Psalm 139:13
13 For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and skillfully formed in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my formless substance, and in Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.[i]
Last week a disheartening bill passed the United States House of Representatives 218-211 named the “Women’s Health Protection Act.” What is in a name? Well, for this bill, nothing is good as it is the newest offensive to ensure the murder of the unborn. Oh, the supporters endorse its protection for a woman’s right to do with her body as she pleases, but it does nothing for the human being in her womb. No one hears that child’s voice as to what happens to his or her body. The murdering of babies in the womb is an evil child sacrifice (Lev. 20:2-5; 1 Kings 11:4-11; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chron. 28:1-4) of magnanimous proportions to the gods of “self” and “sexual perversion.” Sometimes wickedness like this seems so big that Christians may feel there is nothing they can do about it. Thankfully, we have God’s Word to guide us.
We must begin with when a person, a human being, has life. There are many differing opinions concerning this subject. Those in the medical and political communities believe life does not start until the baby is born outside the womb. Justice Harry Blackmun cited this in his majority opinion in the landmark case Woe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) on page 160. One may find other notes from that opinion here. Then there is the recent Texas Heartbeat Act stating the fetus is a viable human person once the heartbeat is detected as early as five to six weeks after conception. Finally, as the BBC article, “When Is the Foetus Alive?” says, many opinions suggest everything between the above points of view.
The Christian must understand specific terms. Pro-choice advocates often use words like “fetus” and “embryo.” The more scientific a word sounds, the less human the definition. Although the intent is often subversive, understanding these words is helpful for the Christian to remain on the same page in the discussion. When we speak of an embryo, the Oxford Medical Dictionary online defines it as “a young animal that is developing from a sexually fertilized or parthenogenetically activated ovum and that is contained within egg membranes or within the maternal body…. In mammals, an embryo is sustained through blood supplied by the mother via the placenta. In humans, the embryo is called a fetus after the first eight weeks of pregnancy.” It continues, “The earliest developmental stages of a fertilized ovum at which cellular differentiation begins. After the eighth week of gestation, the human embryo is described as a fetus and has recognizable limbs, functioning heart, etc.”
Considering the embryo definition causes one to ask, “what is a fetus?” The Latin for fetus defines the term to mean “‘little one,’ and uses the definition to describe a stage of development, just like ‘infant’ or ‘adult.’ According to the law of biogenesis, ‘a fetus is conceived by human parents, grows according to the instructions in its own human genetic code, which is by definition a living human being. Therefore, human life is a continuum, beginning with the newly conceived zygote, moving through the stages of embryo and fetus on through to adulthood.’ Although a fetus does not look like an adult yet, neither does a newborn baby. A human fetus is no less human simply because it is smaller and more delicate.”
When the world uses cold, scientific terms to support that an embryo or fetus is not human, its purpose backfires. When one understands the definitions as the scientific community provides, it becomes clear that the smallest of organized cells have life. Adrian Rogers once said, “It isn’t the Bible that has changed; it is science that is catching up with the Word of God.” The Christian knows this to be true.
God’s Word says that life begins before birth. Although the Bible does not directly refer to abortion, it does refer to the importance of life and the status of life before birth. In Jeremiah 1:4-5, we read:
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born, I consecrated you; have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
Notice that God tells the prophet that He knew Jeremiah when Jeremiah was in the womb and even before God formed him in the womb. That forming is an act of God’s providential work. The Hebrew word is yatsar and gives us the picture of a potter forming or shaping clay. Indeed, the potter-clay is a book theme, as Jeremiah provides the image again in chapter eighteen. The implication is that there is personhood associated with both unborn Jeremiah in chapter one, verses four through five, and born Jeremiah in chapter eighteen.
Also, the Bible makes it clear that both Jesus and John the Baptist were persons before their births. The angel referred to the baby in Mary’s womb as a unique conception as God-man and gave the child a name (Luke 1:26-38). Luke records for us that when Mary’s cousin Elizabeth met her to discuss the news, the conceived child in her womb named John leaped for joy (Luke 1:41-44). God intentionally instructs us that not only is a fetus a person, but he or she also has a personality.
