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Ask a Question [SIZE=+2]Q:[/SIZE]
I have read your Q&A with great interest many times, and often learned a lot. However, I am offended and disappointed with some answers regarding abortion. You say that abortion is OK if the cause is that the mother would die if she was to continue the pregnancy. You say it is important to try and save a life instead of losing two. How come you think saving a life is so important that you are willing to kill another life (= the baby)? Why would the life on earth be so important, that you would choose to murder a baby so that the mother can go on living (instead of-let's say the mom is a christian-she would go to heaven, and the baby-we cant say much about since God's word doesn't)? Isn't God the giver and taker of life? Isn't it possible that God chose to end a mother's life due to pregnancy? I am disappointed with the liberal view you express regarding this matter, and I did not find enough Bible verses to support your view. [SIZE=+2]A:[/SIZE]The allowance for an abortion to save a mother’s life is rooted in Scripture and in the practical application of human reason.
The “exception clause” in the position statement of the WELS on abortion, (found
here) and in the position statement held by the majority of pro-life Christian denominations, is often misinterpreted. A correct understanding does not lead to an arbitrary choice as to which life we save. A correct understanding of this position is made in cases where one life is certain to be lost, and we can take measures to preserve the other life.
Scripturally, the broad teaching on human life from the Bible is that we have a responsibility to protect and care for human life. This is evidenced by the prohibitions against willful and malicious murder (
Exodus 20:13;
Genesis 9:6;
Revelation 21:8), the commands to protect and defend (
Proverbs 31:8-9;
Ezekiel 33:6), and the willingness to sacrifice personally for the lives and souls of others (
Matthew 20:28;
John 15:13). Any “exception clause” must be rooted in the paramount concern to protect life.
The tension in the case of abortion is seen in the practical reality of what is happening when such a choice is required. Instances where the mother’s life is genuinely and assuredly endangered are extremely rare. It primarily occurs with ectopic or tubal pregnancies, or those pregnancies that occur outside of the reproductive tract. In those circumstances the outcome always results in the death of the developing child. Neither the tubal or ex-uterine environment can sustain the developing child to viability. Those same pregnancies present a real risk of fatality for the pregnant woman if intervention does not take place. Practically speaking, in this circumstance, the decision is clearly made between two fatalities or one fatality. Prudency and obedience to the Biblical assignment to protect life compels us to save what life can be saved.
While ex-uterine pregnancies constitute the vast majority of “life endangerment” cases, there are very few cases where other conditions present such a challenge. The mother may have a severely weakened heart or is wrestling with cancer and undergoing treatment likely dangerous to the developing child. While in the case of an ex-uterine pregnancy, where there is no chance for the survival of the developing child, the latter cases do present a stronger tension. These cases are more complex and have many variables. What if the heart ailment is serious enough to not sustain a mother’s health until a child reaches viability? What if the progression of a cancer makes it unlikely for a mother to survive long enough to deliver a viable child? Again, the motive is to protect a life rather than lose both lives. If, on the other hand, there exists a risk for mother and a child that can make it to viability, a Christian is compelled to protect both lives if at all possible.
This same reasoning applies both ways. In convoluted circumstances where a child is likely to survive but the mother is not, effort should be made to sustain the life that can be sustained. In such a circumstance, it is the reality that a mother may die while her child may live. Christian Life Resources, a pro-life and pro-family agency within the fellowship of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, wrestled with some of these issues when drafting its position statement on abortion. That position statement can be found at:
www.christianliferesources.com/?4732
In its conclusion to Section 1, which touches on the “exception clause”, the statement reads: “God's Word instructs us that human life is His unique creation that is to be protected at all stages, including its earliest stages. Even when a medical abortion is sought to preserve a mother's life, the Christian will always proceed with the intent to preserve all human life whenever possible. All other reasons for abortion fail to reflect God's high regard for human life and our responsibility to protect it.” As expressed throughout Scripture, God has entrusted us to be stewards to manage the blessings He has given us. One of those blessings is life. It is the degenerating results of sin in our world that creates such dilemmas in our lives. It is also these challenges that enable us to search out God’s Word and to make decisions consistent with His will. In the very sad circumstance of having to choose to preserve one life rather than lose two lives, the weight of Scripture’s calling for us to protect life compels us to preserve both lives, or at least one life, whichever is possible.
