Termination!

Quotation

 

“Then, and only then, will all my questions be answered, when I begin an eternal relationship with God in Heaven. Until then, I will search for the answers to these questions, using Godly wisdom, not worldly wisdom!”

 

Barry Denzil Haney

 

Verse

 

For thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvellous are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect; And in thy book all my members were written, Which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

 

Psalm 139:13-16

 

Reflection

 

Termination!

 

The meaning of termination is the action of bringing something or coming to an end -- a powerful word in the English language conveying a sense of finality.

 

In the science fiction action thriller, The Terminator, a cyborg  assassin is sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose son will one day save manking from extinction. In this movie, the cyborg fails, but in today’s world, many succeed when they decide to terminate a fetus.

 

In this article, the word abortion refers to the willful killing of an innocent, unborn human life, and does not refer to an unintentional miscarriage.

 

When did abortion start?

 

(I apologize in advance for the lengthy history of abortion, but I felt like I needed to add this to help the reader understand abortion as it exists today. For those who don’t want to read this lengthy discussion, I suggest skipping this section and proceeding to the next section)

 

Although lengthy, in the article “U.S Abortion History Timeline and Facts”, the following information gives the reader a “good feel” for the history of abortion:

 

History of Abortion in the World

 

·       Biblical Era (Old Testament): Numbers 5:11- 31 states that, if a woman strays from her husband, he must bring her to the priest, who will serve her “bitter water that brings a curse.” Essentially condemning her to miscarry.

·       Ancient Egyptians: The Kahun Papyrus outlines the use of crocodile dung in a dough that is inserted into the vagina as a spermicide and to induce a miscarriage.

·       Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Europeans: A drug called pennyroyal was used in several ways, including as a culinary herb, a low dose birth control, a pest control and more. It was so popular that Aristophanes mentioned it in his play, “Lysistrata.” Pennyroyal was also mentioned as an efficient abortifacient in a text attributed to Cleopatra. It was used for centuries and grown in common household gardens, including those of the early American settlers.

·       China (3000’s BCE): Ancient China used mercury as a method of forcing a miscarriage. Their ancient handwritten texts also include 48 volumes with prescriptions for abortion.

·       America (the 1600s): African women, brought as slaves to the United States, were using cottonwood to abort as a result of rape, typically from slave owners. They also used “the savin from the juniper bush, pennyroyal, tansy, ergot, and Seneca snakeroot to abort pregnancies.”

 

Factors Leading to Abortion Illegalization

 

·      Eugenics Movement (late 19 century – early 20^th centuries)

·      Women’s Suffrage Movement (1840-1920)

·      The American Medical Association (founded 1847 – present)

 

History of Abortion Laws

·      1821 – Connecticut: The first restrictive law on abortion was passed, making it illegal for a pregnant woman to receive or take any type of “poison” intended for miscarriage. Contributing to this was the popularity of pennyroyal and other such drugs, which taken incorrectly or at too high a dose, caused death.

·      1860: 20 states had laws against abortion.

·      1873: The Comstock Law criminalized contraception and abortion, except in cases deemed absolutely necessary by a licensed doctor.

·      1890: More statutes restricting abortion unless medically necessary cropped up around the U.S., advocated by the American Medical Association.

·      1896: The Chicago Health Department enforced rules on their midwives that disallowed them to own any instrument used in abortion procedures. There was also a growing trend in facilities, organizations, and even newspapers to diminish the reputations of abortionists. It became a long campaign of changing public opinion on abortion.

·      1965: Griswold v. Connecticut (a court case about contraception) ruled in favor of a woman’s privacy.

·      1967: Colorado relaxed its abortion laws.

·      1970-74: More states relaxed their abortion laws (including Alaska, Hawaii, New York, and Washington).

·      1972: Eisenstadt v. Baird determined that married couples have the right to information involving contraception.

·      1973: Elected and voluntary abortions remained illegal until the Roe v. Wade case when it was ruled that women had the right to privacy, which included their decision to terminate.

·      1976: The Hyde Amendment passed, preventing the funding of abortion through Medicaid.

·      2000: Stenberg v. Carhart ruled against the ban on partial-birth abortions by Nebraska law. The ruling on this case by the Supreme Court eliminated 29 other statewide bans.

·      2003: After passed by Congress, President Bush signed into law a federal ban on all abortion procedures, which was immediately struck down by the National Abortion Federation in court.

 

History of Abortion Methods

 

·      1600’s: By this point, syphilis had become a problem. Condoms were created using linen or animal intestines and were often coated with a type of spermicide.

·      1800’s: The use of herbs and other dangerous methods continued until the 1800s, which saw the rise of more science-based medicines. Dr. Bronson’s Female Pills were advertised with the words, “remove difficulties arising from obstruction.”

·      1830’s: Madame Restell became the most notable abortionist for more than 35 years. She advertised pills and powders through magazines and traveling saleswomen. When those methods didn’t work, women were directed to her clinic for a surgical procedure.

·      1866: Syringes were advertised to “destroy the life properties” of sperm.

