"If abortion is murder, why do some Christians defend it?"

I am a physician. I have been trained to protect and preserve life. Since medical school, I have delivered many babies, though the bulk of my training and practice is in pediatrics - the care of babies and children. As one who loves children (my wife and I have six), I speak today on behalf of children - children of all ages: Toddlers, babies and especially those little pre-born humans who today reside inside their mothers or who later will be received and delivered (or murdered).

During the months leading to the Emancipation Proclamation, President Lincoln repeatedly discussed the matter with his cabinet. During one difficult discussion, he asked: "Gentlemen, how many legs does a sheep have?" Each man answered correctly, "Four, Mr. President." He proceeded, "Let's call his tail a leg. Now how many legs?" Each man replied, "Five, Mr. President." Mr. Lincoln retorted, "Nope, still only four. Just because we call it a leg doesn't make it one."

People who doubt abortion is murder and try to defend this murderous procedure usually do so by redefining murder exceptionally narrowly and/or by claiming that these Bible verses about abortion apply to babies whom they inexplicably declare to be exceptions to the rule.

The question of whether or not abortion is murder typically leads to asking what is a baby and what isn't yet a baby, but merely a "zygote", "embryo" or "fetus". You most likely have good sense of judgment and perception, so don't let other people draw conclusions for you. Draw your own conclusion on whether or not abortion is murder by using this quick and simple test:

Step #1: Please look carefully at the photos below and count how many of them show babies and how many of them don't. Here is the first photo:



Let me explain.

Abortion is murder. Each abortion snuffs out an innocent human life. Tragically, doctors have deceived the American public. Referring to unborn babies as "fetus," "embryo," or "zygote," may be scientifically correct, but does not change the fact: These little ones are little human beings. Though called "parasite," "blob," or "tissue," give each wee creature about 266 days after conception and see what emerges from his mother's womb. It will be a human baby, not a zebra, a trout, frog or an orangutan.

Remember Mr. Lincoln. Don't be deceived by folks (even doctors) who call a tail a leg - or humans anything but humans. When a human egg and a human sperm unite, the resulting individual is simply human. Given time, nutrition and protection, he or she will grow to maturity. Calling abortion a "termination" or "evacuating the uterus" doesn't change its reality as murder-slaughtering a human being with premeditated malice.

Some Comments Comical

Were it not tragic, some abortion comments could be comical. A previous guest writer on this page, Dr. Harrison, said the unborn baby is "a parasite without feeling, thought, or experience... the fetus simply does not have the things required to feel pain..."

But nerves are in place by six to eight weeks after conception. The chemicals necessary to send messages over nerve pathways to the brain are present by 12 weeks. Ask yourself - if you were stuck, pinched, grabbed, cut or crushed, how would you react? You likely would squirm, thrash, try to escape or fight. Your blood pressure would go up; your pulse would speed up.

That's how pre-born babies respond. Before being cut to pieces, sucked apart, chemically killed, or otherwise abused (to death), these little humans struggle, seeking to escape the destruction. In my opinion, abortionists have forfeited the privilege to be called "physicians", for they have abandoned the responsibility of acting like physicians.

What about rape? What about incest? These horrors defy descriptive condemnation. They represent the least human and most selfish acts imaginable - along with murder - and they deserve swift and severe punishment. A woman or girl abused by rape or incest should be seen promptly, evaluated with compassion and treated appropriately to prevent conception. Should pregnancy occur, the tragedy should not be compounded by another crime: Murdering the baby.

Rape and incest deserve one further note: They (thank God) represent a relatively uncommon cause of pregnancy - and figure in less than 2 percent of abortions. The other 98 percent are done for the sake of convenience (not that of the baby). Abortion represents the most common surgical procedure performed in America today. Enough human lives are snuffed out each day to populate Mena, De Queen, or Fordyce. Each week, abortionists slaughter a group of babies equal in number to the population of Springdale or El Dorado.

One more tragedy - often delayed and overlooked - concerns the mother of the aborted baby. I have cared for and counseled such women - women who find it difficult to live with an awakened conscience. Though duped, squelched or ignored, a conscience awakened to reality may produce guilt, grief and pain. Even with the reality of forgiveness, the scars may produce long-standing consequences.