Finally, Christians should think of the unborn with the beautiful picture of Psalm 139. Many believers have read this Psalm, and some may have memorized it or verses 13-14 at least. It is a Psalm of David in which he praises God for how intimately He knows David. The knowledge of David’s being is so vast that God knows what David always does, so much so that beginning in verse seven, David explains how he cannot ever hide from God. In this little section, we find verses describing the creation of every human being by the hand of God.
Note the development of the unborn baby in these verses. There is the formation of the DNA (wove together), flesh (covered), internal organs (inward parts), and bones (frame). Not only were these developments not hidden from God, but He also already determined the number of days of its life—from conception to death.
It is essential to consider the different translated words “covered,” “woven,” or “knitted,” depending on one’s translation. Many commentators debate which translation is best. The original is the word sakhakh, and it means “to plait or interweave, in this case with bones, sinews, and veins.” And, as George Booker states, the phrase “knit me together,” along with the previous expression (“You created my inmost being”), suggests the fantastic complexity of the human genetic code.
In humans, the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), the information storage unit for all organisms, consists of about three billion base pairs. Two strands make up the DNA and form a double helix (as the above picture represents). In sexual reproduction, one set of chromosomes comes from the mother and one set from the father. Four base nitrogens called “nucleotides” make up this set. Scientists gave the base nitrogens the names guanine, cytosine, adenine, and thymine. Each base pair contains a code for every aspect of information for the person, such as hair color, height, hairy knuckles, and intellectual/psychological/personality traits. As the law of biogenesis states, the fact is that this information code cannot arise spontaneously or by mechanical processes no matter how much time one gives. The fact that the information encoded in DNA ultimately needs to have come from an omniscient source of information testifies to a Creator (Rom. 1:19-20). And the Holy Spirit tells us through King David that Creator is God.
When we consider these passages of Scripture, Christians should advocate for God’s direction of having children within the confines of His created institution of marriage (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:18-25). The diminishing view of God’s precept of marriage as good is the crux of the sinful circumstance we deal with today. The church must be at the forefront once again promoting God’s ways and means of a husband and wife becoming one flesh, loving one another with Christlike love and submission (John 2:1-12; Eph. 5:22-33) and having children within their marriage only.
A couple should make the decision not to have children before they cross the bedroom boundary. The decision not to have sex guarantees a child will not conceive. However, the world detests this viewpoint as sacrificial in a self-righteous, me-centered culture. The contemporary world sees marriage as archaic and children as burdens. There is no love for the unborn, and there is only love for self-gratification. The sexual revolution has brought the culture to the point of worshipping sex instead of the One who created it for a specific purpose—to have children and love them and teach them the ways of the Lord (Deuteronomy 6). The disregard of the consequences correlated to fornication has brought debate whether a baby in the womb is a person or not. If not, then one has the right to rid their body of the inconvenience. The worldly argument continues, but it should be clear to the Christian that an embryo or fetus is a living human person.
As followers of the Creator of the universe and His covenant children, we must stand up for the unborn. God creates them in His image, and they need protection. Thankfully, the Texas bill is a move in the right direction. Sadly, the United States House of Representatives bill is not. Personally, the first platform issue I research on political candidates, from my town sheriff to the POTUS, is pro-life views and votes (against abortion). I investigate this because if they do not have the heart and mind to protect the most defenseless, then they will make poor decisions about issues in every other area of life. If they see the unborn as inhuman, then when push comes to shove, they will see various categories of people the same way. As Christians, we need to hold these politicians accountable. We must write, email, and call them. We must get involved in the political arena by serving on boards and running for office. We need to continue developing Christian-owned businesses, supporting those businesses, and serving the community in missionary works like Helping Hands of Georgetown and Meals on Wheels. We must love all people from conception to the grave.
Only one United States House of Representatives from South Carolina voted for the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” Rep. Jim Clyburn. His contact information is here if, after prayer, the Holy Spirit leads you to send him your disappointment of his vote on this issue.
Finally, I offer these pro-life organizations to you, which provide helpful information and help from a biblical perspective:
South Carolina Citizens for Life
Bethany Christian Services of Surfside, SC
[i] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is used from New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Andrews PCA 