The Christian Position on Abortion

Clear Biblical Points

Taking innocent life is wrong. God detests hands that shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17).

'Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.' (Psalm 82:4)

'Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.' (Exodus 23:7)

Christians must even do good to those who hate us (Luke 6:27). Should we not do good to our own children?

Abortion is normally a form of child sacrifice for the sake of a better career or more money. You cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:24).

Serious sin among believers is not to be tolerated, as Paul made extremely clear (1 Corinthians 5). We must not sit back and say nothing if a believer contemplates an abortion or has one.

We must let our light shine before others, not hide it (Matthew 5:15–16).

Why We Must Do More

Abortion Is Rampant in the Church

According to one article, 40% of people who get abortions in the US claim to be regular churchgoers. According to another survey, 45% of people claiming to be Christians believe abortion should be legal in most cases! There are many other statistics like these. This state of affairs is shocking. How are so many church-goers deceived?

I know for certain that most churches avoid talking in strong terms about abortion, and if the shepherds do not take care of their flocks, how can we be surprised that so many are deceived? Clearly, the attitude of 'keeping politics away from the pulpit' (not speaking about political issues in sermons) is helping sin to thrive in the church, and do not forget, you who are preachers, that the cowardly shall be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8).

We Have Public Power

We have a responsibility to promote goodness wherever we can, so our voting and political actions are important. Though serious Christians are a minority, so are pro-abortion radicals, yet many conservative Christians simply vote for who they think 'has a shot'. Instead of making themselves heard, they just side with the lesser of two evils. Minorities can make things happen, and we influence this country to be less evil by making abortion our voting priority.

For those who object to voting based solely on abortion, preventing the taking of innocent life is far more important than lower taxes, or indeed, anything else. You cannot argue with this. Therefore, do not vote for a party which is happy to have abortion remain legal up till birth in New Zealand (National, Labour, Greens, etc.).

What We Can Do

Rally Support For Speaking about It at Church

We who are in Christ are members of Christ's body, yet because so many church memebers only come across other believers during the Sunday sermon, how can they be corrected if the preacher will not bring up their faults? Thus, the holiness of the church heavily depends on the preachers, but many of them know that preaching certain things will shrink the congregation, and they are afraid.

Therefore, encourage your preachers, perhaps even assuring them that if speaking the truth costs them their livelihood, you will do everything you can to help. Offer a place to stay if you can. Yet if he is stubborn, you must speak to the others in church. If they also will not hear you, it might be time to find people more interested in following Christ.

Have the Courage to Remove Abortion Supporters from the Church

If a person makes it known that he or she supports murder (abortion), it seems obvious to me that we need to follow our instructions on disfellowship (Matthew 18:15–20, 1 Corinthians 5:9–13). They should be rebuked privately, then in front of a few, and then before the church, if they refuse to repent at each turn. Also, do not be fooled: casting a vote for an evil thing is itself evil, so no one who would vote to allow murder is innocent, whatever their so-called private views.

Make it your priority when voting.

Time and again, I have heard otherwise solid Christians say that they will vote for a party which will go on allowing abortion, but which will provide us some benefits. Their justification is that this party will actually have a chance at winning, and they might as well not waste a vote. Are we that few in number? Are Christians so outnumbered that we would be unable to make a sound if we banded together? Is it not obvious that proptecting innocent life should be our priority? Why then, are so few of us together on this issue?

Talk Women We Know Out of Abortion

First, know your stuff. Do your research on the arguments that pro-abortion people use (see Answers to Excuses). Do not dare give the excuse that you are not an intellectual person: you must use what intellect you have for Christ, however much that is.

Now if a believer you know is self-righteous or proud about her impending abortion, do not be gentle. Rebuke her sharply, as Jesus rebuked the self-righteous Pharisees, and as Paul told Timothy to do, and as the prophets and the apostles exemplified many times. Do not be fooled into thinking that it is never loving to call someone out for her wickedness directly. Tough love is sometimes all that will work.

If a believer or non-believer appears to be timidly considering or choosing an abortion, do not be too harsh, but do not hide the truth either. Assure this woman that if she makes the right choice, not only is there much help for her (pregnancy resource centers), but that you personally will do what you can, if indeed, this is possible. Remind her also that if she takes the life of her own child, she will regret it horribly, as there are few worse things a person could do. I would also emphasise that if she does this thing, she should not give up but turn to the only one who can redeem her.