One last 'leg-tail' deserves comment. Can you remember folks saying, "Don't push your morality on me!" when foes of abortion challenge its practise? Most folk appreciate our society's restrictions on rape, robbery, assault and murder - and those restrictions are based on morality, as is every aspect of our lives, whether collectively or individually.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, I'm convinced that moral absolutes exist. My convictions as a Christian and as a physician include the sanctity of human life. If each individual human (including unborn babies) does not have worth, if we do not acknowledge our responsibility to care for the unwanted and the defenseless, we will find our collective path ending at the ovens of Auschwitz, the Gulags of Siberia, or the Abortion Chambers of America.

Abortion is Murder!

Anyone that defend abortion or contraception is not worth calling a Christian.
Killing is killing whether a foetus or full fledge grown adult.
Why defending abortion? If you were aborted will you have effontry to defend practice that is anti human?
For the case of contraception, we all know about Onan, how he was struck death by God for such mischievous practice.

adeitoro: Anyone that defend abortion or contraception is not worth calling a Christian.
Killing is killing whether a foetus or full fledge grown adult.
Why defending abortion? If you were aborted will you have effontry to defend practice that is anti human?

If my parents were teenagers and were just courting, i would gladly accept to be aborted. What point is there in giving birth to Children you can't wholly cater for?

About god killing people, is he a psychotic?

qstar:
What point is there in giving birth to Children you can't wholly cater for?

Well said. What point is there in giving birth 2 kids u can't care for? The question is: On whom does the responsibility lie?
If u know u're just a teenager, then why engage in unprotected pre-marital intercourse and then follow the coward's way out by killing d resulting foetus?
Is that not like killing another person for ur personal mistakes or foolishness?
Well, sex is good, so peeps wanna frolick and then shy away like cowards from the responsibility.

Once again, what's d point of having kids u can't cater for? What about u just strangle ur toddlers because u can no longer take care of them? Does it sound horrible? Inhumane?
What about u just slice up ur infant in d cradle bit by bit because u lost ur job/means of finances and then tell d police u were broke or whatever and that was why? Does it matter if the baby is in a cradle or pre-cradle state?

Does it?

Let's picture this scenario:
Let's just say nature made it impossible for humans to kill unborn babies......let's just say

What would people do then?

Ermmmmm....lemme guess: wait patiently outside d labour room with a gun and then blast the child's head off once its delivered?








See that little hand there? Errrrrmmmmm its not a person actually....its just some 'thing'.....some inconvenient inanimate thing that just popped up when it wasn't needed..
Oh yeah why would it choose 2 show up and fuucck up things 4 u....So get a scissors, snip snip snip. Aha! U're done.
Now u can go back and hump that teenager all u want

Courtship is meant for people who are emotionaly, socialy and physically ready to marry.
Why having pre marital sex when you know that the consequence might be detrimental to you and the unborn child in case of unwanted pregnancy

qstar:

If my parents were teenagers and were just courting, i would gladly accept to be aborted. What point is there in giving birth to Children you can't wholly cater for?

About god killing people, is he a psychotic?

Biblically, life begins at conception
Didn't King David say he was sinful from the time he was conceived?
This only means one thing : he became a 'person', not a 'thing' at the time of conception for only a person can have a sinful nature

Right throughout the scripture, murder (the intentional killing of innocent human) is regarded as a heinous sin
Since abortion kills an innocent human being, it's nothing less than murder
******
Op, since you are a medical practitioner, I'd like to ask you a question

If a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother and there is no way to save the fetus, will the termination of the fetus be called an 'abortion'?
Can it be said to be 'murder'?

zeemoore: Biblically, life begins at conception
Didn't King David say he was sinful from the time he was conceived?
This only means one thing : he became a 'person', not a 'thing' at the time of conception for only a person can have a sinful nature

Right throughout the scripture, murder (the intentional killing of innocent human) is regarded as a heinous sin
Since abortion kills an innocent human being, it's nothing less than murder
******

A zillion likes to the above!

zeemoore:
Op, since you are a medical practitioner, I'd like to ask you a question

If a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother and there is no way to save the foetus, will the termination of the foetus be called an 'abortion'?
Can it be said to be 'murder'?

That question is more theological than medical.

Abortion only takes place when the child is treated as a problem that needs to be terminated. For ectopic pregnancies, like the one you mentioned, it won't be abortion if the solution is geared towards 'rectifying' the root cause of the problem i.e removing the faulty fallopian tube.

Though the child would die when such procedure is performed but what is key here is that the child is not regarded as the problem and if in the future there is an improvement in medicine such that the child can be saved then that would be the choice. It would be abortion to kill the child but leave the faulty tube 'unattended'.

striktlymi:

A zillion likes to the above!




That question is more theological than medical.

