There have been almost 60 million abortions in America since it was legalized by the 1973 U. S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision (numberofabortions.com). Abortion is a scandalous blight on our society. Abortion is not about women's rights and women's freedom over their own bodies. Abortion is not the benign removal of a lifeless mass of flesh from a woman's body. It is not even about the health of the mother (less than 1% of abortions are performed to save the mother's life, abortionfacts.com). These are political smokescreens to shield the guilty and divert attention from the moral dilemma abortion presents. Abortion is the ending and removal of human life that is growing inside its mother. Abortion is the murder and removal of a new human being, a baby, from its natural place of development, sustenance and growth.

The beginning of life. The abortionists call themselves "pro-choice". This is diversionary. The time for choice comes before a new life is conceived - before the sexual act that produces conception occurs. Not all abortions are the result of premarital sex, but many do take place after the choice was made to engage in this immoral sexual relation. Premarital sex has become normal in our culture. A plain consequence of this choice - the conception of a child - is viewed by many as an inconvenience easily remedied by abortion. God intends the beginning of life to result from the act of marriage, not an act of sin (Heb. 13:4; Gen. 4:1). But when it does, killing the child is not the answer!

Sexual abstinence until marriage would end many abortions. Easy birth control is an incentive to those without moral restraint to engage in the very conduct that produces children. Planned Parenthood advises the number of abortions can be reduced by reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies. Duh. But we do not agree on how to accomplish this goal. They recommend preventing unwanted pregnancies by making contraception more easily available (5 Ways to Prevent Abortion (And One Way That Won't Work, 2006 Planned Parenthood® Federation of America, Inc., ppfa.org). This seems reasonable to a society that has normalized fornication. But, to those who fear God it is but another example of sinners  attempting to escape the consequences of sin at the expense of the innocent. There are consequences to sexual sin. The spiritual consequence is spiritual death. And, one possible physical consequence is conceiving a child.

Planned Parenthood's cry for more easily accessible contraception is also a red herring. A reader's response posted online to "Abortions and the modern people we are" (D. C. Innes, worldmag.com) bears this out:

"I'm pro-life and worked with RTL (Right to Life, jrp). We have known for years baby body parts were being sold by PP (Planned Parenthood, jrp). Like the following it has been ignored by the main stream media. For more than the last decade I have tried to bring forth the information with little response that over 80% of babies aborted in the U.S. are from unwed women and fornication is the cause of our abortions. PP supports fornication and fornication supports PP."

The Guttmacher Institute reports that "more than half of women obtaining abortions in 2000 (54%) had been using a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant" ("Contraceptive Use Among U.S. Women Having Abortions in 2000-2001", Jones, Darroch and Henshaw, guttmacher.org).

Sexual immorality is a fundamental moral problem leading to abortion. Abortion has become another means of birth control for a culture that idolizes sexual fulfillment regardless of its immorality or the cost in (aborted) lives. For the convenience of the mother and father, millions of children have been slaughtered in the womb. These sins do not go unnoticed and unpunished by a just and righteous God (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 2:5-11).

The growth of life. God's handiwork is on glorious display inside the womb. "For you have formed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother's womb" (Psa. 139:13). As if there were any doubt, recent advancements in technology make it clearer than ever that it is indeed a living child who inhabits the womb. Pregnancy ought to be a joyous time for the mother and father. Instead, it is too often viewed through the worldly lens of selfishness. A recent magazine headline in the grocery store checkout lane mournfully screamed that stretch marks are ruining the body of six-month pregnant Kim Kardashian (oh my!). The fruit of the womb, once held in blessed honor and love, is now viewed as the cause of ruination. Millions and millions of times the life of the unborn is disposable while the living selfishly indulge themselves. A nation cannot long survive that does not cherish its unborn.

The taking of life. Abortion is murder. It is not an action of self-defense against a ruthless attacker or the state's justifiable punishment of one worthy of death. It is the most extreme violation of the most vulnerable among us. A baby is still a baby whether it lives inside or outside its mother's body.

Children are not inconveniences, annoyances or hindrances. They are great blessings from God, deserving to be treated with love throughout every stage of life, including pre-birth. "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward" (Psa. 127:3).