FOUR WAYS TO KILL
AN UNBORN CHILD
Editorial
January/ February, 1972
Volume 7 Number 1
The moral issue of abortion is more than a question of
the freedom of a woman to control the reproductive functions of her body.
It is rather a question of those circumstances under which a human being
may be permitted to take the life of another. We believe that life is a
gift of God, and that God has conferred divine blessing upon unborn infants,
and that there are penalties for actions which result in the death of the
unborn.
For many centuries no decent person, and certainly no
devoted Christian, advocated killing an unborn baby. But today there are
those who would hasten to say that abortion can be a virtue. One sometimes
wonders what would have happened to Joseph and Mary - if they could have
visited some modern churchmen. If Mary would have told about her vision,
and insisted that Joseph was not the father of her expected child, the
clergyman would likely suggest psychiatric care, and raise the subject
of abortion. Surely none of us has the right to pass a death sentence on
a totally defenseless and innocent being.
It is surprising that the people who are eager to legalize
abortion, are often the same persons who mobilize and march to stop killing
on the battlefield. What is really hard to understand, is that the same
liberal church leaders who are crying civil rights, human rights, and human
dignity -- are now supporting the shedding of blood under the guise of
abortion. From the other side, it is just as hard to understand how some
fundamentalists can cry out against abortion, and say that all abortion
is murder -- when at the same time, they are strong militarists, and support
the taking of human life in times of war.
The name of the game is dead babies for big dollars. The
abortionist is not usually concerned so much with the needs of humanity,
as he is about making a fast dollar at the expense of someone who sees
human life as a cheap thing. We need to oppose murder in all its forms--whether
the person killed is sixty years old, six years old, six months old, or
a six-week fetus.
--H.S.M.
Four Ways to Kill an Unborn Child
by Harold S. Martin
There has been a great deal of talk recently about abortion. Not too
many years ago, abortion was considered a shameful act, but today public
opinion is rapidly changing. Until the last decade, the general pattern
of the law in the United States, was to prohibit abortion, except in cases
where it was permitted to preserve the life of the mother. Today many states
have liberalized their abortion laws, and other states are planning to
relax their restrictions.
The dictionary defines "abortion" as the expulsion of the human fetus
prematurely. An abortion can be of two kinds. A natural abortion is usually
called a miscarriage. An artificial abortion is an abortion induced by
artificial means - by the use of instruments, or the use of chemicals that
kill the fetus and cause it to be expelled. There are four common methods
used by doctors to deliberately abort an unborn child:
(1) The suction method.
During an early pregnancy, the doctor can insert a tube through the
opening of the mother's womb, and connect it to a suction apparatus. The
vacuum on the apparatus is so powerful that the fetus is instantly broken
up into a mass of blood and tissue, and quickly passes through the tube,
and is collected in a bottle.
(2) The forceps method.
Sometimes the doctor dilates the mouth of the womb, and inserts a spoon-like
instrument with sharp edges (called a forceps). He reaches in with this
toot and scrapes out the baby (and also the placenta). Sometimes he has
to cut the baby into several pieces in order to get it out. The larger
parts are cut into smaller pieces and spooned out piece by piece, and then
discarded.
(3) The Caesarean-type method.
Larger babies may require an abdominal operation. The womb is cut open
and the baby is lifted out. It usually squirms and moves its arms and legs;
it tries to breathe; the heart often continues to beat; but the organs
are not sufficiently developed, and so within a few hours, it usually dies.
(4) The chemical method.
The doctor sticks a large needle through the wall of the mother's abdomen
and into the womb. A strong, salt-water solution is injected. The baby
thrashes around for a few moments, and then soon dies. Within twenty-four
hours, labor starts, and the dead body is delivered.
Abortion is nothing but barbarianism in the Twentieth Century! No wonder
some nurses are rebelling. They are expected to finish the work of abortion,
by taking the crushed, bloody mass of the fetus, and then disposing of
it. In light of the current discussion on abortion, in this message we
want to look at several aspects of the topic.
1. AN UNBORN BABY IS A HUMAN BEING
Some say the fetus is not a human being, but merely a mass of protoplasm,
a group of cells, a mass of tissue. One denominational resolution says,
"The fetus is not a person, but rather, tissue with the potentiality of
becoming a person." The Scriptures however, give evidence that life begins
at conception , and therefore to take the life of an unborn child (regardless
of the number of days it has been forming in the mother's body), is nothing
but tragic murder.
The Bible speaks of pre-natal personhood. Jeremiah (in Jeremiah 1:5)
says that he was set apart and ordained a prophet before he came forth
out of the womb. God said, "Before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified
you, and ordained you a prophet to the nations." If Jeremiah's mother would
have had an abortion - it would have been Jeremiah who was killed. The
mother would not have known his name, but God had already named him.
John the Baptist (Luke 1:44) lea ed for joy in his mother's womb, when
Mary greeted her. Notice - a fetus "leaped for joy."
David says of his pre-natal infancy, "Behold I was shaped in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalm 51:5). Notice the personal
pronouns. Even at the time of conception, David was a person. I was shaped
in iniquity; my mother conceived me. (This is not saying that David was
conceived out of wedlock, nor that the sex-relationship is sinful - but
that at the time of conception, he received the sin nature). In Psalms
139:13-16, David again uses the personal pronouns., when he talks about
being marvelously formed in the inner recesses of his mother's body. In
fact, the Psalmist says that from the very beginning of life, God has plans
for each one of us in a book. "You saw me before I was born and scheduled
each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in
your Book!" (Psalm 139:16 Living Bible).
