To Choose or Not to Choose

by Wayne S. Walker

Women who claim the right over their bodies to choose abortion are violating the rights of another body within their own.

A few weeks ago, we were driving in traffic behind a car with a bumper sticker which said, "Choice. What a Beautiful Right." I assume that nearly everyone has seen the pro-life (anti-abortion) signs and bumper stickers which say, "Life. What a Beautiful Choice." This new bumper sticker seems to be a "pro-choice" (pro-abortion) take off on that, since the word "choice" has become a code word among the more liberal element for abortion rights. Therefore, I would assume that the owner of the car is expressing her belief in a woman's sovereign right to have an abortion.

Those who truly believe the Bible understand that abortion is wrong. Period. One of the seven things that are an abomination to the Lord is "hands that shed innocent blood" (Prov. 6:16,17). And what more innocent blood could be shed than that of helpless unborn babies? However, it is interesting that the pro-abortion crowd wants to frame the argument solely in terms of "choice." We all like choices, We do not want to have to buy only one kind of car constructed by a state owned monopoly, we want a choice between Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and the multitude of foreign models. We do not wish to be limited only to one government approved television station but wish to choose from ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, WB, and all the cable or satelite stations (even though there is probably not much on any of them that is worth watching!).

However, there are some choices that are absolutely wrong and, because they are harmful to others, are prohibited by law. The choice to rape a woman would be an example. What the bumper sticker actually means, but does not say, is, "Choice. What a Beautiful Right for a woman to be able to kill her unborn baby." That, of course, would frame the subject entirely differently and make it much less "noble" sounding. Some bad choices, such as drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes, are allowed by law primarily because they harm only the individual involved. But when they begin to harm others, they are more strictly controlled (drinking and driving, or smoking in public places, for example).

One of the arguments made for abortion is that a woman has a right to do with her own body what she chooses. However, the problem is that it is no longer only her own body under consideration, but a new body that is growing within hers. Some claim that the child is not really a human being until it is born. They say that it is just a mass of tissue in the woman's body, but that is genetically not true. If it is not a human being, what is it? A rock? An eagle? The law protects the unborn eagles in eagles' eggs because they are exactly that -- unborn eagles. The law, however, as currently interpreted by the Supreme(icist) Court cannot protect the unborn human beings in their mothers' wombs.

This argument for abortion, of course, centers on the concept of "rights," as indicated in the bumper sticker mentioned earlier. Yet, we all recognize that rights are not absolute. A Supreme Court Justice noted that no one has the right to cry "Fire" in a crowded theater. The right to swing one's fist ends where another's nose begins. Again, the exercise of the "right to free speech" and the right to freedom of movement is limited when it conflicts with someone else's rights. Since it is now medically clear that at conception the unborn baby is a distinct and separate human being, and our Constitution guarantees the "right to life," we have to ask why any woman should have the right to kill another human being, even if it is unborn and inside her body? Of course, the pro-abortionists continue to deny these facts in the face of all contrary evidence.

One way that some people, especially many politicians, "waffle" on the abortion question is by saying, "Well, I personally oppose abortion, but I cannot force my opinion or 'values' on others, so we have to keep abortion legal." That is mere sophistry. To these people, the word "values" simply means personal viewpoints. However, there are some thngs that are absolute truth, and in those areas a society imposes its values on people. I am waiting for the politician who will boldly say, "Well, I am personally opposed to mob bosses eliminating their competition by gangland killings, but I cannot force my 'values' on others, so we should make this kind of assassination legal." I will probably be waiting a long time, but in principle there is no difference.

Another way to "waffle" on abortion is for someone to say, "I am not pro-abortion, only pro-choice." Again, this is just a dodge. The prefix "pro" means "for." If an individual is "for" a woman's choice to have an abortion, then he or she is "for" the abortion when the woman chooses to have it, hence "pro-abortion." Those who support abortion rights prefer to be called "pro-choice" rather than "pro-abortion" because the one sounds better. Those of us who oppose abortion often call ourselves "pro-life" because that is what we are, but I for one do not mind being identified as "anti-abortion" because that is accurate as far as it goes. I am against abortion. The pro-abortion group likes to call us "anti-choice." Although that is not an entire picture either. I will agree that in this case I am against a particular choice in the same way that I am "anti-choice" when it comes to rape, murder, etc.

This whole issue is part of the greater "culture" war that our society is fighting. While one might argue whether our country was ever really a "Christian nation" or not, there is the doubt that at one time the laws of our country were based on a Biblical worldview drawn from our Judaeo-Christian heritage. Do not be deceived. While it is true that our nation was founded on the principle of religious freedom, it was founded by people who identified themselves as Christians with Biblical values. However, once the humanistic worldview became dominant and a majority of people no longer truly believed that we are "endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights" but are mere products of evolution for who a subjective "quality of life" is the only standard, it is nothing to accept the deaths of countless unborn children via abortion. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Prov. 14:34).