This is a message that was preached at Queen Street Baptist Church.
Introduction
The Ten Commandments have been a huge influence in the development of morals in western society. Each of the commandments are important, but the commandment against killing would seem to be the least controversial. Thou shalt not kill. Or as more accurately found in most translations, you shall not murder.
Why this distinction? The Old Testament does include teaching that allows for the killing of some human life. There are commands about how to engage in warfare, which necessarily leads to some killing. There are also commands that include capital punishment. Now it can be argued about the role of both these means of death in the New Testament era, but that is not our purpose here. Rather, I’m simply stating that there are biblical examples for taking the life of a human that is acceptable. This should lead us to reflect on if there are any other exceptions.
We live in a society where abortion is both legal and socially acceptable. We also live in a society where euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are soon to be embraced. Can we include these as reasonable exceptions to the command against killing if they are done for compassionate reasons? We need to reflect deeply on this.
Abortion
I need to begin by saying that my purpose is not to condemn women who have had abortions. I do not know if anyone here has had an abortion. I believe in grace and healing. I believe in educating people rather than condemning people. I hope that my words are heard in that context.
My first experience in the pro-life/pro-choice debate took place in a seminar at Brock University. I was not a Christian at the time. The topic of our seminar was abortion. I had been on the fence on the issue but had been moving toward the pro-life position. When I indicated that I was leaning toward pro-life, I suddenly found myself facing fierce anger from the female students. Being against abortion was seen as an attack on women. The only reason they could see that a person would be pro-life was if they hated women and were determined to take away all of the hard fought freedoms and rights that women had achieved. I was shocked by the level of anger. I was also surprised at the accusation of being anti-woman. I was not even thinking about limitations on women. I simply thought that if I was a fetus, which I once was, I would rather that my mother not have an abortion. Not as punishment for my mother but so I could live. Since then, my pro-life views have evolved, but they still do not contain any anti-women content. Since about half of babies conceived are female, I would say that I’m very pro-woman.
Since about half of babies conceived are female, I would say that I’m very pro-woman. Share on X
I want to tackle another misconception. It is often assumed that the pro-life position is religious and that is one of the reasons that view should be suppressed. But in my case, I came to my view while I was an atheist. In my view, this life was the only life that anyone ever had. There was no afterlife to make up for anything bad that happened here. Because of that, I thought it only fair that every baby conceived have the opportunity to enjoy this one chance. It seemed to make sense from an atheist worldview.
Having said all that, there are many people who strongly argue that abortion is acceptable and should remain legal. Here are some of the questions that come up.
For some people it is a matter of when life starts. For people who are pro-life, the answer is at conception. For others, it is some other later date. However, aside from morning after pills, most abortions take place when both camps agree that there is some life going on there.
For some, the key is that the fetus is part of the woman’s body. Because of this, the woman can choose to do with her body as she wishes. We would not interfere with a woman making choices about any other parts of their body, why would we interfere with her choice about a fetus? One of the problems with this is that research has demonstrated that the fetus has a distinct DNA from the mother and so is in a different category from any other part of her body.
For some others, there is agreement that the baby is alive and has its own DNA. What makes abortion acceptable is that it is not yet a person. Personhood and being a human being are seen as different things. A person is aware of their own life and have preferences of if they live or die. A baby would not be a person until they are at least a month old or later and so even infanticide should be considered a possibility. This category of personhood can also be used to determine if the elderly, the sick or the disabled have the right to life that people who are clearly persons do. This is very frightening. Taking away rights by placing artificial labels has only led to harm.
Why am I pro-life? There are two main reasons. The first is biblical. There is the command not to kill innocent life. But even more important than that is the biblical witness to the value of human life. I think of passages like this from Psalm 139:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; our works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:14-15)
And there is this word to the prophet Jeremiah:
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. (Jeremiah 1:5)
But I also am pro-life from personal circumstances. Our two oldest children are on the severe end of the autism spectrum. Our three youngest children, which we have adopted, were unwanted pregnancies born to a woman in difficult circumstances. To many, all five of our children would have been prime candidates for abortion and yet I’m so thankful that they are alive.
Euthanasia
Somewhat related to this topic is that of euthanasia. What is euthanasia? The word itself simply means “good death,” and so by literal definition, we would all agree with it. The question is, what is a good death? Euthanasia in its current meaning means to put to death a person that it is felt does no longer have a good quality of life. Euthanasia is when the doctor administers a substance that ends the life. Physician assisted suicide has similar motives, but in this case it is the doctor providing the substance to the patient and the patient administering it to themselves.
Euthanasia has a powerful emotional argument. We are to imagine a terminally ill patient who is suffering unbearable pain and it is urged that the only humane thing to do would be to end that life.
However, this worst case scenario is usually not the typical situation. Good quality palliative care with properly administered pain medication can provide an end of life situation that is much different from those promoted by supporters of euthanasia.
But what about those who are terminally ill? They can no longer do the things they want to do? What is their quality of life? The problem is that we measure quality of life by what people can do. That is not the way God measures value. We are valuable by being created in the image of God and being able to interact in relationships. A terminally ill person may be frustrated by their limitations, but that does not mean that they can’t bless other people with their wisdom and love.
Something else that we need to keep in mind is that we have the benefit of learning from the experiences of Belgium and the Netherlands, which have had legal euthanasia for years. We can see that it has moved far from terminally ill people in unbearable pain. Now you do not have to be terminally ill or to be physically sick in order to request and be granted euthanasia. Not only that, there is evidence that the patient no longer has to request or even be informed of the doctor’s intention to euthanize. If a doctor feels it is a hopeless case and they need the room in the hospital, the doctor can just decide to euthanize the patient.
To make things more complicated, there is a difference between active and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia is the administering a substance that will end of life. Passive euthanasia is when the decision is made withhold treatment, whether medication or breathing assistance. Passive euthanasia is much different and I do not see that as being wrong. Thirty-five years ago, my aunt collapsed after a brain aneurysm. She never regain consciousness and was considered brain dead. My mother had to make the decision to disconnect her from life support and I believe she made the right decision. She allowed nature to take its course.
Conclusion
Abortion and euthanasia are difficult topics. But they are important and need to be discussed. There are different aspects of the issue that need to be raised. But one of them is what the Bible says about life. Life is important and valuable. Life is a gift. The value of life is not dependent on what the individual can do. From the time that life begins in the mother’s womb to the last breath on our death bed, we have value. We do not need people to label us as persons. Simply being a living human means we are created in God’s image. That is a good reason for us to take life seriously. We need to stand up for life. But we need to do it respectfully and with love.
The value of life is not dependent on what the individual can do. Share on X
