An issue that has recently been the fodder of cable news, AM radio, and internet debates is the issue of whether or not women who have abortions should be held legally responsible, if abortion were to be made illegal? The idea made headlines, of course, because of Donald Trump's declaration that they should be (he has since backtracked). It has proven to be a divisive issue, even among those who claim to be pro-life, as people are forced to think out the logical conclusions of their belief systems (imagine that!). Let me offer three things this issue reveals about America. Then I'll offer my take.
First of all, the fact that there are people who are pro-life and have never actually thought about the woman's responsibility in the act reveals how illogical our culture is. People who believe both in the death penalty for murder and that abortion is murder are unsure as to whether or not the mother who murders her child should be punished. The inconsistency is glaringly apparent. People don't think past the first step of concepts anymore. Blame the educational system, the food, social media, or whatever else you want, but our culture has a really hard time considering any of the ripple effects of any given policy. We see this with topics like gun control and minimum wage. We see it with things like inflation and high-risk loans. Policy makers either don't think or don't care, and the populace follows suit. People ultimately react emotionally instead of based on principles. To say that abortion is murder is one thing. When it comes to punishing a woman for the act? Many just can't handle that.
Secondly, we have learned that we many pro-lifers don't really believe that abortion is murder. Our culture has accepted abortion because it has been legal for 40 years. Our school system, entertainment, and penal codes have entrenched abortion as a viable option. We do not view abortion as the heinous act that it is. We unknowingly see it as something less awful than taking an adult life. If a man dismembered a child, would we be opposed to holding his accomplish liable for being complicit to the crime? Well, that's what abortion is.
Thirdly, it has become apparent that many people simply don't care about murder. Our penal system has long shown this by its failure to prosecute murderers properly. Abortion, however, was less obvious for years because of the ambiguous nature of unborn fetuses. However, the medical profession has clearly and incontrovertibly shown us that unborn children are not just blobs of tissue. We know they're babies. No on really debates that anymore. The conversation is no longer whether or not the child is a child, but whether or not my right to a convenient life is more important than a child's right to life. For example, you have a presidential candidate that went on record saying that the unborn person has no rights that need protected by the government (as the law currently stands). What many missed in her statement is the acknowledgement of the person-hood of the unborn, something that was for many years against the rules, but now just doesn't matter. Medical advancements have shown us the complexity and completeness of the unborn child directly after conception, but we have been so desensitized that now we just don't care about killing a person. Our culture loves death. Rather, we love ourselves more than we dislike the death of others.
Well, how should Christians view the issue? The Bible clearly views the unborn child as a person. Exodus 21:22-25 prescribes that those who cause even the accidental death of a child in the womb should be held responsible (bear in mind that there are differing interpretations of this passage). Jeremiah 1:5 describes the prenatal calling of the eponymous prophet. In Luke 1:41 we read about John the Baptist leaping in his mother's womb. The Bible does not deal with abortion per se, but it doesn't need to. It views the unborn child as a child. Laws applying to murder in general apply as equally to killing the unborn child.
Based on these considerations, I, for one, cannot escape the conclusion that mothers who have abortions should be held responsible for that act of murder. I understand that it is a complex issue. Many times women, especially young girls, are pressured into having abortions. They are lied to, often being told that the child is not yet a child. However, if abortion were to be made illegal (which it absolutely should be) due to the undeniable evidence that a fetus is a person, and a woman were to have an abortion, she should be punished, as should any doctor, parent, or boyfriend who participates in the act. If a guy convinced a girl to smother her week-old infant, we would press charges against both of them. Why is abortion any different? Your answer might be revealing.
At the end of the day, what we have really learned is that we simply cannot have this discussion right now. How can you have a discussion about punishing an act that is not illegal? Using that discussion to argue against making the act illegal is just as absurd. We must deal with the broader issue first. Is abortion murder? Yes. Until we are willing to make murder illegal, we can't even begin to have a discussion about what to do with those who commit such an act.
First of all, the fact that there are people who are pro-life and have never actually thought about the woman's responsibility in the act reveals how illogical our culture is. People who believe both in the death penalty for murder and that abortion is murder are unsure as to whether or not the mother who murders her child should be punished. The inconsistency is glaringly apparent. People don't think past the first step of concepts anymore. Blame the educational system, the food, social media, or whatever else you want, but our culture has a really hard time considering any of the ripple effects of any given policy. We see this with topics like gun control and minimum wage. We see it with things like inflation and high-risk loans. Policy makers either don't think or don't care, and the populace follows suit. People ultimately react emotionally instead of based on principles. To say that abortion is murder is one thing. When it comes to punishing a woman for the act? Many just can't handle that.
Secondly, we have learned that we many pro-lifers don't really believe that abortion is murder. Our culture has accepted abortion because it has been legal for 40 years. Our school system, entertainment, and penal codes have entrenched abortion as a viable option. We do not view abortion as the heinous act that it is. We unknowingly see it as something less awful than taking an adult life. If a man dismembered a child, would we be opposed to holding his accomplish liable for being complicit to the crime? Well, that's what abortion is.
Thirdly, it has become apparent that many people simply don't care about murder. Our penal system has long shown this by its failure to prosecute murderers properly. Abortion, however, was less obvious for years because of the ambiguous nature of unborn fetuses. However, the medical profession has clearly and incontrovertibly shown us that unborn children are not just blobs of tissue. We know they're babies. No on really debates that anymore. The conversation is no longer whether or not the child is a child, but whether or not my right to a convenient life is more important than a child's right to life. For example, you have a presidential candidate that went on record saying that the unborn person has no rights that need protected by the government (as the law currently stands). What many missed in her statement is the acknowledgement of the person-hood of the unborn, something that was for many years against the rules, but now just doesn't matter. Medical advancements have shown us the complexity and completeness of the unborn child directly after conception, but we have been so desensitized that now we just don't care about killing a person. Our culture loves death. Rather, we love ourselves more than we dislike the death of others.
Based on these considerations, I, for one, cannot escape the conclusion that mothers who have abortions should be held responsible for that act of murder. I understand that it is a complex issue. Many times women, especially young girls, are pressured into having abortions. They are lied to, often being told that the child is not yet a child. However, if abortion were to be made illegal (which it absolutely should be) due to the undeniable evidence that a fetus is a person, and a woman were to have an abortion, she should be punished, as should any doctor, parent, or boyfriend who participates in the act. If a guy convinced a girl to smother her week-old infant, we would press charges against both of them. Why is abortion any different? Your answer might be revealing.
At the end of the day, what we have really learned is that we simply cannot have this discussion right now. How can you have a discussion about punishing an act that is not illegal? Using that discussion to argue against making the act illegal is just as absurd. We must deal with the broader issue first. Is abortion murder? Yes. Until we are willing to make murder illegal, we can't even begin to have a discussion about what to do with those who commit such an act.
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