Sanctity of Life Issues

by John Adams                                                                                             Vol. VII, No. 1, January 1994

[John Adams is vice president for religious affairs, Union University, Jackson, MS. This article is reprinted from the Baptist and Reflector, 21 April 1993]

Not since the Civil War has our nation been so deeply divided as it is today over the matter of abortion.

What issues, if thoughtfully considered with a sincere desire to ascertain truth, might lessen the tension and help alleviate some of the division that now exists over abortion? Let it be understood from the beginning that we are not referring to abortions performed in cases of rape, incest, or where the life of the mother is involved. The informed person knows that these cases represent less than three percent of all abortions preformed in America. We are interested in these cases, but our primary concern at this point is with the other 97 percent of abortions performed solely for the mother's convenience with no thought given to the aborted infant.

Let us look at some of these issues.

First, when does human life begin? After three months? Six months? Birth? many believe, even in the medical community, that human life begins at conception.

Second, what is it that is in the mother's womb? Is it a chicken? A coconut? Again, many believe that what is in the mother's womb is a human being with alI the potential of the living. The Scripture' says that when Mary approached Elizabeth (Luke 1:41) "...the babe leaped in her womb." In Luke 2:16 the wise men "... found' Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger." It is significant, theologians point out, that the Greek word translated as "babe" is the same in both instances. God apparently makes no distinction between the born and the unborn. Should we?

Third, at what point is that which is in the womb endowed with a soul? At birth? After seven months? When? Some believe at conception. If we cannot know for certain, then there is the urgency and necessity to protect the human life in the womb, lest violence is done to the soul by disallowing it to live in the person for which it was intended.

Fourth, can there be freedom without responsibility? Once, not very long ago, if a couple engaged in sex and a baby was created, society held the couple responsible for the baby even if it meant having a "shotgun wedding." The hedonistic philosophy that pleasure should be the principal pursuit in life is counterproductive in the stabilizing of any society.

Fifth, can there be disrespect for human life at one level of development without there being disrespect for it at other levels? The abuse of children has skyrocketed in recent years; we frequently hear of abuse of the elderly; murder has increased at an alarming rate. Even the secular world is shocked at the callousness exhibited by a large segment of society that has no respect for human life at any level.

Sixth, should the mother's right to privacy (or convenience) be elevated to such a level that the unborn child's right to existence is disregarded? If the possibility does exist that life begins at conception, if that which is in the mother's womb is a human being, if at some time before birth that human life does become a soul, if there is no such thing as freedom without responsibility, and if disrespect for life at one level does indeed lead to disrespect for life at other levels, then shouldn't the rights of the unborn he considered and respected?

These issues are important to those committed to the sanctity of human life at all levels of development. It is our hope and prayer that more and more Americans will investigate and thoughtfully consider each one of these issues.