God, of whom none greater can be conceived, who created the world and therefore has all authority over the creation within it, including humans, thundered from Mount Sinai in Exodus 20:13,
“Thou shalt not murder.”
Though people ignore God’s preceptive will all the time and murder people of all ages, including the unborn, it is clear that this is not a suggestion. Proverbs 6:17 tells us that God abhors the hands that shed innocent blood, and backs that up by graciously warning all people in Revelation 22:15 that murderers will be excluded from His eternal kingdom. The ancient Didache, written around 96.A.D., states,
“Thou shalt not procure abortion, nor commit infanticide.”1
Extra-biblical sources affirm this truth. Let me give you two examples from non-theological sources. In March, 2017, The American College of Pediatricians stated the following in an article titled “When Human Life Begins,”
“The predominance of human biological research confirms that human life begins at conception—fertilization. At fertilization, the human being emerges as a whole, genetically distinct, individuated zygotic living human organism, a member of the species Homo sapiens, needing only the proper environment in order to grow and develop. The difference between the individual in its adult stage and in its zygotic stage is one of form, not nature. This statement focuses on the scientific evidence of when an individual human life begins.”2
Dr. Maureen Condic from the Charlotte Lozier Institute back on an article dated June 11, 2014 states,
“The conclusion that human life begins at sperm-egg fusion is uncontested, objective, based on the universally accepted scientific method of distinguishing different cell types from each other and on ample scientific evidence (thousands of independent, peer-reviewed publications). Moreover, it is entirely independent of any specific ethical, moral, political, or religious view of human life or of human embryos.”3
It is irrefutable that human life begins at conception. Not because I’ve quoted a couple of scientists, but because God created us in His image, thus reflecting his character, and investing us with value as divinely created creatures that mirror the divinity of God. Therefore, the created order cannot but confirm this truth. It is inescapable. It surrounds us everywhere we go. We see, then, the harmony in the verdict handed down by God’s special (scripture) and general (creation) revelation that abortion is the unjust taking of divinely-created human life, and thus must be abolished. The distinction between being a human being and a person is an artificial one that dehumanizes us unjustly. Every human being is a person, and every person is a human being. Personhood is not something magically bestowed on a human being at some arbitrary point of their lives. The burden of proof is on the side of those who advocate for the murder of human life. Those who advocate for the sanctity of human life ought to begin assuming an offensive strategy rather than a defensive one. The truth is on our side. We’re the ones on the right side of history.
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