ABORTIONABORTION

ABORTION: Abortion is an operation or other intervention to end a pregnancy by removing an embryo or fetus from the womb. It is the deliberate termination of pregnancy which sometimes occurs after an ovum (female egg) has been fertilized by the male sperm. Abortion may be self induced or done with outside assistance.

WHAT CONSTITUTES A LIVING PERSON?

Biblical Perspective

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

God determines life! He is the creator & life giver. He gave us breathe to live. God determines when you live from when you die. God determines what constitutes a person or personality.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength….

From a biblical perspective a human being consists of BODY, MIND, SOUL, HEART & PERSONALITY. These aspects function as one unit in one individual.

Is the fetus in the womb a person?

Scriptural accounts of fetal activity indicate that the fetus is a person and is recognized by God

St. Luke 1: 39-44:“And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb. And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy”

In St Luke 1 the Greek word for BABE is BREPHOS. The same Greek word BREPHOS is used in Luke 2:16

“And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe (BREPHOS) lying in a manger.”

BREPHOS is also used in 2 Tim. 3:15 to mean “CHILD”

“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

BREPHOS is used in St. Luke 18:15 to mean “INFANT”

“And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when [his] disciples saw [it], they rebuked them.”

BREPHOS is used in Acts 7:19 to mean “YOUNG CHILDREN”

“The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.”

God recognizes & acknowledges the life in the womb

Psalm 139:13-16“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully [and] wonderfully made: marvellous [are] thy works; and [that] my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, [and] curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all [my members] were written, [which] in continuance were fashioned, when [as yet there was] none of them.”

“REIGNS”: Organs “COVERED”: Knitted, intertwined, fenced,“SUBSTANCE”: Might, body“Substance yet being unperfect”: Unformed mass (GOLEM – Hebrew word for EMBRYO)

In this passage David speaks of being under the personal watch, care and handcrafting of the Lord from the time of his conception to birth.

Jeremiah 1: 5

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

God has a plan and purpose for each life that enters the world even before they are born.

WHAT CONSTITUTES A LIVING PERSON?

Medical Perspective

According to some medical experts, in order for human life to be in existence a person must have a functional neocortex, which is the part of the brain that distinguishes human beings from animals. In other words life is determined by the ability of the brain to carry out its functions biologically.

Most medical experts agree that a new life is created at the time of conception

Most if not all medical experts agree that the time of conception occurs when the sperm joins the ovum (female egg)

Medical Facts concerning a Child’s Development in the Womb

(18-25 DAYS) The heart is already beating & eyes begin to develop(28 DAYS) Arms & legs are forming(30 DAYS) Brain develops & blood flows through the veins/ child grows(35 DAYS) Mouth, ears, & nose are developing(40 DAYS) Brain waves can be detected(42 DAYS) Skeleton formed/ brain controls movement of muscles, organs(8 WEEKS) Hands & feet are almost perfectly formed/ fingerprints

develop(9 WEEKS) Fingers move/ fingernails formed/ sucking thumb(10 WEEKS) Child can squint, swallow, frown(11 WEEKS) Child urinates/ makes facial expressions(3 MONTHS) Moving limbs, opening mouth( Remaining 6 MONTHS) Child grows and matures

Observe the developmental stages and see if it constitutes a human being!

METHODS

OF

ABORTIO

N

Suction MethodSuction Method

Doctors perform a suction abortion by first paralyzing the cervical muscle at the opening of the womb & then it is stretched open. They then insert a hollow plastic tube with a knife-like edge on the tip into the womb. The suction tears the baby into pieces & the scraps are then sucked into a bottle & disposed.

• Basically 2 methods:

1. Uterine Evacuation (4-6 weeks of pregnancy)

2. Vacuum Aspiration (6-14 weeks of pregnancy)

Dilation & Curettage MethodDilation & Curettage Method

A surgical instrument is inserted into the womb & the baby is literally scraped out piece by piece. Care is taken to remove all of the baby’s parts because of the danger of infection if not cleaned out completely. In order to assure that all of the baby’s parts have been removed, a nurse is often asked to reassemble the body & check for missing parts.

Prostaglandin MethodProstaglandin Method

This method uses a special drug to induce labour & delivery at any stage of pregnancy. Depending on the stage of the infant it may be alive when delivered & so the child is set aside and allowed to die.

* There are other drug-based methods where the mother is injected with certain fluids which is then followed by a pill to terminate the pregnancy

Induction MethodInduction Method

A large needle is inserted through the abdominal wall of the mother & into the baby’s amniotic sac. The amniotic fluid is withdrawn and a concentrated solution is injected into the fluid that surrounds the baby. When the baby breathes & swallows the solution, it poisons the baby. The following day the mother then delivers a dead baby.

Hysterotomy MethodHysterotomy Method

An opening is made in the mother’s abdominal wall & the baby is removed. The baby is then discarded.

Physical Side effects of AbortionPhysical Side effects of Abortion

Risk of infections & diseases

Chances of miscarriage increase

Increased complications during pregnancy

Nausea, cramping & bleeding

Can affect the heart or lungs

Can sometimes result in death

Emotional effects of AbortionEmotional effects of Abortion

Flashbacks of the abortion experience

Personal guilt

Nightmares related to abortion

Develop “Post-Abortion Syndrome” :

- Anxiety, Depression, Sleep disorder, Mood-swings,

Withdrawal, Suicidal, Unemotional, Guilt

COMMON COMMON

ARGUMENTSARGUMENTS

FOR FOR

ABORTIONABORTION

The unborn child is only a part

of the woman’s body

Every cell of the mother’s organs shares the same genetic code.

The unborn child has it’s own genetic code distinctly different from the mother.

Every cell of the child’s body belongs to the child

If the unborn child was only an organ of the mother it would not be able to function in cases where the mother dies during child birth and the baby is delivered alive & continues to live and grow

The unborn child is not a person

If we were to judge persons by size, shape, mental & physical capabilities then some people who are in the world would not be considered to be persons.

The unborn child displays emotions, responds, feeds, sleeps, moves, etc.

Some persons who have handicaps operate at the same level as an unborn child, but we still consider them as a person

The mother has a right to do as she pleases with her own body

If the unborn child could speak he/she would have that same claim to their own life.

It is not just the mother’s body there is a second body

The mother would have denied the child the right to live if she commits abortion.

The child will be deformed or handicapped

The doctors diagnosis is not always correct, but even if it is; don’t handicaps deserve a chance & choice for life.

Why is deformity a bad thing?

Some handicaps contribute to society in a more positive way than some who claim to be normal.

“Handicapped children are not always social liabilities & normal children are not always social assets”

The child was a result of rape/incest

Does an innocent person deserve to die for what his father did?

Although something wrong has been done to you, do not do something wrong to the child.

The unborn child did not choose his existence, it is no fault of his own.

How does God tell us to react when we are persecuted, cursed, smitten, despised, hated, etc.