The Truth: What God and the Bible really says By Mother Superior
Today we have Christian activists who take part in demonstrations outside abortion clinics, some even physically attacking the clinics patients. This isn't done in the name of God it is acted out from self motivation, the false claim that God says that abortion is wrong is a fiction and was originally taken from the Catholic Church's edicts which insist that birth control is not to be used. Women in the Church's eyes are nothing more than sex machines, its philosophy is that women should be giving birth to children on a production line basis.
In this 'enlightened' day and age we have to ask ourselves how far removed are we from ignorance. And how far into the darker ages are we in actuality regressing into.
Before we can discuss the 'pros and cons' of abortion it might be useful to consider the history of it.
History
"Over several centuries and in different cultures, there is a rich history of women helping each other to abort. Until the late 1800s, women healers in Western Europe and the U.S. provided abortions and trained other women to do so, without legal prohibitions.
The State didn't prohibit abortion until the 19th century, nor did the Church lead in this new repression. In 1803, Britain first passed antiabortion laws, which then became stricter throughout the century. The U.S. followed as individual states began to outlaw abortion. By 1880, most abortions were illegal in the U.S., except those ``necessary to save the life of the woman.'' But the tradition of women's right to early abortion was rooted in U.S. society by then; abortionists continued to practice openly with public support, and juries refused to convict them.
Abortion became a crime and a sin for several reasons. A trend of humanitarian reform in the mid-19th century broadened liberal support for criminalization, because at that time abortion was a dangerous procedure done with crude methods, few antiseptics, and high mortality rates. But this alone cannot explain the attack on abortion. For instance, other risky surgical techniques were considered necessary for people's health and welfare and were not prohibited. ``protecting'' women from the dangers of abortion was actually meant to control them and restrict them to their traditional childbearing role. Antiabortion legislation was part of an antifeminist backlash to the growing movements for suffrage, voluntary motherhood, and other women's rights in the 19th century."
Comparing this information to biblical references one sees a completely opposing viewpoint and stance concerning abortion.
What the Bible says
Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing,
and the priest shall say unto the woman,
The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people,
when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;
And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels,
to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot:
And the woman shall say, Amen, amen. Numbers 5:21-22
The above reference is an early description of an abortion that was condoned and practised by the Levite priesthood and was also Judaic law. Another reference quite clearly informs us that God approves abortion.
In Hosea we read: As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception. Hosea 9:11 and again we read Hosea asking God to make women's wombs miscarry Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. Hosea 9:14 And finally also in Hosea we read: Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb. Hosea 9:16.
This gives us a clear indication that God sees abortion as not being wrong, and that if anyone calls upon His name, then Jehovah will comply to whatever the supplicant wishes.
Still unhappy?
The bible also mentions miscarriage: When men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no harm follows, the one who hurt her shall be fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.Exodus 21:22. It stands to reason that one instance cannot be without the other.
Stages and development of a foetus*
An ovum is a form of life.
An ovum is not a human person.
A spermatozoa is a form of life.
A spermatozoa is not a human person.
At or shortly after conception, a fertilized ovum is a form of life.
An embryo is a form of life.
A fetus is a form of life.
A newborn baby is a form of life.
A newborn baby is a human person.
Somewhere during the nine months between the ovum-spermatozoa stage and the newborn baby, human personhood begins.
Some different beliefs about when personhood begins are: *
A few hours after conception when the ovum splits into two cells. Some regard human personhood as being defined by the act of cell splitting.
About 12 days from conception when pregnancy begins. i.e. when the fertilized ovum has developed to the blastocyst stage and has attached itself to the lining of the uterus.
About two weeks from conception when a yellow streak develops in the embryo. This will later become the neural tube which will be protected by the backbone. Once this develops, it is impossible for the embryo to split into a pair of identical twins. The concept of personhood implies a single entity; twins would be two persons. Before this stage of development, the embryo may still split and become two persons.
3 weeks from conception when the embryo is about 2 mm long and has started to develop visible external body parts.
4 weeks when its heart starts to beat.
6 weeks from conception, when brain waves can be first sensed.
2 months, when the fetus has lost its neck structures which resemble gill slits, and its face resembles that of a primate.
3 months the fetus begins to "look like" a baby.
4 months when the fetus' face has developed to the point where one can tell one fetus from another.
About 24 weeks, when the fetus becomes viable, (i.e. able to live outside the womb).
6 months or later, when its brain has developed to a particular degree.
Scientists have: " measured brain-wave patterns like those during dreaming at 8 months gestation." Carl Sagan discusses this point in his final book. He suggests that the one factor that is uniquely human is our ability to think. Thus we become persons when the cerebral cortex is in place and "large-scale linking up of neurons" begins. This does not start until the 24th to 27th week of pregnancy -- the sixth month.
Some reasons why women abort a child*
She feels that she does not have the financial resources to bring up a child.
She is pressured by the father or by her parents to have an abortion.
She feels that she lacks the emotional and physical strength to go through another pregnancy and raise the child.
She believes that raising an additional child would short-change her existing children.
She is a student and/or without a partner; she feels that raising a child would be too difficult and disruptive at her time in life.
She doesn't want other people to know that she became pregnant.
A child would interfere with her career or education.
She is a rape or incest survivor and does not want to bear a child that was conceived in violence.
She may fear physical abuse from a parent if they learn of her pregnancy.
She may fear being tossed out onto the street by a parent if they learn of her pregnancy.
In the case of a multiple pregnancy, the woman may be faced with giving birth to more newborns than she feels she can deal with. She may elect to go through a selective reduction procedure, which involves the killing of one or more fetuses.
A small minority of abortions are sought for medical reasons*
The fetus might have been hurt by exposure to high levels of toxic chemicals, medications that might be dangerous to the fetus, alcohol, drugs, etc. They may cause the fetus to be genetically damaged.
Some girls become pregnant at a very young age, when pregnancy can be dangerous.
The fetus has a genetic defect or other health problem. Virtually all couples who find that the fetus suffers from Down's Syndrome, or a similar defect, elect to have an abortion.
The woman may develop eclampsia. This involves a sudden increase in blood pressure, and onset of seizures. The results can be fatal to both the woman and fetus. This used to be called toxemia of pregnancy.
In the case of a multiple pregnancy, some or all of the fetuses will end up with various long-term health problems; some may not survive at all. Physicians will sometimes recommend a selective reduction process where one or more fetuses are killed in order that the remaining fetuses would be born normal.
Summary
One of the Ten Commandments is: thou shalt not kill which seemingly makes abortion a moot point. However a foetus is not a child, and the time, and stage when the creation in the womb has become a sentient being has not been determined and is still under discussion today.
Even so, regardless of human translation on whether abortion is right or wrong negates the 'philosophy' of the Bible and the inerrant word of God. It should be known that none of us knows the mind of God and who are we to say what is right or wrong when the bible gives us evidence that abortion is condoned.
From a humanistic point of view abortion isn't an easy choice for a woman to make. But ultimately it is her decision. No man or woman has the right to take away an another's choice. Our bodies are not owned by others, we own our own bodies and have responsibility for it.
God condones abortion unless He says otherwise….
Appendix
* quote taken from feminist.com: Linda Gordon's Woman's Body, Woman's Right, rev. ed. (New York: Penguin Books, 1990).
* * Courtesy of religious tolerance.org