How the Church Must Approach Abortion
This article is for the American church. It is a challenge, perhaps even a rebuke, but it is also an encouragement to grow and to do good. After all, isn’t that how we are supposed to interact with each other in the church? The problem I want to address is abortion. In the last year since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, there has been much rhetoric and vitriol from both sides of the issue. The church has an opportunity and responsibility to show the world the truth about abortion and how to address it. But we can’t do that if we are uninformed and divided over it.
Many Christians are just as deceived and confused about abortion as the world. I realize that is a general statement and that some Christians are informed and engage with the problem in a Christlike manner. I will approach the discussion by first presenting factual information which may seem dry and technical. But I won’t neglect the empathy we need as the church, so please bear with me throughout the article.
The church must understand what abortion is and what it is not. We must sift through the misinformation and lies to see the truth. And we must be unified in our understanding and intentions. Before we get to what abortion is, I want to back my claim that the church is just as entangled in abortion as the rest of culture.
A 2015 study of abortion by Lifeway Research reported this about women who had an abortion, “70 percent claim a Christian religious preference, and 43 percent report attending church monthly or more at the time of an abortion.”[1] According to the study, women are afraid to discuss abortion in the church. They keep silent before and after terminating their pregnancies. Many women feel the church is not a safe place to discuss their fears and concerns about their unplanned pregnancies.
A big part of this problem is that Christians let the voices of the world disorient them about their understanding and beliefs about the unborn. We are also confused about how to take care of women who are in a position to make this life-changing decision.
I heard a Christian podcaster make this statement about the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the potential lack of availability of abortion: “So I started thinking about this idea and what the fruit of it looks like. And the fruit of it tends to be poor and marginalized people are affected the most by this negatively. That’s the fruit.”[2] The assumption is that abortion helps people, and its unavailability affects the poor and marginalized. You may feel the same way or, at least, may not disagree entirely with that statement. Perhaps people have it backward. Abortion negatively affects the poor and marginalized the most. To alleviate the confusion and develop a realistic view of abortion, let’s look at what it is.
There are several definitions of abortion, but this article concerns the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. While that explanation may define the act, it is inadequate in relaying the true nature of abortion. Abortion, as it most commonly occurs in the United States, is best described this way: A woman gets pregnant and perceives the baby will impact her life negatively. She understands the most practical way to resolve that problem is by terminating the life of her unborn child. This definition may sound harsh or judgmental, but it is how women explain the primary reasons they get abortions. I developed this definition from a study titled “Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives.”[3] This research was not from some pro-life organization. It was a study from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute. The most common reasons women gave for terminating their pregnancies were “having a baby would dramatically change my life” and “I can’t afford a baby now.” While these reasons may be genuine, whether they rightly justify abortion is the question.
Often, abortion is presented as a necessary medical procedure, whether or not the mother’s life or health is in danger. There may be some extreme exceptions when a woman needs to make the agonizing decision between her own life and the life of her unborn child. But that is not abortion. At least it doesn’t fit with the main reasons for abortion, as cited in the Guttmacher study. More than ninety-eight percent of abortions fall under the definition provided above. I realize this reasoning doesn’t necessarily make abortion wrong. So, let’s look at the morality of abortion.
A key topic in the abortion debate is about when life begins. Biblical and scientific evidence indicates life begins at conception. The unborn are people formed by God and known to Him. God knows us when we are in the womb and ordains our days before birth. We are fearfully and wonderfully made (see Psalm 139:13–18, Job 31:13–15, Isaiah 44:24, and Luke 1–2). Of course, God knows us even before we are conceived (see Jeremiah 1:5).
According to the American College of Pediatricians, “the predominance of human biological research confirms that human life begins at conception–fertilization.”[4] When a sperm fertilizes a human egg, an extraordinary process begins. Once started, a new and unique person begins to develop. Only a medical problem or outside intervention will disrupt this process. Abortion is one such intervention. Abortion violates God’s sovereignty because it disrupts God’s ordained process of life. A developing human is terminated because it is unwanted. The reality that the developing baby must be removed or it will become a born person is a testament to the fact that life has begun.
We know that the unprovoked killing of defenseless people is wrong. Sadly, many in the world and some Christians don’t believe unborn children are people. They view the unborn child as a part of the woman’s body, just a piece of flesh over which she has ultimate control. Christians of all people must understand the worth and personhood of the unborn. We must see that the unborn child has a right to live. Our law explains what should be obvious.
