As someone who knows what God’s Word teaches about the unborn and the value of every person made in God’s image (right from fertilization), it’s hard to stomach many news headlines these days. Whether it’s reports of atrocities committed in wars far away or yet another report about the killing of unborn babies in America, the news often has Christians crying out to God, wondering why he doesn’t immediately stop this evil. And we find that same struggle throughout the Bible.
Take, for example, the prophet Habakkuk. His short book is God’s answer to his cry of why God seems to allow evil to flourish. God assures him that evil will be judged. And the book ends this way:
Habakkuk 3:17-19 KJV – “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”
I encourage you to keep that in mind as we discuss the following news items—even though right now we don’t see God bringing his justice, he has promised he will but is delaying because of his great mercy toward sinners. And we can still have joy because God is our salvation and someday he will bring perfect justice for all sin (and we pray that, for those mentioned in the following news stories, justice will be met in Christ on the cross).
“Self-Managed” Abortions Up Since Dobbs Decision
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the question of abortion was handed back to the states. Some states enshrined the so-called “right” for a mother to murder her unborn child (child sacrifice) in their constitutions; others enacted nearly total abortion bans (though no states have yet made it illegal to murder a child—unborn babies still do not have equal protection under the law in any state).
A recent article was bemoaning the difficulty some women now have of procuring an abortion, highlighting how some of these women (3.4% of the sample group) are “self-managing” their own abortions with abortifacient herbs, “emergency contraception” (e.g., the abortifacient Plan B), alcohol and drugs, self-harm (punching themselves in the stomach), or the abortion pill (around two-thirds of US abortions are via abortion pills). Quoting one of the study authors, the article states, “If we make abortion more difficult to access, it doesn’t mean that people are going to need an abortion less frequently.”
Now, for many people this is a compelling argument—“We don’t want women hurting themselves, and they’re going to have abortions anyway, so we might as well make it safe and legal.” It’s these kinds of arguments that were used back in the 1970s to legalize abortion, and now they’re popping up again. But the argument is only “compelling” if you don’t think about the unborn child! This isn’t a “self-managed” root canal or appendectomy—a child’s life is being ended. It’s “self-managed” murder.
As soon as you consider that a human life is being extinguished, either at the hand of the mother punching herself or at the hand of a doctor dismembering the child or by a medication that starves the child, the evil of what’s really happening is exposed. A human life is being murdered—and that’s evil.
Yes, people will murder other people whether or not it is legal. That does not mean we legalize murder and make it safer and easier for people to do so. It means we protect the most vulnerable and enact laws that provide equal protection for all human beings so that no human can be legally murdered! Then we do what the church and Christians across this nation are already doing—provide love and support to struggling moms and dads so they no longer feel they “need” to use abortion.
7 in 10 Americans Favor Legalized Euthanasia
We really do live in a culture of death. And it shouldn’t surprise us—our post-Christian culture favors personal autonomy above all and has no absolute moral standard by which to judge what is right or wrong. So as long as something “feels” right or compassionate, or will give a person more autonomy, it’s quickly accepted. Consider a recent study that found that 71% of Americans “believe doctors should be ‘allowed by law to end the patient’s life by some painless means if the patient and his or her family request it.’” This number has been steadily climbing since it was first asked by Gallup in 1947 (then a shocking 37% were in favor!).
It’s very sobering that 7 in 10 Americans believe doctors should be allowed to murder their patients—as long as the patient or the family wants them to. Yes, growing older, suffering from a terminal illness, or facing a devastating prognosis can be incredibly difficult for everyone involved—it’s a sad consequence of living in a sin-cursed world. But the compassionate answer is not a swift death by a doctor because, ultimately, we are not our own gods (even though we try to be!). God is the one who holds life and death, not us. Human life has intrinsic value simply because we’re made in God’s image, not because of how young, able-bodied, or healthy we are.
And, as we’ve seen in nations such as Canada, euthanasia is a very slippery slope that quickly expands from the initial “strict requirements” to a much broader group and is ripe for abuse and manipulation.
Pray for This Nation
Yes, our culture’s bloodthirst in the name of personal autonomy and “compassion” is hard to stomach. But it shouldn’t surprise us. Human sacrifice—and specifically child sacrifice—has been common in pagan nations throughout human history. God’s enemy Satan hates God’s image and will do all he can to kill and destroy image bearers. This human sacrifice just appears more sterile in a modern medical sense, but it is no less barbaric. And it is no less a grievous sin in the eyes of the One who formed and fashioned each human life.
We must be praying for our nation—praying for God’s mercy on us and that he would help us remain faithful to defend those being led to the slaughter until someday he does bring about his perfect justice.
But ultimately we need to understand the solution is not government or legislation. The solution is a heart and mind change so people will believe God’s Word, build their thinking on God’s Word and have a true Christian worldview, and trust Christ for salvation.
