The evil of abortion

REV. FR. SAMUEL OKORIE NWAGU

An on-line p u b l i c a t i o n defined abortion as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a foetus or embryo prior to viability. It is also known as induced abortion to distinguish it from spontaneous abortion usually called miscarriage. The evil of abortion can be properly understood when we proffer a correct answer to the question: When does human life begin? The only correct and reasonable answer to the question is that human life begins at the moment of conception. Many biblical passages point to that fact:

“The child in my womb leapt for joy” (Lk. 1:44); “Yahweh called me while I was in the womb” (Is.49: 1); “You knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Ps. 139: 13); Et cetera. Therefore, “life must be safeguarded with extreme care from the moment of conception; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes” (Gaudium et Spes, no.51).

In the words of Dr. & Mrs. Willke: “The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child… and if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?” Apart from the destruction of peace, abortion is evil on the following grounds:

Abortion is an offence against God: In Exodus 20:13, God commands us not to kill, abortion is never a mere personal choice but a grave offence against God and His creation. The Bible says that “when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby in her womb leaped for joy” (Lk.1:41). This is exactly the same word that the Bible uses to describe Christ as “the Babe lying in a manger” after he was born (LK 2:12, 16). Therefore, in God’s eyes, an unborn baby and a newborn baby are both living human beings. Abortion is the shedding of innocent blood. God hates those who shed innocent blood ( Prov. 6:16-17). Cursed is he who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person and all the people shall say “Amen” (Deut. 27:25).

Abortion is an unnoticed war: The continuing war on terror has lead to a renewed national consciousness of the high price of war, and for many a heightened desire for peace. Yet, despite all this concern, the most horrible war of all has gone unnoticed. This scourge is as horrible as anything terrorist can fathom because it strikes the very core of our humanity by destroying the most basic human bond between mother and child and dissolving the precious glue that binds our nation together.

Abortion is a violation of the golden rule: In Matt.7:12, our Lord Jesus Christ said: "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets” .How would you feel towards her if you grow up to discover that your mother made unsuccessful attempt to abort you? Would it be your desire to suffer and die while someone traps you in a cage and literally tears your arms and legs from your body? If your answer is “NO”, then do not do same to another! Abortion is a violation of the golden rule.

Abortion is an interference with God’s plan: If God allows a child to be conceived, God obviously has a plan for that child. Mary's parents didn't know that she would give birth to the Saviour of the world. God has a plan for an unborn child (Jer.1:5; Lk.1:13-17; Gen. 4:25; Jud. 13:3-5). Therefore, to abort an unborn child is to stop a plan of God. A story goes that a man once asked God why He hasn’t given mankind the cure to cancer and God replied him saying: “I sent the cure through a baby but the child was aborted.”

Abortion is an infringement of a fundamental human right: The paramount right to life is vested in each human being from the moment of fertilization without regard to age, colour, sex, race, health, function or condition of dependency. The right to life is the paramount and most fundamental right of a person being violated on daily basis through abortion.

We shall end this brief reflection by saying the Prayer for Life by Saint Pope John Paul II: “O Mary, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life: Look down, O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the poor whose lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of brutal violence, of the elderly and the sick killed by indifference or out of misguided mercy.

Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty and love to the people of our time. Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives, and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build, together with all people of good will, the civilization of truth and love, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life” (Culled from: http:// www.catholic.org/pope/ jp2/prayer.php).