Organise Flyer Drops

Whether it is outside churches or outside a school, you never know whose heart will change upon understanding the truth.

There is a flyer on this website for the last New Zealand election. You could use it as a starting point. It was made with Canva. I will update it soon.

Support Pregnancy Centres

These need financial support and labour. Be a zealous and active member of Christ, that your reward might be great.

Answers to Excuses

Personhood

The personhood argument for abortion goes like this: Since a baby in the womb cannot feel pain, is not able to survive on its own, and probably cannot reason, it is not really a 'person'. It is not like us (yet); it may not even be any more complicated than a plant if you kill it early enough, so what is the harm in killing it? Oddly enough, many pro-abortion people would screech if I stomped on the stem on a young native plant, and if I said, 'What? It's just a clump of cells; it didn't even have any leaves yet!', their anger would not abate. But I digress.

Need I point out that this attitude is firstly a refusal to acknowledge the future in comically stupid fashion? If I were to destroy my father's classic car because it could not even drive yet and did not have wheels, I do not think the courts would side with me because it was 'not yet a real car'. It is also strange for people who are normally atheists to say that 'lumps of cells' are disposable, since to them, that is what all humans are at every stage. If they admit we are more than matter, they have lost the argument doubly. Finally, to imply that murder is acceptable because of a lack of pain is equally inane, though I am sure serial killers and rapists who drug their victims will be delighted at the news.

To some nonbelievers, this reasoning does not matter. They do not believe that all human life is precious in principle. They only treat people kindly who they deem worthy of kindness, and since they have not thought through this subject, they are often easily swayed by emotional propaganda in popular culture (from the media and politicians). Hence, they have compassion for pregnant women, but they have no compassion for disabled babies, which is why children with down syndrome have been murdered in the womb to the point where almost none are being born in several countries.

It is also ordinary to view life as nothing more than a vehicle for pleasure, and suffering as to be avoided at all costs, meaning that the most 'moral' thing to do in the minds of these cretins is to kill a person who experiences a lot of suffering or hardship and not much pleasure—by some arbitrary standard. We do indeed live in a hedonistic culture, and due to this reasoning, teenagers are allowed to kill themselves with state permission in Holland if a doctor is willing to say that it is justifiable due to 'psychiatric problems'.

I should not need to say that all of this is clearly evil. We ought not take human life, no matter how small, especially when it is our own flesh and blood, so it is devilish to kill a baby in the womb. The baby should not have to prove its worth; we already know what it is—one of us, created in God's image, and valuable for that reason. It is not like an adult yet, but we ought to try to ensure that it will become a person we can have relationships with, similarly to how we hope nonbelievers we know will one day join us in the Lord.

Rape

• The child is innocent. Taking innocent life is wrong.
• Jesus called us to take up our crosses, not to give in to adversity.
• We must love one another. 'Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.' (1 Cor 13:6–8). To kill a helpless baby would be do the opposite of all this: to hate.
• Killing the baby will only cause the mother more pain. How could we as Christians encourage someone to sin so gravely? The guilt eats women up, as one would expect.
• Rape is very rarely the reason for abortion (about 1% of the time).

Ectopic pregnancy

Severe harm by ectopic pregnancy is extremely rare. Most of these babies die before the pregnancy is known.

Killing a baby that is ectopic is not morally equivalent to killing it for no reason, since the baby cannot survive when growing in the wrong place but may kill the mother.

Poverty

Poverty does not mean certain doom to a person. We hope for salvation, not mere comfort on Earth.

Riches that are often more dangerous than poverty from the Christian perspective.

Unreadiness of parent(s)

See poverty. Difficulty is part of life. We live in a fallen world. Killing a child to spare him/her difficulty is not mercy but heinous sin.

Legislating Morality

Some will say, 'You can't legislate morality', but all laws have moral premises. For example, the laws against theft take the moral stance that theft is wrong.

The law cannot stop all evil, but that is certainly one of the purposes God intends for authorities.

'For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer'—Romans 13:4

Therefore, we should definitely advocate for righteous laws.

But what about autonomy? 'My body, my choice'.

Should you be allowed to mutilate the baby while it is in the womb so that it will spend its entire life disabled? If not, then why should you be allowed to kill it?

Resources