Abortion Talk: A False Dilemma Exposed

I received the following e-mail commentary today from Pastor Steven W. Cornell, Senior Pastor of Millersville Bible Church, Millersville, PA. It’s also available on Pastor Steve’s blog.

Pastor Cornell, very much like Pastor John Piper, is a shining model of Christian leadership taking a bold, biblical stance in defense of life.

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Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

There is a false dilemma at the heart of abortion talk. It goes like this: oppose abortion and you side with politics; support abortion and you side with the health and safety of women. Is it possible that the exact opposite of this is true? Perhaps those who oppose abortion side with the health and safety of women. What do the facts substantiate?

The medical effects of abortion and post-abortion stress disorder clearly indicate that abortion is rarely a good health decision for a woman. In a congressional hearing on the impact of abortion, psychologist Wanda Franz stated, "Women who report negative after-effects from abortion know exactly what their problem is. They report horrible nightmares of children calling them from trash cans, of body parts, and blood. When they are reminded of the abortion, the women re-experienced it with terrible psychological pain ... They feel worthless and victimized because they failed at the most natural of human activities -- the role of being a mother."

Many women battle long term emotional and psychological damage because of profound regret about their abortion. Abortion proponents, who attribute these effects to induced guilt from religion and pro-life activists, trivialize the actual trauma these women endure. As a result, it is not surprising that the greatest measures of support for women facing post abortion stress disorder comes from pro-life ministries. These ministries treat seriously the feelings of women rather than trivializing them.

How long will we be duped by politically motivated deceptions? Protecting abortion is not about protecting a women’s health. Should it bother us when an organization like Planned Parenthood (while prospering on the abortion industry) intentionally deceives people about the traumatic effects of abortion? The irrefutable fact stands that abortion, as a procedure, and in its after effects, is not about the health and safety of women. It’s more about a culture of convenience, self-absorption and money.

It is frightening that a person's “being wanted or planned” is the criterion of her right to life. Yet here is another source of blatant deception. Is the life of the fetus no more than a product of conception? When a woman chooses to terminate her pregnancy is she actually terminating the life of her baby? Why do we have laws related to fetal homicide? Why do Doctor’s perform fetal surgery on a baby in the womb? Consider the following facts:

“Scientifically we are human beings by virtue of our genetic makeup. The human code in the chromosomes is there from the start. We are utterly different from monkeys or rats or elephants as soon as the chromosomes of egg and sperm meet.”

“At eight weeks, all the organs are present - brain functioning, heart pumping, liver making blood cells, kidney cleaning the fluids, fingerprints formed, etc. Yet almost all abortions happen later than this date.”

“Ultrasound has given a stunning window on the womb that shows the unborn at eight weeks sucking a thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. We can see the amazing pictures in Life Magazine or various books or Web pages.”

“There is a principle of justice that, when two legitimate rights conflict - say the woman's right not to be pregnant, and the baby's right not to be killed - the right that should be limited is the one that would do the most harm.” (Above facts from John Piper)

It’s time to enact laws that would compassionately protect both the women facing unplanned pregnancies and their babies. But until we accept the truth that induced abortion is detrimental to the physical, emotional and psychological health of women and the deliberate destruction of an unborn child, such laws will be considered extremist.