I wrote a post regarding my view and my concern about the recent SCOTUS ruling regarding Roe vs. Wade. It also includes a few of my thoughts on how to move forward (i.e. making men accountable, etc.). You can read that here, A Christian’s Perspective to the ongoing Abortion Controversy.
Earlier this week, I was reading through the comments of a Tweet thread that began “You cannot be Christian and support abortion.” That specific topic isn’t what caught my attention. It was the sub-conversations and the discussion (or debate) on when life begins, specifically if it is at conception or at first breath… from people of faith (not necessarily Christian). Many of these “faith” people say they believe in God and “your” Bible is clear that life begins at “First Breath.” They will also point to Genesis to support their argument:
Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7 (NIV)
Many people will cherry-pick a verse from the Bible to support their claims. It can be pretty easy to do. I have two primary challenges to the “First Breath” justification for abortion.
God Knows You Before You Were Born
I believe the Bible is very clear that every person is made in the image of God and that each person has value and purpose, even before they are born and take their first breath. Scripture is very clear about this and also shares the excitement when Elizabeth’s baby “leaped in her womb” when Mary greets Elizabeth (see Luke 1:41).
The Bible also shares with us the knitting together the person within a mother’s womb. A fetus isn’t just a clump of cells… it’s a baby, being formed.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
Psalm 139:13-16 (ESV)
Does God Make Mistakes
The Bible also shares with us how God is the creator of the universe. Everything is orchestrated perfectly. The distance earth is from the sun, the harmony of nature, our DNA and biology system. Would it not be presumptive of me, or you, to be god-like and determine when God’s perfectly made “I knew you before you were born” clump of cells is viable and viewed as life? The baby shouldn’t be viewed like a wart or appendix that can be removed easily. The baby has a purpose. It has value. At the moment of conception, it is growing.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:14 (ESV)
To think or position otherwise is to make you God, a very dangerous proposition. God doesn’t make mistakes. He has a purpose for everything, since the beginning of creation.
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:16 (ESV)
The first breath argument is weak and misleading. Anyone that believes in God (even if not Christian), should at least recognize through his creation that everything has a purpose. It is only sinful man that makes justifications, excuses, and debates what God has revealed to us through his works and his Word.
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