Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Should Abortion Be Allowed for Rape?

Here is an exchange the recently took place on Facebook about the issue of abortion:

One person wrote: My mom had me at age 19. I was conceived before my parents were married...and I’m so thankful my mom chose to give me life! This why I’m pro-life...I wouldn’t be here without my Mom determination to keep me. It was hard for my parents going through college with a baby, and living paycheck to paycheck. I will be a VOICE for the unborn for the rest of my life. ✝️💓

Anotgher Person Responsed: At the age of 19, she was an adult, and could make that decision because your father also chose to stay and help her.

What about that poor 11 year old girl whom was raped? Delivering a child in a CHILD'S body could kill her. Should she be forced to carry said fetus.


So what about this argument? Should abortion be allowed because of the horrors of rape and the dangers of pregnancy to a young body?

First, we need to make the basic case for why abortion is immoral and should be illegal in normal circumstances. 

Here is the case as laid out by Scott Klussendorf of the Life Training Institute.

  • Premise #1: It is wrong to intentionally kill innocent human beings.
  • Premise #2: Abortion intentionally kills innocent human beings.
  • Therefore, conclusion: Abortion is morally wrong.
The key point in this argument is the value of the unborn child. If the unborn child is a unique human life, then he or she should be afforded the same right to live as all other humans. If the unborn is not a human life, then what is it? What exactly confers humanity on a child? When do we / should we get human rights and when can they be taken away?

The science is clear that a new human life starts at conception and that any other point along the way is simply arbitrary decision making. If human rights are only conferred on us when someone wants us or we provide some value to society, then they can be taken away arbitrarily too. Protecting the lives of the innocent and defenseless whether they are in the womb or out of the womb is really an act of protecting the right to life for everyone.
Therefore, when talking about the issue of conceptions by rape, we are still talking about the lives of two people, the woman and the child. If the child is a human then the fact of how it was conceived does not take away its humanity before or after it is born. If it is not human before birth because of the crime done in the act of conception then are those people that are now born but who were conceived by rape not human? Of course, they are human and should have all the rights given to other humans, and so should those babies not yet born no matter how they were conceived.

I know that the primary argument though is the physical and mental health of the woman, especially in this argument about a young girl. Now in the case of physical danger to a woman, whether younger or older, then most pro-life people make the case that sometimes an unborn baby has to be killed in order to save the life of the mother. The option here though is not between 2 people living and 1 person living. Rather, in the case of severe physical danger to the mother, you would have two people dying or you can have one live. In cases of severe hypertension, cancer in the mother, or in particular ectopic pregnancies these hard decisions of life or death sometimes become medically necessary to save the one life that can be saved.

On the issue of mental health, it is not at all clear that the mental health of woman is helped by abortion in the cases of rape. Sometimes, the grief and pain of an assault can be compounded with guilt about the abortion. Furthermore, in the cases of young victims, abortion can be and is used by abusers to cover up the abuse, and makes it possible for the abuse to continue without being found out. Abortions providers sometimes will not even report the possible abuse when an adult brings in a young minor for an abortion. Here are some examples of that.

So to sum up my points: 
  • Being conceived by rape does not take away someone's humanity.
  • Medical necessity to end a pregnancy is the exception written into all pro-life legislation and is a clear moral exception.
  • It is not at all clear that abortion would help the emotional and mental state of a raped woman, and in some cases may even be used by abusers to cover up their crimes so they can continue their abuse.
Finally, this is not just an academic exercise for me. I have two daughters, one of whom is 11. I get the emotion behind thinking about your kids hurting and wanting to help them, but I am convinced that abortions would hurt them more than help them.

Furthermore, I have even had to counsel a young woman with an ectopic pregnancy and help her understand why there was no possibility of having her baby live. She was devastated because even at that early stage her unborn baby was her child. Every mother I know who has lost a baby due to miscarriage has grieved over the loss of their child.

If you know of someone with an unplanned pregnancy of any type, I would and many pro-life people would love to help them. We would help them with prenatal care, care after their child is born, and even find someone to adopt their baby if that is what they want.

If you have had an abortion and have guilt, remember that God will forgive you. There is no sin that He cannot forgive. We (pro-life people) do not hate you, and neither does God. We desire for you to find peace with Him.

        Wednesday, May 8, 2019

        Who needs to get the log out?

        Image result for log in your eye


        Traci and I were once on a long trip between relatives on Easter Sunday, when our kids were little. We stopped at a nearly empty restaurant (Taco Johns I think) for a meal and let our kids run get a little exercise by running around a little bit after having been cooped for the last several hours. The only other family had been sitting on the other side of the restaurant and left a few minutes later. As the woman of the family left the restaurant, she shouted back at us that we had the worst behaved kids she had ever seen, and then she quickly exited. 

        Now, how effective do you think that was at getting Traci and I to change our parenting style? Did she have our best or our kids best in mind as she did that? Do you think we felt lovingly corrected? If you were challenged on some "sin" of yours by a stranger, how would that make you feel? Would you listen or put much stock in what they said? Would you perhaps react defensively and begin to argue about your own righteousness or try to figure out a sin of theirs?

        Recently, I heard two people in a conflict like this. One person felt it was their responsibility to point out something wrong in the other person, but similar to our case above the manner in which it was delivered did not feel loving. Shockingly, the one being corrected did not take it well and got upset in response! As I reflected on it, I realized that I have been the person on both sides of this type of unloving correction.

        Now as a Christian it is not wrong to go to a brother or sister in the Lord and point out some flaw, and we are commanded in Matthew 18:15-18 that if someone has sinned against us we must go to them to point their sin. James 5:19-20 tells us that by correcting someone who is in error, we can be part of saving their soul from death. Furthermore, anytime we share the full gospel, it becomes necessary to tell people that God says that are sinners. 

        Therefore, we know that correcting someone is not in and of itself wrong, but how and why we do it make a huge difference in how the corrections will be received.  Matthew 7:1-5 challenges us to examine our motives if we desire to help someone else through critique. Here Jesus points out that we cannot help someone else with some minor character flaw (a speck in their eye) if we ourselves have major character flaws (a log in our eye.) 

        If I see something wrong in the world or in another person that I think needs to be corrected, the first step for me should be to begin examining myself. If I have major issues in my life, then the other person and everyone else will clearly see my hypocrisy for telling someone else to correct their lives while I am not even willing to examine myself let alone change. It will be clear that my motive for challenging you is not to help you, but rather to tear you down, probably to make myself feel better in comparison. 

        If you are the type of person who sees injustice in the world and sin in other people that needs to be corrected, God may have given that to you as a way to help others. On the other hand, He may have also given that impulse to you as a challenge for you to humble yourself and repent, so that you will be able to go to others in love. Jesus at times was very harsh in His criticisms, but he also wept in love over the sin of his people. He also welcomed anyone into his company who came humbly themselves from the prostitute to the Pharisee.

        Jesus came to change the world, and he uses us as agents of change. Let him change you first so that when you go to into the world your encouragement and challenges will be seen as acts of love, not hypocrisy.