The death of the Indian doctor in a Galway hospital, after she had requested an abortion, has reignited the “Pro-choice” lobby in their desire for abortion on demand. The enquiry into her exact cause of death is still pending but the assumption that her life could have been saved by an abortion has been paraded as fact.
Actually, the law does permit abortion where the mother’s life is in danger but it is clear that the doctors did not believe it to be so. Instead they monitored the baby’s heartbeat and whilst it continued they decided no intervention was required. When the heart stopped the baby was removed and the mother died 3 days later. The argument is that had an abortion taken place when the mother entered hospital 4 days earlier, her life would have been saved.
This argument has been trumpeted as fact around the world with the Irish Times original article on its website receiving 700,000 hits!
To understand why there has been such a furore we need to differentiate between a) necessary medical treatments where the mother’s live is in danger which may result in the death of the baby, and b) medical treatments for the purpose of ensuring the death of the baby.
Under a) it may be that doctors require some clarification to be enacted.
Under b) the mother says “I do not want a child at this time”. The “right” of the mother in this regard is being met in neighbouring countries.
But this “right” to play God and exercise life or death over the child in the womb can never find Biblical support.
Take the worst case scenario where the child in the womb is diagnosed with major handicaps making unassisted life outside the womb impossible. If the mother proceeds with an abortion, the knowledge that she has been the instigator of her baby’s death may be harder to live with than allowing her baby to live and die with dignity.
In the latter case the mother has had some time to bond with her baby, be photographed, named, and loved and has a grave to be tended and cared for. In the case of the Christian parent there is the certainty that one day they will meet in heaven with bodies that function like Jesus resurrected body “who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself (Philippians chapter 3 verse 21).
The Bible is silent as to the fate of the aborted baby. But there is no bonding, no photographs, no name, no love, no grave and no mother. The latter will pay a high price in this life but for those who truly repent and trust in the Lord’s mercy like St Paul, who was an accessory after the act of murder but could say, “I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy Chapter 1 verses 13/14).
There is the redeeming love of the risen Lord available for those who turn to Him.