The gospel is good news for all and offers a far better story (or narrative for life) than the world. That’s true for the weak and marginalised, for failures and sinners, and for the weakest amongst us, including the unborn. And that means we must talk about abortion.
I know this is a sensitive issue, and when talking about it we must always remember that there nothing in our past that God will not pardon when we repent. We all fail God, so compassion and gentleness are vital. So, if abortion is an issue for you, please know that you are welcome here and that God offers grace and healing to all who ask him.
But we mustn’t let fear of offending someone, nor the complexity over rape cases, or where a mother’s health is in danger, prevent us from acknowledging the grotesque nature of what our society has accepted as a normal means of birth control. Since abortion became legal in the UK some 50 years ago, almost 9 million children have been deprived of their right to life. That’s more than the number of Jews killed by the Nazis. And things are getting worse. A new test approved last year made detecting Down’s Syndrome much easier and safer, but around 90% of babies with Downs are aborted. That same test reveals a baby’s gender, enabling parents to abort on the basis of sex. It’s usually girls who are unwanted. And 2 weeks ago, New York passed a law allowing abortion for any reason, right up to birth. Some in our health care profession are calling for that to be law here too.
But what does the Bible say? What’s our better story? It’s that life is a gift from God; that God, our loving Father, knits us together in our mothers’ wombs, that from the moment of conception babies are not just clumps of cells, products of breeding, or unconscious foetuses, but precious children, created and loved by God. Inside or outside the womb is just geography. The unborn have no voice except ours, so I want to encourage you to think about this issue and to speak up. A great resource is https://www.brephos.org.