnancy, God invites women to physically take part in His plan to create human life. He allows women to be an active player in the beauty and miracle that is every human being.
It is a lie that women must sacrifice the lives of their children in order to pursue their dreams and purpose. Quite opposite; instead of celebrating, an abortion undermines the value of women. It relegates women once again to that low place where we are only valued for our sexuality.
More than ever in modern society, women can be used and abused by men. Abortion ends the natural result of sex, human life, and in doing so it undermines the commitment and responsibility God meant to accompany sex. Sex without commitment and responsibility is never good for women.
Maybe you would argue, “But women are equal with men in that they can enjoy sex without commitment and responsibility too.”
Men who enjoy the sexual pleasure of a woman’s body and then abandon the life created through that sexual pleasure are not honoring God, women, or life. Abortion tells women that to be equal with men, we must also embrace the same idea of irresponsibility.
I would challenge this idea as not what God intended women or men to be. His plan for marriage, sex, and children is better for women and men than the kind of equality the abortion industry preaches.
Lie #3: Abortion is necessary for women’s reproductive health
Another fallacious argument put forth by the abortion industry is that abortion is good for women physically and emotionally. Abortion advocates have been known to say that abortion is as empowering as child-birth. They claim abortion should be considered part of a woman’s reproductive health and is no different than getting a tooth pulled.
Abortion is a consequential medical procedure and with it comes risks to a woman’s physical body and emotional well-being. You may go to American Pregnancy Association for more information on potential physical side effects.
We were reminded recently of the greatest physical risk of all in the botched abortion and death of 24-year old Tonya Reaves. This young woman hemorrhaged to death after having a second-trimester abortion at a Planned Parenthood clinic.
It appears Planned Parenthood may have been negligent in their care of Tonya Reeves and is accused of waiting five and a half hours before getting her emergency help. Yet the abortion industry continues to fight against standard medical regulations.
If an industry is truly concerned about what is best for women, one would think they would desire to meet the highest standard for medical care.
Abortion is the beginning of pain
There are also potential emotional side-effects of abortion, which is called Post Abortion Distress (PAD) in the industry. PAD looks different for each person and research has found there are many similarities in what women and men experience after an abortion. The most common symptoms of post-abortion distress are:
- Grief
- Regret
- Nightmares, dreams, hallucinations
- Anxiety
- Panic
- Depression
- Sadness
- Loss of femininity
- Parenting issues of living children
- Desire to replace aborted baby with subsequent pregnancy
- Increased drug and/or alcohol abuse
- Increased self-destructive behaviors (abusive relationships, eating disorders, cutting)
- Preoccupation with the due date of the aborted baby or the date of the abortion
- Numb emotionally
- Sleep disturbances
- Anger
- Inability to forgive those involved in their decision to abort and to accept God’s forgiveness themselves
- Feelings of helplessness and/or inferiority
- Marriage and relationship problems
- Suicidal thoughts and tendencies
For a more comprehensive list and better understanding of PAD and the research being done to better understand PAD you can go to Afterabortion.org and AbortionRisks.org.[1]
I facilitate an abortion recovery Bible study. It is there, through the testimonies of post-abortion women, I learned first hand what abortion can cost women emotionally and spiritually. The best description of the grief they carry is found in Matthew 2:18
A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more. – (ESV)
Many women describe living in fear of God’s punishment for their abortion. Any unfortunate circumstance is believed to be God’s punishment on them, which they regard as deserved. Therefore, they do not pursue His forgiveness or reconciliation. In their eyes, abortion is the unforgivable sin. The silence of the Church concerning post-abortion women and men reinforces this idea.
Through the Bible study the women and men are able to work through the truth concerning their abortion in the light of God’s Word and His promises.
Abortion is not the unforgivable sin. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ there is forgiveness and reconciliation. The Gospel is the hope for the post-abortion person. The abortion industry lies to women and men when they downplay the physical risks of abortion and ignore, or even deny, the emotional pain many carry after abortion.
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This article is simply an overview of the three major tenants of the abortion industry, which are lies. Much more could be said on all fronts. This article is in no way comprehensive, but my hope is it will make us look at abortion in a different way and God will move us to ask more questions, while entering into redemptive discussions.
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- [1] To hear women who suffered from PAD describe in their own words what they went through after their abortion you can visit Silent No More Awareness Campaign. ↩
