Dealing with a Pro-Life Objection

I’ve seen several YouTube commercials encouraging viewers to support the pro-abortion Amendment G. In one clip, the spokeswoman says something like, “We must not force women to deliver a child conceived through rape or incest, because abortion in these situations protects women from trauma.” I imagine that some Christians remain sympathetic to this type of claim. Despite its popularity as a pro-choice sentiment, I think it’s misguided for three reasons.

First, abortion does not help women heal from trauma, but rather it increases, intensifies, and extends the pain. Ending innocent life introduces additional layers of harm. Second, every child is a gift from Almighty God, regardless of the circumstances of conception. Neither the father’s sins nor the mother’s pain determine the value of life—God does. What God has created sacred, let no one destroy. Third, suppose a woman chooses to keep a pregnancy conceived through rape but later regrets that decision, desiring to end her one-year-old child’s life. Is this acceptable? Certainly not. What’s the difference? Pro-choice advocates come up short here. The issue boils down to a difference of location—in abortion, the child is in the womb; with infanticide, the child is outside the womb. We all know that mere location can’t decide the morality of taking life.

In short, while we recognize the deep pain of women who suffer through these extremely difficult questions, we also affirm that the “rape and incest” objection falters because it promotes the termination of innocent human life. Rather than choosing abortion, God calls women in this situation to follow the wisdom of Rom 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Rape and incest are grave, wicked, depraved acts, and yet God in Christ through the Spirit redeems even the worst of evils.

Pastor Chance