Years ago during a presidential campaign, at a televised town hall meeting, a young girl appearing to be in her mid-teens stood up and loudly declared, “I’m not going to have some man tell me what I can or cannot do with my body.” Fair enough. But is the premise of this young girl's position, and that of countless other women, true? Is the unborn that a pregnant woman is carrying simply just another part of her body?
Consider what is at stake here - human life. Most reasonable persons would agree that when life is at stake, it would be best to err on the side of life. That would be the loving, compassionate and reasonable position to take. That would be the tolerant and certainly the inclusive position – to show tolerance and inclusivity toward life.
Is an abortion simply the removal of a part of a woman’s body?
DNA and Genetics: The unborn has distinct, separate and different DNA than the DNA of the woman. The unborn ALWAYS has a unique, personal genetic code that is all its own. In these popular times of DNA ancestry, the unborn baby and the woman are two entirely different human beings of two different generations! If the unborn inside of a woman was a part of her body the DNA would be identical, not different. But the woman and the unborn child are not even of the same generation much less the same body! DNA and genetic science have proven the facts out.
Conclusion: The unborn child is not part of the woman’s body.
Male and Female: The unborn baby the woman is carrying is, approximately half the time, a human male with appropriate male genetics and DNA. A pregnant female carrying an unborn male cannot medically assert that at the time of becoming pregnant she then began to grow a separate male body part that is somehow her body. Medical science is crystal clear that the unborn male has his own unique, separate genetics and DNA. The unborn male child the woman is carrying is an entirely different gender, having its own gender that is physically and genetically distinct from the woman (see also The Evidence at Birth below).
Conclusion: The unborn baby is not part of the woman’s body.
Blood Types: The unborn child can have, and often does have, an entirely different blood type than the woman. If the unborn were simply a part of the woman's body then their blood would be identical in every way. Any blood samples taken from the unborn baby would show not only the same blood type, but the same blood as that of the woman! Science and medicine tell us this is simply not the case and reality shows us that regularly the woman and the unborn child have entirely different blood types.
Conclusion: The unborn child is not part of the woman’s body.
Onset of Labor: The unborn baby initiates the day and time the woman goes into labor. While the onset of labor can be medically induced, in a normal pregnancy the mother does not have control over the day or the hour that labor commences. Science and medicine tell us that it is the living unborn baby that brings about the onset of labor, and does so independently of the mother's desires for the chosen day or the convenient hour for labor to begin.
Conclusion: The unborn baby is not part of the woman’s body.
The Evidence at Birth: At the time of birth, it is not a woman’s body part that is birthed, but a separate human person is born. And this human has his or her own fingerprints, heartbeat, brainwaves, blood type, DNA, digestive system, circulatory system, respiratory system, etc. During pregnancy there is never a time when a woman's body part somehow "changes" into a separate human being! The unborn is a distinct human being the entire time.
Conclusion: The unborn person is not part of the woman’s body.
Does a woman have the right to privacy and decisions regarding her own body? Yes, of course. But sound medical science, the reality of birth, and simple common sense tell us the unborn is not a part of a woman’s body – the unborn is a separate human person. And this human should have human rights too and in his or her innocence receive compassion, respect, care and protection. From tiny eggs to huge whales, cultures today go to great lengths to protect both animals and their unborn. It is unfathomable that humans would not show similar concern, compassion and protection for the unborn human being a woman is carrying.
Societies and cultures have no problem, and at times require by law that life for animals and endangered species, including their unborn, be protected. Yet humans have chosen to make the unborn human person an object whose life can be ended, not in rare cases, but for convenience, so often today as just another means of birth control. And as humans do so, throughout aspects of society, life loses value, life loses its sanctity.
HIGHER THOUGHTS: Psalm 139:13-14, "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." (ESV)
The word here rendered "knitted" means in context to interweave; to weave together; to knit together. It communicates a beautiful picture, God creating every person in the mother’s womb, the very strands of our DNA being knit together by the Lord. In that formation, God not only creates a body, but the soul is established as well.
God has a plan for every soul, every person.
Murder ends a life too soon. Suicide ends a life too soon. Abortion ends a life too soon. It cuts short a life that God had plans for. Have you ever stopped to consider that perhaps the person that would one day find a cure for cancer might have been aborted in the 1970’s? Or the person who would one day find a cure for AIDS or other diseases was aborted in the early 80’s? Think of the wonderful songs that will never be sung. The artists, scientists, engineers, the theologians and philosophers, the friends, neighbors and children the world will never know.
The argument is maintained that abortion is promoted, defended and carried out because the unborn is just another part of a woman’s body. Science and medicine tells us this is not true. The Bible, God's word, tells us that the unborn human person is the very work of the hand of God, created in God's image. Therein truly is the sanctity of life.
If you are a woman who has had an abortion, please know that you can find grace, forgiveness, and newness of life at the cross of Jesus Christ. While having an abortion is not the unforgivable sin, it is a sin. Yet God loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to take the guilt and punishment of your sins and my sins. Every human being has sinned against holy God, but through Jesus, God will forgive and cleanse the sin and guilt away and make us new creations in Jesus Christ. Please know that God loves you and wants a relationship with you this very day. Visit our web page "Knowing God" if you would like to learn about God's love, grace, forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ.