Today we are observing Sanctity of Life Sunday. Today I’d like to consider several false assumptions about abortion.

Why do we need to dedicate a Sunday to the unpleasant issue of abortion? Frankly, I’d rather not speak on this issue. I’d rather not think about the fact that every year, about 1M babies are aborted in our country. But we can’t avoid reality. The Bible commands us to defend those who are being carried off to death. So it’s an issue we can’t ignore.

Most of us are probably aware that in 1973, the SCOTUS invented a right, not found in the constitution, that legalized the murder of pre-born children. Since that time, an estimated 60M babies in the womb have been legally murdered in the US. Those who stand against this ghastly practice are called pro-life, and we have been trying to convince people since 1973 that human life is sacred at every stage of development, especially life within the womb.

I believe that Christians are necessarily pro-life. We believe in the sanctity of human life. What does that mean? Here’s a definition:^[1]

The sanctity of life is the moral conviction that all human beings, at any and every stage of life, in any and every state of consciousness, of any and every race, color, ethnicity, level of intelligence, religion, language, gender, character, behavior, physical ability/disability, potential, class, social status, etc., are to be perceived as persons of equal and immeasurable worth and of inviolable dignity and therefore must be treated in a manner corresponding to this moral status.

Every human being of every condition has been made in the image of God and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. At the very least, innocent humans should not be murdered.

Not many years ago, abortion advocates promoted the idea that abortions ought to be “safe, legal, and rare.” Abortion supporters didn’t want to be known as pro-abortion; they wanted to be known as pro-choice. Groups like Planned Parenthood wanted to downplay how many abortions they were performing, as if killing babies were just a small portion of their business.

But now, things have changed. Many people have no qualms with being called pro-abortion because they are in favor of abortion. They see it as a good thing. Some women are happy that they’ve had an abortion, and they’ll tell you how great that choice was for them. They have no shame, no regrets about that decision. It solved a difficult problem for them, and they feel good about it. So they see it as a good thing in spite of the fact that it resulted in the murder of a child.

That kind of an attitude—killing a healthy, innocent baby in the womb and calling it a good thing—doesn’t just come out of nowhere; it comes from a set of assumptions about the world, humanity, and morality. Ideas have consequences. You can’t believe that abortion is a good thing without some strong, fundamental underlying assumptions and beliefs.

Today I’d like to consider the assumptions behind the whole debate. Why do those advocating abortion believe as they do, and why are those beliefs wrong?

As is usual in these kinds of debates, the issue eventually boils down to fundamental questions such as what is humanity and what makes human life valuable. Those supporting abortion maintain fundamentally anti-Christian and false views on these basic questions.

Let’s consider the false assumptions behind the pro-abortion position, and let’s compare those false assumptions to the biblical teaching on these issues.

[1] From David P. Gushee, PhD, is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University in Macon, GA. http://www.cbhd.org/resources/sanctity/gushee_2006-06-16.htm