The Abortion Fallacy

On Wednesday, January 30, of this year, Virginia governor Ralph Northam, went on the radio and responded to a question about a bill that was being debated in the Virginia legislature. When asked about that bill, he openly stated that he is in favor of letting infants be left to die after birth if the mother decides she doesn’t want the baby. Those who have, all these years, claimed to be pro-choice, have now, out in the open, moved from pro-choice, to pro-abortion, to pro-infanticide.

With other states also putting forth legislation to allow third-trimester abortions, and even infanticide, pro-life legislators in the U.S. House of Representative have been attempting to require that doctors provide medical care and treatment for babies who have survived failed abortion attempts. As of this writing, there have been 34 attempts simply to bring this up for a vote, and 34 times house leadership has refused to do so.

What is the Issue?
Those who are pro-abortion, and pro-infanticide, try to paint this as a “rights” issue. Their argument is that a woman has a right to control her own body, and those trying to prevent her from having an abortion are infringing on her rights. But is this really the issue?

The truth is, this is not a “rights” issue, it is a life issue. And those who are trying to make it into a “rights” issues are simply lying. But the true focus of this matter goes even deeper than that. The attempt to turn this into a “rights” issue is an effort to make it look like the problem and solution is a political matter. That is a total misrepresentation of the facts. It is not a political matter, it is a religious one.

The Presuppositions of Conflicting Notions of Abortion
Biblical Theism
The biblical point of view is that once a baby is conceived, it is an individual living person with its own right to life. The Bible views all human life, even before actual birth, as specially created by God and sacred. It specifically speaks against the taking of innocent human life. Note these verses in the Bible that speak of God’s view of human life (all are from the ESV).

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4-5

And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” Genesis 9:5-6

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Proverbs 6:16-19

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Naturalism
The pro-abortion point of view, however, is based on an entirely different set of worldview beliefs. It is based on a naturalistic worldview which asserts that the natural universe is all that exists. With that as a starting point, there is no God, and all of life had to have somehow come into existence by completely natural means. As such, human beings are merely naturally evolved animals, and are no more special than any other naturally evolved creature. According to Naturalists, the only difference is that the evolutionary development of humans went in a different direction than other animals.

So if there is no God, there is no possibility of any kind of objectively true morality. In fact, the very concept of something being “right or wrong” is only possible because the human brain evolved in a way that allowed humans to conceive of it. But since there is no possibility of an actual objective right or wrong, humans have to create their own moral foundation based on a different notion. Typically, the favorite Naturalist foundation is “the survival of the collective”: That is, what is best for the survival of the collective is morally right, while what doesn’t promote that outcome is wrong.

However, there is another problem with a naturalistic viewpoint. What if some people want morality to move in one direction and others want a different outcome? Since they believe there is no objective reason why it should be one way or the other, the solution ultimately must be determined by which side can impose its will.

So, when it comes to abortion, for those who believe in a naturalistic worldview, there is no objective reason why it should or should not be legal. It is purely a matter of who can impose their will on society. Naturalistic morality is based, in a literal sense, on the law of the jungle.

Is the Secularist view of Abortion True?
So, is the pro-abortion position true? In order for it to be true, Naturalism itself must be true – but it is not. In a nutshell, it asserts that the natural universe is all that exists, and everything in existence can be accounted for, and explained by, the natural laws of the universe. Naturalists portray themselves as people who are wholly dependent on science to back up their beliefs, yet science cannot account for the beliefs they assert. In order for Naturalism to be true:

1. The origin of the material that makes up the natural universe must be explained by natural means.
2. The origin of life from non-life must be explained by natural means.
3. The existence of the variety of life forms in the world must be explained by natural means.
4. The origin of consciousness from non-consciousness must be explained by natural means.

All of the four above notions must be true for Naturalism to be true, yet science cannot account for any of them. In other words, Naturalism is not based on science as its adherents claim, but is as much a religious position as any other faith.

When dealing with the topic of abortion, then, we should now be able to make a determination. What we are looking for is to see whether or not the basis for claiming abortion is okay is viable. And it is not! If Naturalism itself is not viable, the arguments it makes to back its moral claims are also not viable. Based on Naturalism, the pro-abortion position is nothing more than the personal preference of a particular group of people. And the only way they can justify it as being a moral position is to somehow dominate society in a way that allows them to legalize it and, by fiat, declare it moral. There is no objective reason they can give for saying their position is actually a right moral belief.

What is the Answer?
The alternative to these monstrous death cult beliefs is biblical Christianity. God has made mankind valuable.

And in spite of the Atheist’s contention that there is no evidence for the truth of the Christian faith, there is all kinds of evidence.
∙ Our human life experience matches up with what the Bible reveals humans to be. Biblical faith is a reasonable belief.
∙ Humans are spiritual beings. There are non-material elements of our personhood that science cannot account for. As a part of this, all believers have the testimony of Christ in our very lives. Biblical faith matches up with how human beings experience life.
∙ We have historical evidence of Christ. The eyewitness accounts of his life and work are powerful. History and tradition back up the Christian faith.
∙ We have God’s revelation. As we read the Bible, it is not merely the reading of a book, but its contents point us to the one who actually changes our lives. God’s revelation is confirmed personally in every believer.

If biblical beliefs are indeed true, then morality is an objectively real thing, and human life is of ultimate value. With that as a starting point, abortion – the taking of innocent human life – is wrong.

The moral foundation that allows for abortion is wrong because it is not true – it doesn’t reflect actual reality. It is based on a religious belief that claims to be based on science, but has no science to back it up. It is a religious belief that is a death cult.

Atheists make a big deal about the Christian faith being based on faith. Well, every belief in the world is based on faith. The question is, what faith best accounts for the way reality is actually structured? What faith has the most solid evidence to support it? What faith is actually consistent with itself. The answer is the Christian faith. It is true because God is real and he made the world, and humanity, the way they now exist. It is only in knowing him, that one can actually know reality and understand the true value of human life.

© 2019 Freddy Davis