how can they?

Ok.

So, this week in my Ethics class, I read something disturbing.
Something that I have known and heard about all my life but yet still weighs heavily on my heart.
Something that makes me tear up every time I read about it or hear of its gruesome details.
Something that makes me ask: "How can they?"

The topic: Abortion.
(This is a warning: My book did give some nasty details. But, in this instance, regardless of the nastiness, I think that they ought to be shared.)


Sadly, one of the most frequently performed surgeries on adults in America is Abortion.
One out of three babies conceived in the United States is deliberately aborted. In other words, murdered.
All I can say, with tears welling up in my eyes, is: "How can they?"

credit

It made my stomach churn.
It made my heart ache for the 30 million babies (roughly the size of Canada) who had their life literally ripped away from them.
It made the tears flow.

All these emotions came when I read of the way and details that we slay our little babies here in the United States of America:

The first--
Dilation and curettage is commonly called D & C. The physician dilates the cervix with a series of instruments to allow the insertion of a curette--a loop-shaped knife--into the womb. The instrument is used to scrape the placenta from the uterus and then cut the baby apart. The pieces are then pulled through the cervix. The tiny body must then be reassembled by an attending nurse to make sure no parts remain in the womb to cause infection.

"How can they?"

The second--
Suction aspiration is used in 80 percent of the abortions up to the twelfth week of pregnancy. The mouth of the cervix is dilated. A hollow tube with a knife-like edged tip is inserted into the womb. A suction force twenty-eight times stronger than a vacuum cleaner literally tears the developing baby and the placenta to pieces. These pieces are sucked into a container.

"How can they?"

The third--
Saline injection is also known as salt-poisoning. A strong salt solution is injected through the mother's abdominal wall into the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. The baby then breathes and swallows the solution causing internal poisoning and burning. In a few hours the unborn child dies from salt poisoning, dehydration, and hemorrhaging. The mother goes into labor and delivers a dead (or dying) baby. 

"Really? How can they?"

The fourth--
Prostaglandin involves the use of prostaglandin hormones that are injected into the womb or released in a vaginal suppository. This causes the uterus to contract and deliver the child prematurely. A saline solution is sometimes injected first, killing the baby before birth, in order to make the procedure less distressful for the mother and medical staff.

"How can they?"

The fifth--
Dilation and evacuation is commonly called a D & E and is used after the twelfth week of pregnancy. The doctor dilates the mother's cervix and uses forceps to reach into the uterus. He grasps the arms and legs, dismembers the body, and crushes the skull to remove it. The placenta and smaller pieces are removed by suction and sharp curetting.

"How can they?"

The sixth--
Hysterotomy, similar to a C-section, is performed in the last three months of the pregnancy. This procedure involves opening the womb surgically and removing the baby. Unlike a C-section, the purpose of this procedure is to end the infant's life.

"How can they?"

The seventh--
Dilation and extraction is also known as D & E or "partial birth abortion." The physician dilates the cervix and pulls the baby's body out except for the head. Leaving the head inside, the doctor inserts scissors in the skull of the baby and sucks out the brains. The head collapses and the baby is brought out to die.


"How can they?" That's all I can ask as I let my mind wander to the disturbing and haunting images that these performances bring to mind.
How can a young lady who is carrying the child of her boyfriend/husband just walk into a building, let a doctor numb her body, and have the body parts of her precious tiny one yanked out of her body? And then walk out of the building, carrying on with her life like nothing happened?

Although the Bible does not mention anything directly about abortion, it does give some Scriptures that lead to the fact that abortion is wrong.

-Children were viewed as a gift or "heritage from the Lord" (Ps. 127:3).
-God opens and closes the womb and is sovereign over conception (Gen. 29:31, 33; 30:22; 1 Sam. 1:19, 20).
-The childlessness was seen as a curse (Deut. 25:6; Ruth 4:5).

One of the key passages giving a biblical view of the sanctity of human life is Psalm 139, which is the inspired record of David's praise for God's sovereignty in his life. David began by acknowledging that God is omniscient and knows what David is doing (vs. 1-3). God was aware of David's thoughts before he expressed them (vs. 4). Wherever David might go, he could not escape from God, whether he traveled to heaven (vs. 8) or ventured into Sheol (vs. 9). God is in the remotest part of the sea (vs. 9) and even in the darkness (vs. 11-12). David contemplated the origin of his life and confessed that God was there forming him in the womb. In verses 13-16, David describes God's relationship with him while he was growing and developing before birth.
David also noted that "your eyes saw my unformed body" (vs. 16). This says that God knew David even before he was known to others. When David was forming as a fetus, God's care and compassion were already extended to him.

Some things to think about:

-A set of medical arguments against abortion surrounds the definition of life and death. If one set of criteria has been used to define death, could they also be used to define life? Death used to be defined by the cessation of heartbeat. A stopped heart was a clear sign of death. If the cessation of heartbeat could define death, could the onset of a heartbeat define life? The heart is formed by the eighteenth day in the womb. If heartbeat was used to define life, then nearly all abortions would be outlawed.

-The decision also seemed unpretentious by acknowledging that it did not know when life begins. But if the Court did not know, then is should have acted "as if" life was in the womb. A crucial role of government is to protect life. Government cannot remove a segment of the human population from its protection without adequate justification.
The burden of proof should lie with the life-taker, and the benefit of the doubt should be with the life-saver. Put another way: "When in doubt, don't." A hunter who hears the rustling of the bushes should not fire until he knows what is in the bushes. Likewise, a Court that does not know when life begins should not declare open season on the unborn.


One of the most frequent cliches is this: "Every woman has a right to control her own body."
We need to consider the four elements of this slogan.
First are the words "every woman." Half of the aborted fetuses are female, so abortion is not exactly pro-woman. So the cliche only applies to grown women seeking abortion, not to females in the womb who would grow up to be women if they were not aborted.
Second is the statement "has a right." Our legal system does not recognize an absolute right over one's body. We do not allow someone the "right" to get drunk and then drive a car. We do not give people an absolute right to use dangerous drugs, to commit suicide, or to walk around without clothes.
Third is the verb "to control." If a woman wants to control her own body, she could have prevented the pregnancy before it happened. Abstinence is 100 percent effective. 
The final words are "her own body." As already discussed, pregnancy means there are two bodies. In a sense the baby controls the mother's body through various hormonal cues. The fetus would be rejected as foreign tissue if it were not for the placenta that creates an effective barrier between mother and child. The argument that a woman has a right to control her own body may sound good, but flaws emerge as we begin to analyze life.



I realize this post is getting long, and you are probably ready for it to end, but I have one more thing to say.

Ladies, if you have been one of the unfortunate culprits of one of these horrific procedures, just know that you can be forgiven by the One who placed that little body within you. Repent of what you have done, and be forgiven, so that you can carry on with the hope that you have a little one held in the arms of Jesus.

Those of you who are carrying a precious soul in you and are considering having one of these procedures done, I beg of you to reconsider. Jesus formed that little body in you, and knows how many hairs that is on its head. He is "fearfully and wonderfully made" and will grow up to be someone important with the Christian training that you will give him.

Girls, those of you who have remained pure. Praise God for you! You are special; a treasured few in this worldly world that we live in. May you be able to carry on...with no regrets.





(credit: Christian Ethics in Plain Language written by: Kerby Anderson