All in this sobering discussion are concerned with the life of a human. No woman wants to undergo an abortion. She finds herself in a position where she cannot see how she can care for a child. It may be a physical situation. It may be an economic situation. She sees that any assistance offered to her during the nine months will cease when the child is delivered. Some have said that the right to life ends at birth. When the child is “in arms”, the mother is thrown into a system with no maternal support for healthcare or childcare needed to return to the workplace. Not to mention the lack of support for those poor souls at the edge of society – the homeless, the addict or the severely mentally ill.
Nature, herself, performs abortions. If there are serious genetic problems with the embryo or the womb support system, the body discharges the fetal matter. If the embryo lodges in the Fallopian tube, the pregnancy is doomed and the mother’s life is in medical danger. Is attending to this medical condition performing an abortion?
Roe v. Wade concerned termination of pregnancy in the first trimester – the term in which most miscarriages occur. From biblical times until recent times of modern medical miracles, that which was carried in the womb was not considered a baby until the quickening. When the pregnant woman felt the first stirring in her belly, the womb was considered to contain life. In the gospel of Luke, it could be said that the visitation of Mary brought the unborn John to life with a “jump for joy.”
Old Testament law ignored the state of a woman’s womb after intercourse. If she had conceived during an adulterous pairing, she was still stoned to death. During military action by the Israelites, the order was often given to bash the newborns’ heads against stone walls. The enemy infants were a threat to the People of the Most High. There is no gray area here. These infants so brutally destroyed had been birthed.
The purpose of this post? The issues surrounding abortion are not as clear as those who try to legislate morality posture. If a woman chooses to terminate her pregnancy, it is her responsibility to bear the moral consequences. If carrying the pregnancy to term will do harm to her other children, why should the existence of the living children be endangered? This is more so if the mother’s health is put at risk.