The Unborn Victims of Violence Act calls harm to an unborn child a crime. It defines a “child in utero” or “unborn child” as “a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.”[5] In other words, an unborn child is a person from conception through birth. The law further states that someone guilty of the injury or death of an unborn child shall be punished separately for that act and any harm to the mother. This punishment does not require that the person knew that the woman was pregnant at the time of the crime.
According to the law, killing a “child in utero” is wrong. There is an exception for abortion in the law. Interestingly, it makes no statement that abortion is not a crime. Instead, it contains this caveat, “Nothing in this section [the law] shall be construed to permit the prosecution of any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman . . . has been obtained.” In summary, the law considers a child in utero as a person, no matter the stage of development, and killing that person is a crime. So, when killing an unborn child, the only difference between it being punishable or not is if the mother agrees to the killing.
Worldly laws can be confusing, and they can change at any time. One law makes killing the unborn a crime, while another makes it legal. The church must be unequivocal that an unborn child is a person with just as much a right to live as any born person. Women who conceive a child must care for that person’s life. The church must respect the mechanism of life that God has created. We must stop listening to the world’s logic and trust God’s intent for life.
Considering this information about unborn children and abortion, what must the church do? Pastors and teachers must inform the church about these truths. No Christian should be deceived or confused about an unborn baby’s right to live. Also, the church must overcome the damage created by decades of abortion on demand. Before we can get to the root cause of abortion, the church must prevent the death of unborn children and triage the wounded women who are considering or have had an abortion.
The church must become the safest place for women to discuss unwanted pregnancies, including their fears and concerns. To help women in these circumstances, we must be empathetic toward them. That means we approach them with love and listening, not judgment. During a crisis, we must address the immediate problem before we delve into the causes that got her here.
We must provide the best information and resources to help her decide not to abort her baby. The information must include how God views the unborn and their mothers and our responsibility to care for them. Resources should consist of emotional, monetary, and physical support. This support may require partnering with organizations that can help if the church is unequipped to meet immediate and future needs. Churches must be proactive in this regard.
The church must also be empathetic toward women who have had an abortion. For decades women have been deceived that abortion is their right and it is okay to terminate the life of an unborn child. Whether these women realize it or not, they are victims of abortion. The church must provide kindness and help to women who made this heartbreaking decision.
Sadly, for many Christians, abortion has primarily been a political issue. They are zealous to overturn laws legalizing abortion and create new ones to ban it. I am not saying that we shouldn’t peacefully and respectfully oppose unjust laws. However, if that is our prime focus, we are missing how the church can best affect abortion. Our job is not to change the world by forcing worldly culture to submit to God’s law. Our role is to be the church. We are the chosen people of God who are in the world but who represent the kingdom by the power of the king, Christ Jesus. We must have unity and resolve in the church and act in a way that represents the image of God. God loves us from the womb to the tomb. We must care for women and the unborn because of our love for God and each other. In this way, the world will see the love of God and the truth of His kingdom.
For millennia the church has existed within political worldviews that oppose God’s ways. Infanticide is well documented in ancient societies. In Roman cities like Ephesus, people could dump their unwanted babies to die by the elements or be picked up by slave traders. It was Christians who pulled babies off the garbage piles and loved them when the world cared little for their lives. Whether the world rules that abortion is legal or not, whether they believe it is a woman’s right or not, the church must know better. And we must do better.
Shortly before Jesus’ crucifixion, He prayed for His disciples and those who would come to Him through their testimony. He prayed for our unity and declared that the world would know that the Father sent Him through the love that we show each other. Jesus’ prayer was fulfilled by the Holy Spirit, who unifies us. As the church, let us be sanctified and dedicated to loving the unborn and the women who bear them.
[1] Study of Women who have had an Abortion and Their Views on Church, Quantitative Report Sponsored by Care Net, Lifeway Research, Biblical Solutions for Life
[2] Tim Stafford on the Voxology Podcast 350 – Culture Warring at 18:08
[3] Lawrence B. Finer, Lori F. Frohwirth, Lindsay A. Daupninee, Susheela Singh and Ann M. Moore, Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspective, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Volume 37, Number 3, September 2005, The Guttmacher Institute
[4] When Human Life Begins, American College of Pediatricians – March 2017
[5] Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, PUBLIC LAW 108–212–APR. 1, 2004