A huge abortion victory for the tiniest among us! Courageous lawmakers in Texas passed the most restrictive anti-abortion law in the United States. The legislation was passed in early summer but was immediately challenged by pro-choice groups. A federal judge ruled in favor of the law so the abortion rights activists took their challenge to the United States Supreme Court where the justices declined to stop the law.
Abortion Victory: About Time
Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 abortion has been with minimal regulation on control. It has become the cause célèbre among feminists who see any restriction as an assault on their bodies. Pro-life groups have brought multiple bills to law in many states only to see them struck down by the Supreme Court. Conservatives have been terribly disappointed by justices thought to be conservative but who fell into line with pro-abortion reasoning. Chief Justice John Roberts has been one of the greatest disappointments and, not surprisingly, announced that he would have stopped the law if he could. This is a major victory that comes as an answer to prayer from many Christians.
The new law, applicable only in Texas, prohibits abortion if a heartbeat can be detected. It makes no exception for rape or incest. The law also allows citizens to sue anyone who violates the law.
We are pleased with the law and hope other states will quickly follow suit. But the legislation does not go far enough. One can easily imagine an abortion doctor who does not hear an obvious heartbeat and proceeds with the termination. Abortion should be outlawed except in the case of imminent and certain threat to the physical life of the mother.
Abortion Arguments Fail
Protests almost always feature people with signs and slogans saying: “My body, my choice!” What they deliberately ignore is that the discussion is not about “their body.” It is about the body of an unborn child. It is about the body of a child at its most vulnerable moment. Half of the cases are a direct assault on the life of another woman. The unborn child is a unique being with a unique DNA profile. The unborn bare the very image of God himself.
No one is worried about “your body.” Our concern is for the body of a tiny child in your womb.
Numerous other arguments are offered that are economic (I can’t afford to raise a child), social (I’m not ready to be a mother), or even academic (I haven’t finished my education). But none of these arguments address the certain death of another person in order to achieve those goals.
Abortion Victory Brings More Work
Men and women will continue to create “unwanted” children. The plight of these precious, innocent souls should be of concern to Christians. Now that victories have been won, we must work to provide support for the pregnancies that arise and for the children that will be preserved by this law. Immediate work on adoption laws is necessary.
We must also work to teach our children what the Lord teaches about human sexuality. Intimacies are given by God as an extraordinary gift. But that gift is only appropriate in the context of a God-blessed marriage. Old fashioned thinking? Yep. But it is good thinking. Lessons about abortion begin at a very early age; don’t be lax!