In a controversial and unexpected five to three ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out Texas’ so-called “clinic shutdown” law, which was enacted by that state’s legislature “to protect women’s health;” instead, the Supreme Court ruled that these laws created an “undue burden” for women seeking constitutionally protected abortion services.
The law required doctors to have local admitting privileges in nearby hospitals and that clinics must upgrade their facilities to hospital-like standards. Critics said that if the law were allowed to stand, only a handful of abortion clinics would remain open, forcing women to pay more and travel farther for abortions.
Yet in stark tension with the federal right to on-demand abortions, the Bible upholds the value of life in the womb. “You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:13, 14). The taking of human life, even one not developed fully in the womb, is a tragic, sinful symptom of a world beset by fear and selfishness.
According to one study, more than a million abortions were performed in 2011. Unsurprisingly, in an era of “open” sexuality, nearly half of all pregnancies in 2011 were unplanned, and about four in ten of these were terminated via abortion—meaning that in many cases, terminating a life in the womb was seen as a way of ending an inconvenience to another human life. This is a tragic, pagan view of humanity and a direct result of the innate sinfulness and selfishness of humankind.
So when the law of the land challenges Christian values, what are Christians to do?
First, we can know that we live in a deeply fallen world where people and governments will make foolish choices that stray far from Bible principles. While we will feel disappointed, even dismayed, when human life is considered so expendable, we don’t need to be shocked that such things happen in our world.
More important, knowing that Christ is the way to salvation (John 14:6), we can take action in the spirit and methods of Jesus, who came to show every man, woman, and child that God loves him personally, that she has intrinsic value to her Creator. God really can help us through any crisis or inconvenience if we put our trust in Him.
The most significant step Christians can take is not just to react, but to proactively model Jesus’ sacrificial compassion and kindness. Against such behavior, there is no law (Galatians 5:22, 23). Think of the fundamental changes the prophet Daniel—just one man—brought to a nation built on laws in direct opposition to God’s principles through his powerful, faithful life!
Now imagine what could happen to abortion—with or without state laws—when the principles of God’s law of love are embedded into more human hearts.
Would you like to hear more? Listen to this
episode of Bible Talk on the topic of abortion.