Gabriel announced to Mary (Luke 1:31) that she would conceive, and bring
forth a son - and in verse 36, Gabriel says, "Thy cousin Elizabeth, she
hath also conceived a son." Mary conceived a son; Elizabeth conceived a
son. An abortion (at the time each of these women conceived) would have
been aborting (or killing) a son.
The unborn baby is a person, and he has a right to live. The unborn
baby is not merely a potential human being; rather, the fetus is a human
being with potential! The fetus is not just a thing, a blob of flesh, a
mere part of the mother's body - not something she can dispose of like
a tonsil or a scab . The unborn baby is a person, whose life must not be
taken simply at will.
2. ARGUMENTS USED TO FAVOR ABORTION
One of the common arguments given to favor abortion, is that the baby
might be a threat to the mother's physical or mental well-being. But most
doctors agree that in our day of excellent medical care, abortion is simply
not necessary to save the life of the mother. And concerning mental health
abortion doesn't alleviate mental problems; it contributes to mental anguish
(because of guilt feelings following abortion). Very few women who have
had an abortion, get by without at sometime or the other, asking themselves
the question, "Did I really kill my baby?"
Another argument given to favor abortion is the argument that the baby
might be the result of rape or incest. But the unborn child is an innocent
being, and is in no way responsible for the offense, and should hardly
be punished for the crime of the parent. Furthermore, this argument bears
little weight, because "rape and incest account for a negligible percentage
of abortions" (Time, Sept. 27, 1971).
Some argue that abortion should be permitted when there is a possibility
that the baby might be physically or mentally deformed. But a doctor's
prediction that a child might be deformed, is not guaranteed to be absolutely
correct. And so to abort a child, might mean the murdering of a normal
child. And even to kill a deformed child is contrary to the kind of compassion
Jesus showed. The Bible says, "Even a bruised reed shall he not break."
Then too, God has often made defective children a wonderful blessing for
the parents, and for the whole family. The writer of the biography of Bob
Childress (The Man Who Moved a Mountain) tells about their
deformed daughter (Hattie), and concludes the section on her life by saying,
"The retarded child who was not supposed to have lived long at all, had
made their lives rich."
Another reason suggested to favor abortion, is that one can stop criminal
abortions by making abortion legal. Some say that by not permitting abortions
legally in hospitals, thousands of abortions are being performed illegally
anyway, only they are being done in back rooms and basements by untrained
personnel. But in those countries which already have liberal abortion laws,
the rate of criminal abortions has also gone up (along with the rate of
abortions in general). When it's legal and popular and acceptable to have
abortions, then criminal abortions (performed by unskilled persons) also
increase.
There may be an occasional necessity for a therapeutic abortion for
example, the case of a tubular pregnancy. But most of the reasons given
for justifying abortion are simply not acceptable in light of the sacredness
of human life.
3. SERIOUS OBJECTIONS TO THE PRACTICE OF ABORTION
The primary reason why Christian people must object to the loose practice
of abortion, is that the fetus which the expectant mother carries, is already
a living human being. In the wisdom of God, physical life passes from one
generation to another, across the fragile bridge of just two human cells.
And by repeated divisions, the first cell becomes two, and then four, and
then eight - and then soon develops the features of the human body. By
the twenty-first day, the heart is beating, and by the sixty-fourth day,
the eyes are forming. Every characteristic that the human being ill ever
have is genetically present at the time of conception. And as was pointed
out earlier, the Bible uses personal pronouns when speaking of the unborn
- even from the time of conception. The unborn baby is a human being, and
to terminate a human life is murder.
A second objection to the practice of abortion, is that the liberalization
of abortion laws may ultimately lead to the legalized extermination of
other human beings. If an infant fetus can be destroyed simply to suit
the parents' personal convenience - it's going to be relatively easy for
a child to dispose of his parents, when they become old and senile. If
our society permits the killing of unborn children, then it won't be long
until the lives of the aged, and the handicapped, and the retarded are
going to likewise be candidates for destruction. If your doctor will take
money for the killing of an innocent baby in the womb, he may kill you
some day (when paid to do it by your children).
Another serious objection to abortion, is that easy abortion leads to
increased promiscuity among those who are not married to each other. The
primary reason why abortion is so popular today, is that it is an easy
way to do away with unwanted children that result from promiscuous sexual
activity. The problem of the unwanted child is especially acute on college
campuses. Time (9/27/71) describes one outfit in New York
City which charges a flat rate of $400 for a plane trip to New York, an
abortion, a meal, and a ride back home. For many years, both the world
and the church have been letting down the bars on adultery and fornication,
and now (because of all the illicit sexual activity) we have all these
unwanted babies on our hands, and so we advocate killing them. Of course
some who want abortions, are not guilty of unchastity, but simply don't
want to interrupt their plans for the future. Abortion for them is merely
a social convenience - but in the eyes of God it is still taking human
life.
Samuel Voisard tells about a mother who stepped into a doctor's office,
carrying a bright and beautiful baby just a year old). She said, "Doctor,
I want you to help me out of a dilemma. My baby is only one year old, and
I've conceived again - and I don't want to have children so close together."
She wanted the doctor to perform an abortion. After thinking for a moment,
the doctor said, "I think I can suggest a better method for helping you
out. If you object to having two children so close together, the best way
would be to kill the one on your lap, and let the other one come on. It's
easy to get at the one on your lap, and it makes no difference to me which
one I kill for you. In fact, it might be dangerous for you if I undertook
to kill the one yet unborn." As the doctor finished speaking these words,
he reached for a knife - and continued by asking the mother to lay the
baby out on her lap, and to turn her head the other way
The doctor's offer to commit murder was no worse than the mother's request
for the destruction of her unborn child. To take the life of an unborn
child is murder.