The
Truth: What God and the Bible really says By Mother
Superior
Today we have Christian activists who
take part in demonstrations outside abortion clinics, some even
physically attacking the clinics patients. This isn't done in the
name of God it is acted out from self motivation, the false claim
that God says that abortion is wrong is a fiction and was
originally taken from the Catholic Church's edicts which insist
that birth control is not to be used. Women in the Church's eyes
are nothing more than sex machines, its philosophy is that women
should be giving birth to children on a production line
basis.
In this 'enlightened' day and age we have to ask ourselves how far
removed are we from ignorance. And how far into the darker ages are
we in actuality regressing into.
Before we can discuss the 'pros and cons' of abortion it might be
useful to consider the history of it.
History
"Over several centuries and in
different cultures, there is a rich history of women helping each
other to abort. Until the late 1800s, women healers in Western
Europe and the U.S. provided abortions and trained other women to
do so, without legal prohibitions.
The State didn't prohibit abortion until the 19th century, nor did
the Church lead in this new repression. In 1803, Britain first
passed antiabortion laws, which then became stricter throughout the
century. The U.S. followed as individual states began to outlaw
abortion. By 1880, most abortions were illegal in the U.S., except
those ``necessary to save the life of the woman.'' But the
tradition of women's right to early abortion was rooted in U.S.
society by then; abortionists continued to practice openly with
public support, and juries refused to convict them.
Abortion became a crime and a sin for several reasons. A trend of
humanitarian reform in the mid-19th century broadened liberal
support for criminalization, because at that time abortion was a
dangerous procedure done with crude methods, few antiseptics, and
high mortality rates. But this alone cannot explain the attack on
abortion. For instance, other risky surgical techniques were
considered necessary for people's health and welfare and were not
prohibited. ``protecting'' women from the dangers of abortion was
actually meant to control them and restrict them to their
traditional childbearing role. Antiabortion legislation was part of
an antifeminist backlash to the growing movements for suffrage,
voluntary motherhood, and other women's rights in the 19th
century."
Comparing this information to biblical references one sees a
completely opposing viewpoint and stance concerning abortion.
What the Bible says
Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of
cursing,
and the priest shall say unto the woman,
The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people,
when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to
swell;
And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy
bowels,
to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot:
And the woman shall say, Amen, amen. Numbers
5:21-22
The above reference is an early
description of an abortion that was condoned and practised by the
Levite priesthood and was also Judaic law. Another reference quite
clearly informs us that God approves abortion.
In Hosea we read: As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a
bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.
Hosea 9:11 and again we read Hosea asking God to make women's wombs
miscarry Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a
miscarrying womb and dry breasts. Hosea 9:14 And finally also in
Hosea we read: Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they
shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay
even the beloved fruit of their womb. Hosea 9:16.
This gives us a clear indication that God sees abortion as not
being wrong, and that if anyone calls upon His name, then Jehovah
will comply to whatever the supplicant wishes.
Still unhappy?
The bible also mentions miscarriage: When men strive together, and
hurt a woman with child, so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no
harm follows, the one who hurt her shall be fined, according as the
woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges
determine.Exodus 21:22. It stands to reason that one instance
cannot be without the other.
Stages and development of a foetus*
An ovum is a form of life.
An ovum is not a human person.
A spermatozoa is a form of life.
A spermatozoa is not a human person.
At or shortly after conception, a fertilized ovum is a form of
life.
An embryo is a form of life.
A fetus is a form of life.
A newborn baby is a form of life.
A newborn baby is a human person.
Somewhere during the nine months between the ovum-spermatozoa stage
and the newborn baby, human personhood begins.
Some different beliefs about when personhood begins are: *
A few hours after conception when the ovum splits into two cells.
Some regard human personhood as being defined by the act of cell
splitting.
About 12 days from conception when pregnancy begins. i.e. when the
fertilized ovum has developed to the blastocyst stage and has
attached itself to the lining of the uterus.
