I AM ALWAYS AMAZED AT THE LEVEL OF denial some people will sink to in order to justify the heinous and inhumane act of murdering unborn babies. First they change the name so that their conscience is not bothered. They refer to the baby as a “fetus” instead of “unborn child” in order to make it less human. Then they bring up the war and the innocent casualties that happen in a war. That is merely a distraction so they can justify their silence concerning the crime of abortion.
I don’t like war. However, I do believe that it is sometimes necessary. If the north had not stood up against the south and gone to war, then, I, being an African American, would still be a slave.
Regardless of whether or not you agree with the war in Iraq, what does that have to do with the legalized murder of 40 million babies?
But let’s get to the heart of the issue: A child is a human at conception. From a Biblical standpoint the Bible is clear that God has given us an identity even before we are conceived. But to go a step further, science also backs up the claim that life begins at conception.
The fact of the matter is that a fertilized egg has a unique set of human DNA from the mother. The baby has its own blood type and its heart begins beating within three weeks of conception. All these should be criteria that determine humanity. What you would refer to as a “fetus” is simply a human at an earlier stage of development. The fact that the baby is dependent on the mother only demonstrates the level of development; it should not be a determinate of its humanity. Dependency on the mother does not take away the preborn child’s humanness.
Just like a newborn that still has to depend on other people for its nourishment and safety, the unborn baby is just at a different stage of development. From the time of our infancy until we die our bodies are constantly developing and changing. These different stages of development have no bearing on whether or not we are human; they are simply stages of development. The same way a 50 year old is no more or less “human” than a 6-month-old baby; the unborn child in the womb is still a human and deserves to live.
Dr. Paul Ranalli, a lecturer in Neurology at the University of Toronto, presented current anatomical and physiological evidence that a preborn baby is capable of feeling pain at least 20 weeks into gestation, likely more intensely than a newborn, providing further proof against the tragedy of killing a preborn child through abortion.
I also want to bring to your attention that pregnancies must be “aborted” or “terminated.”That word itself even denotes that something is in progress. That “thing” is a life that unfortunately the people that helped to create are now trying to end.
I recently exchanged e-mails with a man that told me that an unborn child should not be considered human because it cannot breathe on its own. To use “breathing on its own” to determine level of humanness is dangerous. Does that mean the old man who resides down the street from me and has to depend on an oxygen tank to breathe is not human and therefore fair game? What if I, (heaven forbid) got into an accident and needed a respirator to help me breathe, would I then cease to be a human being? I certainly hope not.
The last point I want to address is this notion that taking away the “choice” to murder an unborn child is a “male thing” and it is in any way against women. To the contrary, it is a scientific fact that women who go through abortions have a number of physical and emotional problems because of this procedure.
This is because terminating a life that God has given you is not natural. We are created by God to nurture our children. And when we destroy the life that has been entrusted to us, our body and our mind react. Call it what you want but I stand by my previous position. Abortion is murder and it should not be legal in a “civilized” country.
JOE GREEN is a husband and a father of four who travels the world as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Joe shares his story of how he went from being homeless, a drug dealer, and a heavy drug and alcohol abuser to being the first African American owner of a Christian broadcast radio station.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 18, 2008. Read the original PDF.