Table of Contents
Colin Parkinson
The recent overturning of Roe vs Wade has brought a lot of attention back to the issue of abortion here in New Zealand and I have noticed that there is still some confusion not only about our own laws here, but also around a few common arguments used by those who support abortion.
I might address the law in New Zealand another time, but let’s start with a couple of the arguments used to support abortion.
Abortion to “save the life of the mother”
First up, abortion is never medically necessary. See the “Dublin Declaration” here. (https://www.dublindeclaration.com/ )
Some treatments given to the mother may cause her baby to die, but this is not the intent of the treatment. Sometimes a mother and her unborn baby must be separated in order to save the life of the mother and often (but not always) this will result in the baby dying. Again, this is not the intent of the procedure and care should be provided for the baby also.
For more information on this topic, please see the following from “Live Action”: https://prolifereplies.liveaction.org/medically-necessary/
But what if it is the baby’s life at risk? Obviously, an abortion is never going to be recommended to save the life of a baby, but I thought I would add this, as sometimes parents are told to just have an abortion because their child will not survive anyway.
Doctors are not perfect and they get things wrong sometimes. There are many cases where people have been told that their unborn child will not survive long, yet they do. But even if they might die, why kill them just because they might die anyway? Why not show them as much love as possible while you can? Perhaps the child might survive much longer than predicted.
The following is a link to a short video of a mother who was told to have an abortion because her baby would not survive and that she might die also, the baby (Rachel Mary) was born at 26 weeks and grew up to become a healthy adult:
Abortion for victims of rape.
Many women who have kept their children conceived in rape, have found that their child is a blessing – perhaps the only blessing to come from a terrible experience.
This five-minute video
tells the story of Jennifer, who was brutally raped. She points out that this is not about “choice”, this is about the humanity of her son. At the end of the video, she says that when she looks back at all the things that have happened in her life, she wouldn’t want to stop the rape from happening – because her son (who she conceived from the rape) is worth it.
Some might claim that the children of rape victims grow up to become rapists: this is NOT true; I have had conversations with a couple of women who were conceived in rape, they do not seem like rapists to me and I am sure that they would be horrified at any such suggestion.
The following is a story of a woman who was conceived in rape. She eventually learned that DNA does not determine who you are:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/02/i-was-conceived-by-rape
Had abortion been legal, her mother says she would have had one. That would have been terrible. The mother adopted out her daughter and celebrated her birthday every year according to the article. Sounds like the daughter was wanted, but the trauma of the rape was too much for her mother at the time. Now years later she seems able to cope with the facts and has a beautiful daughter and grandchildren who likely are a source of great joy, knowing that some good has come of such an evil event.
Compare that joy to the emptiness of killing her own baby, the possible regret every year, wondering what things might be like if she had lived.
There are options (such as adoption) which are much better than killing your own child.
Rapists and traffickers can use abortion to destroy “evidence” of their crimes, the “evidence” being an innocent baby.
I remember a story of one girl who was raped (I believe through trafficking) who saw her baby as the only good that could come from such a violent evil.
Many women who choose to keep their babies do NOT seem to regret their choice.
Abortion won’t remove the pain of rape, it only adds to it. Think about it carefully: Abortion doesn’t erase the memory of the rape, decades later the memory is still there, compounded by the pain of longing for a dead child that you can never hold.
Compare this loss to the blessings of those who have kept their children and found hope, comfort and love from a child given by God as a blessing to help them through the pain.
For some women, because of how badly they have been injured by the rapist, the child they have through the rape is the only child they will ever have. Abortion not only kills their child but means they will never be able to hold a child of their own.
Remember that the child is not the criminal here, the rapist is the criminal, and the child is not the rapist, they are not “defective”, they are human beings made by God, just like you and I.
This argument is not about protecting the rape victim.
To those who have had an abortion and regret your decision:
I have not written this to judge you, please know that God still loves you. God is willing to forgive those who are willing to repent.
We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but Jesus Christ died and rose again to take away our sin.
If we turn to Him and repent, He is faithful to forgive.
There is hope!