·      1900’s: By now, abortion was illegal. Women forced miscarriages through back-alley abortions or self-harm, which included the use of “knitting needles, crochet hooks, hairpins, scissors, and button hooks to induce miscarriage and terminate pregnancies, often causing serious injuries to themselves or death” (source).

·      Pre-1930: Until about 1930, surgical abortions were more about forcing a miscarriage. Surgical (“back alley”) abortions created a death and trauma toll much higher than that of childbirth, though statistics are vague. The number of back-alley abortions rose during the Great Depression, skyrocketing the number of female deaths, infections, and sterilization through infection.

·      1965: The abortion pill was put on the market but could only be taken by married women who were prescribed the pills by a doctor.¹

 

For those of you who read the above, congratulations.  This was exhausting to say the least, but now you have a better appreciation for the origins of abortion, the current laws governing this act of termination, and the secular worldview of abortion.

 

How common is abortion? In the article, “How to Report on Abortion”, the authors offer the following facts about abortion:

 

·      Worldwide, one in every four pregnancies ends in abortion

·      Over 56 million women have an abortion annually.

·      Women of all reproductive ages have abortions, both married and single, both with children and without.

·      The majority of abortions are in the 21-34 age group because women get pregnant most often at those ages.³

 

Fifty-six million dead fetuses! In the United States, the battle lines have been drawn! The differences between those who are pro-life, and those who are pro-choice couldn’t be greater and the differences appear irreconcilable for the most part.

 

As a Christian, I am pro-life. In this article, I cannot begin to discuss the differences between those who are pro-life and those who are pro-choice.  I invite the reader to look at both sides, pray about what you discover, and come to your own conclusion.

 

But I will share godly wisdom I have been given by the Holy Spirit through studying God’s word.

 

First, I highly recommend the book Deliver us From Abortion written by Brian Fisher. In this book, Fisher gives the reader an exhaustive discussion of abortion from a Christian perspective, backed up by many scriptural passages, too numerous to list in this article. I have read many of these verses and agree with his take on the subject of abortion. This following excerpt nicely summarizes his opinion and mine, about the importance of a fetus:

 

“Jesus Christ came to earth as a zygote. The Bible makes no textual distinction between life inside or outside the womb. Scripture shares insights into life in the womb, and it also reveals God has a purpose and plan for each new life. Each and every unborn child is precious and purposeful.”⁴

 

In closing, I will share this recent conversation with a close friend:

 

I told ….. I think his mother is in Heaven working with children. And I told him why I believed this. I told him I believed all of the aborted fetuses are now alive and well in Heaven. Those who made the decision for abortion (female and involved male) will be forgiven by God if they ask for forgiveness and repent of their sin. But most importantly, the aborted fetus is now alive and well in heaven, and when those involved in making the decision for abortion die and stand before God in Heaven, the aborted fetus will also forgive them! I told ….. I believe his mother is now in Heaven taking care of those children!”

 

 

Illustration

 

Ballad of the Unborn

 

My shining feet will never run on early morning lawn;

my feet were crushed before they had a chance to greet the dawn.

My fingers now will never stretch to touch the winning tape;

my race was done before I learned the smallest steps to take.

 

My growing height will never be recorded on the wall;

my growth was stopped when I was still unseen, and very small.

My lips and tongue will never taste the good fruits of the earth;

for I myself was judged to be a fruit of little worth.

 

My eyes will never scan the sky for my high-flying kite;

for when still blind, destroyed were they in the black womb of night.

I’ll never stand upon a hill, Spring’s winds in my hair;

aborted winds of thought closed in on Motherhood’s despair.

 

I’ll never walk the shores of life or know the tides of time;

for I was coming but unloved, and that my only crime.

Nameless am I, a grain of sand, one of the countless dead;

but the deed that made me ashen grey floats on seas of red.

 

Fay Clayton3(1)

 

Prayer

 

Our Heavenly Father,

 

Thank you for creating me in Your image.

Thank you for imagining me in Your dreams!

Thank you for Your immutable love! Thank you

for the hope we have because of Your Son Jesus.

 

We know every unborn child is precious and purposeful

to You. We know You have a special purpose and plan

for each new life. We pray the Holy Spirit provides

comfort, peace and protection for mother and child!

 

In the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior,

 

Amen!

 

Worship

 

The Angels Rejoiced in Heaven!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oBSlwZXwu8&list=RD_oBSlwZXwu8&start_radio=1

 

 

God Bless You,

Barry

 

1“History of Abortion in the U.S. Timeline.” Eastside Gynecology, June 24, 2019. https://eastsidegynecology.com/blog/us-abortion-history-timeline/. 

 

2Michael P. Green. 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000. Print.

 

3“How to Report on Abortion - A Guide for Journalists, Editors and Media Outlets.” IPPF, March 18, 2021. https://www.ippf.org/resource/how-report-abortion-guide-journalists-editors-and-media-outlets. 

 

4Fisher, Brian. Deliver Us from Abortion: Awakening the Church to End the Killing of America's Children. Dallas, TX: Brown Christian Press, 2015.