About two weeks from conception when a yellow streak develops in
the embryo. This will later become the neural tube which will be
protected by the backbone. Once this develops, it is impossible for
the embryo to split into a pair of identical twins. The concept of
personhood implies a single entity; twins would be two persons.
Before this stage of development, the embryo may still split and
become two persons.
3 weeks from conception when the embryo is about 2 mm long and has
started to develop visible external body parts.
4 weeks when its heart starts to beat.
6 weeks from conception, when brain waves can be first
sensed.
2 months, when the fetus has lost its neck structures which
resemble gill slits, and its face resembles that of a
primate.
3 months the fetus begins to "look like" a baby.
4 months when the fetus' face has developed to the point where one
can tell one fetus from another.
About 24 weeks, when the fetus becomes viable, (i.e. able to live
outside the womb).
6 months or later, when its brain has developed to a particular
degree.
Scientists have: " measured brain-wave patterns like those during
dreaming at 8 months gestation." Carl Sagan discusses this point in
his final book. He suggests that the one factor that is uniquely
human is our ability to think. Thus we become persons when the
cerebral cortex is in place and "large-scale linking up of neurons"
begins. This does not start until the 24th to 27th week of
pregnancy -- the sixth month.
Some reasons why women abort a
child*
She feels that she does not have the
financial resources to bring up a child.
She is pressured by the father or by her parents to have an
abortion.
She feels that she lacks the emotional and physical strength to go
through another pregnancy and raise the child.
She believes that raising an additional child would short-change
her existing children.
She is a student and/or without a partner; she feels that raising a
child would be too difficult and disruptive at her time in
life.
She doesn't want other people to know that she became
pregnant.
A child would interfere with her career or education.
She is a rape or incest survivor and does not want to bear a child
that was conceived in violence.
She may fear physical abuse from a parent if they learn of her
pregnancy.
She may fear being tossed out onto the street by a parent if they
learn of her pregnancy.
In the case of a multiple pregnancy, the woman may be faced with
giving birth to more newborns than she feels she can deal with. She
may elect to go through a selective reduction procedure, which
involves the killing of one or more fetuses.
A small minority of abortions are sought for medical reasons*
The fetus might have been hurt by exposure to high levels of toxic
chemicals, medications that might be dangerous to the fetus,
alcohol, drugs, etc. They may cause the fetus to be genetically
damaged.
Some girls become pregnant at a very young age, when pregnancy can
be dangerous.
The fetus has a genetic defect or other health problem. Virtually
all couples who find that the fetus suffers from Down's Syndrome,
or a similar defect, elect to have an abortion.
The woman may develop eclampsia. This involves a sudden increase in
blood pressure, and onset of seizures. The results can be fatal to
both the woman and fetus. This used to be called toxemia of
pregnancy.
In the case of a multiple pregnancy, some or all of the fetuses
will end up with various long-term health problems; some may not
survive at all. Physicians will sometimes recommend a selective
reduction process where one or more fetuses are killed in order
that the remaining fetuses would be born normal.
Summary
One of the Ten Commandments is: thou
shalt not kill which seemingly makes abortion a moot point. However
a foetus is not a child, and the time, and stage when the creation
in the womb has become a sentient being has not been determined and
is still under discussion today.
Even so, regardless of human translation on whether abortion is
right or wrong negates the 'philosophy' of the Bible and the
inerrant word of God. It should be known that none of us knows the
mind of God and who are we to say what is right or wrong when the
bible gives us evidence that abortion is condoned.
From a humanistic point of view abortion isn't an easy choice for a
woman to make. But ultimately it is her decision. No man or woman
has the right to take away an another's choice. Our bodies are not
owned by others, we own our own bodies and have responsibility for
it.
God condones abortion unless He says otherwise….
Appendix
* quote taken from feminist.com: Linda
Gordon's Woman's Body, Woman's Right, rev. ed. (New York: Penguin
Books, 1990).
* * Courtesy of religious tolerance.org