Abortion

Recently I looked into the issue of abortion for my research paper. In the view of the sanctity of life, I took the stand that abortion is wrong. Wrong is too mild a word. The paper was suppose to support my stand from the perspective of medical science, theology, psychology, sociology and any other '-logy' there is.


Abortion is not a new topic and will be around for a long time more. It is much debated about in what's been called the 'abortion rights debate', which started during the Roe v. Wade case in 1973. One would need to think about many perspective of the issue. There is the health issues. Did you know that abortion is 4 times deadlier than childbirth and is linked to breast cancer? Another question that pops up is whether a fetus is a person. And although psychologists argue otherwise, biological science has concluded tat at conception, an embryo is a full human being and tat a fetus have its own characteristics and habits. Others argue that women should have the right over their own body, but I wonder about the baby's right to life. The bible has never addressed the issue of abortion per se because it was unthinkable, but does emphasize on the sanctity of life to God. We can also see that the laws of abortion varies in different nations depending on the culture and situation of their country. I suppose one cannot impose their beliefs to another culture or situation.

“There is something truly odd about the discussion of abortion rights. The discussion is a bit one-sided. All of the participants in the debate are alive, and the interested parties whose lives depend on the outcome of the debate are all absent — either dead or about to be killed.” By Walter Sneider, Abortion - Deadly Politics.

And as much as I wanna say it is clear to me that abortion is not natural and should not be the 'choice' of selfish women, when it comes to cases like rape or life-threatening situations, I really don't have the answer. Every stand becomes gray. All I know is that that God is sovereign and merciful.

But why can't we talk about the real issue behind abortion? Is abortion an excuse for us to live life promiscuously and flamboyantly, without a care and responsibility in the world? Let's not try to fight the symptom, let's find the root problem. There is a bigger moral dilemma that our world is facing. 93% of abortion cases are for selfish conveniences - finances, too old, too young, not ready, inconvenient, not married, etc. Over a million induced abortions in the States, and almost 500,000 in India (year 2000). That's insane!

John Willke, president of the National Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati, asked the right question when he asked “Since when does anyone's right to live depend upon someone else wanting them”

The church has always been accused of being judgmental, scaring away half the women facing the consequences of their mistakes. Maybe we need to step up and show the same kinda grace that Jesus showed the women caught in adultery. Maybe we can educate prevention and wholesome relationships and lifestyles, like what Focus on the Family is doing with young people through 'No Apologies'.

I don't wanna stand and tell a young girl not to abort because it's wrong. I wanna tell her about the wonderful life that God has install for her if she never walk down that road in the first place.