Abortion only takes place when the child is treated as a problem that needs to be terminated. For ectopic pregnancies, like the one you mentioned, it won't be abortion if the solution is geared towards 'rectifying' the root cause of the problem i.e removing the faulty fallopian tube.

Though the child would die when such procedure is performed but what is key here is that the child is not regarded as the problem and if in the future there is an improvement in medicine such that the child can be saved then that would be the choice. It would be abortion to kill the child but leave the faulty tube 'unattended'.

I understand you perfectly
I asked the question because I heard someone say there is no justification for abortion
There are no exceptions allowed, no compromise possible
He said it is wrong (without exception) to discriminate against human lives on the basis of health status and circumstances of conception and that it's a sin to kill one innocent human being to alleviate the suffering of another human being

ChokolateBoss:

Well said. What point is there in giving birth 2 kids u can't care for? The question is: On whom does the responsibility lie?
If u know u're just a teenager, then why engage in unprotected pre-marital intercourse and then follow the coward's way out by killing d resulting foetus?
Is that not like killing another person for ur personal mistakes or foolishness?
Well, sex is good, so peeps wanna frolick and then shy away like cowards from the responsibility.

Once again, what's d point of having kids u can't cater for? What about u just strangle ur toddlers because u can no longer take care of them? Does it sound horrible? Inhumane?
What about u just slice up ur infant in d cradle bit by bit because u lost ur job/means of finances and then tell d police u were broke or whatever and that was why? Does it matter if the baby is in a cradle or pre-cradle state?

Does it?

Let's picture this scenario:
Let's just say nature made it impossible for humans to kill unborn babies......let's just say


See that little hand there? Errrrrmmmmm its not a person actually....its just some 'thing'.....some inconvenient inanimate thing that just popped up when it wasn't needed..

Now u can go back and hump that teenager all u want

We may not be able to reach a compromise here. I can see that you guys are taking it up from the perspective of emotions and theology. I, on the otherhand, am coming from the perspective of "reason".

I am not a teenager, i don't do unprotected sex. I am discussing this issue based on the fact that our Nigerian society is very sexu.al. Almost every tom, d*ck and harry in this society knows that. Are you trynna tell me that teenagers do not have sex? What of the poor and destitutes?

This issue is highly controversial, since ironically, this society is very judgemental and hypocritical. What is so sweet about this life? Instead of suffering from childhood to adulthood and possibly with no adequate education and possible death due unaffordable medical care, I'd gladly accept to be aborted. But, abortion ought to be done within the first few weeks of the pregnancy to avoid further complications.

Oops! I'm sorry. Now i saw the topic, it's meant for Christians. Sorry for intruding.

zeemoore:
I understand you perfectly
I asked the question because I heard someone say there is no justification for abortion
There are no exceptions allowed, no compromise possible
He said it is wrong (without exception) to discriminate against human lives on the basis of health status and circumstances of conception and that it's a sin to kill one innocent human being to alleviate the suffering of another human being

I totally agree with the individual. Like murder, there is no excuse for abortion. However, not every death or 'killing' of another can be rightly tagged murder. Just like self defence cannot be termed murder, not every procedure that ultimately leads to the death of the child can be termed abortion. Abortion is the evil it is because the child is treated as the aggressor.

qstar:

We may not be able to reach a compromise here. I can see that you guys are taking it up from the perspective of emotions and theology. I, on the otherhand, am coming from the perspective of "reason".

I am not a teenager, i don't do unprotected sex. I am discussing this issue based on the fact that our Nigerian society is very sexu.al. Almost every tom, d*ck and harry in this society knows that. Are you trynna tell me that teenagers do not have sex? What of the poor and destitutes?

This issue is highly controversial, since ironically, this society is very judgemental and hypocritical. What is so sweet about this life? Instead of suffering from childhood to adulthood and possibly with no adequate education and possible death due unaffordable medical care, I'd gladly accept to be aborted. But, abortion ought to be done within the first few weeks of the pregnancy to avoid further complications.

From the perspective of reason, abortion is still wrong!

striktlymi:

From the perspective of reason, abortion is still wrong!

Ok, whatever. I just hope you stay true to your view and never compromise.

striktlymi:

I totally agree with the individual. Like murder, there is no excuse for abortion. However, not every death or 'killing' of another can be rightly tagged murder. Just like self defence cannot be termed murder, not every procedure that ultimately leads to the death of the child can be termed abortion. Abortion is the evil it is because the child is treated as the aggressor.

Ok
I have nothing more to say type