In late July, multiple news outlets, including pro-life ones, understandably celebrated the news that a successful in-utero surgery to repair spina bifida had been accomplished in the state of Indiana, a first for that state. The doctor and hospital were praised for their potentially life-saving (and definitely life-altering—in a good way!) actions, but then horrifying details about the doctor and hospital were uncovered.
The original story went like this: “Dr. Hiba Mustafa led the team at Riley Hospital to repair a myelomeningocele, a severe form of spina bifida in which the spinal canal and backbone do not close before birth, which can lead to ‘lifelong complications including hydrocephalus, severe leg weakness, bowel and bladder dysfunction, and learning difficulties.’ The surgery was performed while the preborn baby was still in the womb, using a ‘fetoscopic approach utilizing a small maternal skin incision, which reduces risks to both mother and baby compared to traditional open fetal surgery and other fetoscopic approaches.’”
Now, in the state of Indiana, abortion is restricted to just three circumstances—“pregnancy due to rape/incest before 10 weeks gestation, to save the life of the mother, or in cases of fatal fetal abnormalities.” This does not include the abortion pill, which anyone can order online in any state and use to kill their baby, so, yes, the evil of abortion continues even in states with laws that do protect some unborn lives.
In 2024 in Indiana, 142 abortions were reported (this would not include abortions from the abortion pill)—and 67 of those abortions were performed at the very hospital where this life-saving spina bifida surgery took place. That’s more abortions than any other hospital in that state.
And it gets worse. According to reports, the very doctor who led this remarkable surgery “committed several second-trimester abortions. Reasons given for these abortions included myelomeningocele—the very condition she was able to successfully treat when the child’s life was deemed worthy of being saved.”
So what determines if a child’s life is saved or ended? Probably the whim of the parents—whether they are willing to allow a child with a potential disability to be born or not. Sadly, “according to one study, 63% of babies with prenatal spina bifida diagnoses are aborted.” And that same number is true (or is even higher) for other disabilities.
But a person’s value is not determined by their level of ability—it’s been predetermined by the God who fearfully and wonderfully made them in his very image. And the God who holds life and death says, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13), and that includes precious unborn children.
We shouldn’t save some lives while cruelly ending others. Every human life has value because every human is made in the image of God.
Oh—and remember, human life begins at fertilization, so abortion at any stage is the deliberate killing (murder) of a human being made in God’s image.
