Why Christians Must Continue to Oppose Abortion
On December 1st the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments related to the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This case has once again put abortion back into the mainstream of cultural conversation. Every time that such conversations take place Christians are routinely accused of being obsessed with abortion or what women do to their bodies. For many in our society, it seems strange that Christians continue to oppose abortion even after fifty years have passed since the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. This can cause many well-meaning Christians to second guess themselves and question why Christians would continue to oppose abortion.
The Doctrine of the Imago Dei (Image of God)
Genesis 1:26-27: 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
One of the central doctrines of the Christian faith is what is commonly referred to as the imago dei. What does it mean to be made in the image of God? John MacArthur helpfully summarizes the Christian position: “Though human beings are not divine, the fact that they are created in the “image” and “likeness” of God carries significant truths. First, the image of God is affirmed for all persons—male and female alike. Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” While distinct genders, both male and female are equal as persons and equal in value. Second, even after the fall (see Genesis 3) all people still possess the image and likeness of God. This is affirmed in Genesis 5:1–3 for both male and female and for the offspring of Adam and Eve.”[1]
What the doctrine of the imago dei demands from Christians is that they see all of humanity as being made in the image of God and with that image carrying worth, dignity, and value. This means that they value the life in the womb and they value the one who has the womb. Each deserves protection as being image-bearers.
The imago dei is not limited to merely the mother and the child in the womb, it extends far beyond the womb. This doctrine extends from natural birth to natural death and it demands that Christians view humanity the way that God views them, as worthy of life.
Christians Believe That Life Begins at Conception
Psalm 139:13-16: 13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
What the Psalmist declares is that God has known people before they were born. God not only knows us, He formed us. There is an intricate knowledge of who we are by God. Not only does God have an intricate knowledge of us before we are born, we also learn that God has a plan for our lives.
Christians must remind the watching world that there is a sovereign God who has plans for the children who are aborted. He knew them and formed them. There are no “accident” babies in our world today. While parents may not have planned for them, make no mistake, in the eyes of God, there are no accidents.
An excellent example from Scripture is the prophet Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
What can we gather from this simple verse? Evidently not only did God know the prophet Jeremiah before he was born but he also had a plan to grow him in Godliness and had set him up to be a prophet and call the nation of Israel to repentance. All of this, we read in Scripture, was before Jeremiah was born.
The Need to Protect the Preborn
Beyond the Biblical argument of the imago dei what is the need to protect the life of the preborn child in the womb? Consider the following taken from the Petition for a Writ of Certiorari in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization:
Between five and six weeks’ gestation, an unborn human being’s heart begins beating.
An unborn human being begins to move about in the womb at approximately eight weeks’ gestation.
At nine weeks’ gestation, all basic physiological functions are present. Teeth and eyes are present, as well as external genitalia.
An unborn human being’s vital organs begin to function at ten weeks’ gestation. Hair, fingernails, and toenails begin to form.
At eleven weeks’ gestation, an unborn human being’s diaphragm is developing, and he or she may even hiccup. He or she is beginning to move about freely in the womb.
At twelve weeks’ gestation, an unborn human being can open and close his or her fingers, starts to make sucking motions, and senses stimulation from the world outside the womb.[2]
The petition continues to show how abortion is causing the unborn human being pain. It argues that the scientific evidence regarding the development of human brain structures is entirely uncontested in the literature. The scientific community unambiguously indicated that by 10-12 weeks’ last menstrual period, a human fetus develops neural circuitry capable of detecting and responding to pain.[3]
Finally, it is worth noting that the United States is only one of seven nations in the world that permits nontherapeutic or elective abortion on-demand after the twentieth week of gestation. In fact, seventy-five percent of all nations do not permit abortion after twelve weeks’ gestation, except (in most instances) to save the life and to preserve the physical health of the mother.[4]
The Need to Protect Women
Most arguments against abortion start and stop with the unborn human being but simply put, the argument cannot and must not stop there. Too often the women who have abortions performed are simply forgotten or not valued. If Christians hold to the doctrine of the imago dei they must demand protection against abortion on behalf of women. Again from the Petition for a Writ of Certiorari we learn:
The risk of a mother’s death from abortion at 16 to 20 weeks’ gestation is 35 times more likely than at eight weeks, and the relative risk of mortality increases by 38% for each additional week at higher gestations.[5]
One peer-reviewed study – led by a pro-abortion researcher—demonstrated that the risk of suicide was three times greater for women who aborted than for women who carried their pregnancies to term.[6]
Another peer-reviewed study demonstrates that women whose first pregnancies ended in abortion were 65% more likely to score in the high-risk range for clinical depression than women whose first pregnancies resulted in a birth, even after controlling for age, race, marital status, divorce history, education, income, and pre-pregnancy psychological state.[7]
The ramifications of allowing generation after generation of women to continue to abort unborn children and act as though we are doing women a service is appalling to say the least. Christians must continue to oppose abortion out of a sincere desire to care for and protect women.
Moving Forward
There are two fronts on which this conversation must move forward: civic responsibility and Christian responsibility.
Civically, America cannot be a humane, civilized society if its courts preclude lawmakers from imposing reasonable limits on the taking of innocent human life. Further, while the judiciary is ill-equipped to make specific and speedy policy decisions in response to constantly advancing medical and scientific data, state legislatures are well-suited to do exactly that. Particularly where there is genuine debate, legislatures can investigate, take testimony, and act promptly on the best information available.[8]
From the Christian the responsibilities are many. First, Christians must continue to oppose abortion out of response to protecting people made in the image of God. They cannot allow arguments about what led many women to choose abortion to sideline them from this opposition. Second, Christians must oppose abortion while simultaneously seeking to create avenues of social help for those who would choose abortion. There are a variety of economic and social factors that women cite that led them to choose abortion and Christians cannot allow themselves to ignore those issues while opposing abortion. Christians recognize the limits of the state and the repeated calls from the Scriptures to care for humanity must be heard. Finally, Christians must develop a healthy and robust ministry of foster care, respite care, and adoption. This multi-pronged vision must be developed as we work toward ending abortion in this country. While we oppose abortion now we must be ready to help those who we hope and pray will choose life in the coming days.
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[1] John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, eds., Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 410–411.
[2] Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392 www.supremecourt.gov (The Supreme Court June 15, 2020). Retrieved November 8, 2021, 7.
[3] Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392 www.supremecourt.gov (The Supreme Court June 15, 2020). Retrieved November 8, 2021, 10.
[4] Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392 www.supremecourt.gov (The Supreme Court June 15, 2020). Retrieved November 8, 2021, 9.
[5] Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392 www.supremecourt.gov (The Supreme Court June 15, 2020). Retrieved November 8, 2021, 2.
[6] Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392 www.supremecourt.gov (The Supreme Court June 15, 2020). Retrieved November 8, 2021, 23. The information comes from D.M. Fergusson et al., Abortion in Young Women and Subsequent Mental Health, 47 J. Child Psychology & Psychiatry 16 (2006).
[7] Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392 www.supremecourt.gov (The Supreme Court June 15, 2020). Retrieved November 8, 2021, 23-24. The information comes from J.R. Cougle et al., Depression Associated with Abortion and Childbirth: A Long-Term Analysis of the NLSY Cohort, 9 Med. Sci. Monitor 157 (2003).
[8] Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392 www.supremecourt.gov (The Supreme Court June 15, 2020). Retrieved November 8, 2021, 25-26.