Pro-life | Ernie's Musings

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Emotions are “an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness; any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc.; any strong agitation of the feelings actuated by experiencing love, hate, fear, etc., and usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, as increased heartbeat or respiration, and often overt manifestation, as crying or shaking” [or shouting] (emphasis mine).[1]

“Emotions are reactions that human beings experience in response to events or situations. The type of emotion a person experiences is determined by the circumstance that triggers the emotion. For instance, a person experiences joy when they receive good news. A person experiences fear when they are threatened … In their book Discovering Psychology, authors Don Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury suggest that an emotion is a complex psychological state that involves three distinct components: a subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral or expressive response.”[2]

Emotions are either good or bad depending on how they affect us. The “feeling” of “love” can lead to a bad decision in a mate. or it can inspire selfless acts toward others regardless of personal benefit. Anger over injustice can prompt action to right a wrong or it can drive someone toward violent vindication.

Emotions become problematic when they control our actions. I know and have known emotional people that direct their lives based on their “feelings.” They are irrational, i.e., they do not “think” about their actions – they just react based on what they feel. They do not consider the possible consequences of their actions. They do not think about how their actions may affect others. They just respond to the feeling. Does it make them happy? Does venting their anger and frustration bring relief?

There was a saying in the 60s and 70s: “If it feels good, do it.” That axiom still prevails in our society bringing our nation into such a state of confusion that anything one may say will offend someone about something, and nobody is happy.

Last week, the supreme court struck down Roe v. Wade. It was the right decision[3] based on our Constitution. It turned the abortion question back to the states where it belongs. It did not make abortion illegal. However, the decision angered many who protested (often violently) that it took away women’s rights. They argued that many “poor” women would lose access to “safe” abortions, and that they might have to resort to “back-alley” abortions or worse – do-it-yourself coat hanger abortions. Their arguments founded on pure emotion found no substance in reality. They were completely irrational. I heard no argument offered by them that gave a reasonable defense for their position – it was all emotion.

Sadly, even some Christians got sucked into the mindless arguments of the abortion defenders. One argument I heard from a “pro-lifer” defended abortion in the case of rape or incest. That is an emotional response stemming from a feeling of “compassion” for the victimized woman. (Only women can get pregnant. If that offends you, get over it!) “A 1996 study found a national rape-related pregnancy rate of 5% per rape among victims between the ages of 12 and 45.”[4] Setting aside the emotional aspect of this argument, the chances of pregnancy resulting from rape are low to begin with. Even in a healthy marital relationship, pregnancy resulting from sexual intercourse is not a given. Many married couples live years enjoying sexual intimacy without ever conceiving.

The Bible makes clear Who controls pregnancy. “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psalm 127:3). Pregnancy resulting from rape can be viewed emotionally as a tragedy, but who will charge God with error? He created that life in the womb of the rape victim, and only He has the right to take away that life. The rape victim may not have had a say in the pregnancy (married couples have no say in theirs either), but that life was put there by God. God has denied children to many married couples. (Only He knows why.) Such couples would do anything to have a child they can raise, and the child of a rape victim may be an answer to their prayer. Then too, the rape victim may in time grow to love the child within her and choose to raise it on her own. However, for a Christian to argue that such a child should be aborted comes from the heart of a fallen, emotional human being, and not from the Word or the heart of God.

As Christians, what we see going on in the world should not come as a surprise. Consider the words of Paul:

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:1-5, emphasis mine)

Notice how so many of the characteristics listed are emotionally based. Note also the phrase, “having a form of godliness.” In context, Paul warns Timothy (and us) of the attitudes within the Church in the last days. Paul uses similar language in his letter to the church in Rome as he describes the moral decline of mankind. After listing the characteristics of the moral decline, in his final assessment he says, “Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:31-32, emphasis mine). Again, these characteristics describe those who direct their lives by their emotions. Sadly, there are “Christians” who guide their lives by what they feel or think regardless of what the Word of God says.

There are other issues where emotions come to play, but the Christian needs to check those emotions against the Word of God. His thoughts are far above our own, as our starting verse states. He is perfect in righteousness and holiness. We are unrighteous and fallen creatures. We need His guidance not that of our emotions.

The mess we see in our country (and the world) right now is a sign that Jesus is coming soon, and His reward is with Him. The signs of His appearing are increasing in intensity and frequency. Are you prepared to meet Him? If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”

Notes:

[1] “Emotion” — https://www.dictionary.com/browse/emotion

[2] “Emotions and Types of Emotional Responses” – https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-emotions-2795178

[3] “The Right Decision” – https://erniecarrasco.com/2022/06/26/the-right-decision/

[4] “18 Profound Statistics of Rape Victims Getting Pregnant” – https://healthresearchfunding.org/18-profound-statistics-rape-victims-getting-pregnant/

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. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Last Friday, June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overturned the almost 50-year-old ruling on Roe v. Wade.[1] Judges have debated through the years over whether the ruling was constitutional. Even liberal justices like Ruth Bader Ginsburg questioned the validity of the ruling. Justice Ginsburg felt “that Roe was a faulty decision. For Ginsburg, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that affirmed a woman’s right to an abortion was too far-reaching and too sweeping, and it gave anti-abortion rights activists a very tangible target to rally against in the four decades since.”[2] Justice Ginsburg was pro-abortion, but she felt that Roe v. Wade went too far. She said, “A less encompassing Roe, one that merely struck down the extreme Texas law and went no further on that day, I believe and will summarize why, might have served to reduce rather than to fuel controversy.”[3]

Many judges agree that Roe v. Wade is bad law. Nothing in the Constitution grants a woman the “right” to have an abortion. Civics 101 informs us that any law not enumerated in the Constitution is given to the states. (It is interesting that the Constitution only lists three crimes: treason, piracy, and counterfeiting.)[4] So, in overturning Roe v. Wade, SCOTUS rightly returned the responsibility of legislation to the states where it belongs. The decision does not make abortion illegal, unfortunately. Many left-leaning states will allow abortions on demand even to the moment of birth. Many other states will allow for abortion under only the most extreme of cases. I doubt that any state will completely outlaw abortions under any circumstance. That is the way our federal representative system of government is supposed to work.

However, the left does not see it that way, and from the moment the decision was announced, baby killers (sorry, that’s what they are) started their loud protesting with threats of violence. Even before hearing the final decision, the baby killers launched their violent and destructive attacks on crisis pregnancy centers and churches. Sadly, many government leaders encouraged the behavior. In the almost 50 years of Roe v. Wade, pro-life activists have peacefully marched outside of Planned Parenthood clinics and quietly counseled young women going into those places. With a few exceptions by wackos acting on their own, pro-life activists have never caused property damage to Planned Parenthood clinics or attempted to do harm to those who worked there or visited there. The pro-abortionists behave in the opposite manner. They are violent, vicious, vociferous, and vulgar.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade by SCOTUS was the right decision. It would have been better if it had declared abortion illegal. However, that is not the function of SCOTUS. That function belongs to the legislative branch of our government.

Title 18 U.S. Code §1111 makes murder illegal in the United States. It reads in part, “Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought … Whoever is guilty of murder in the first degree shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for life.”[5] Title 18 U.S. Code §1841 makes it illegal to kill an unborn child. It reads in part, “Whoever engages in conduct that violates any of the provisions of law listed in subsection (b) [subsection (b) references §1111 above among others] and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury (as defined in section 1365) to, a child, who is in utero at the time the conduct takes place, is guilty of a separate offense under this section … (2) (C) If the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall instead of being punished under subparagraph (A), be punished as provided under sections 1111, 1112, and 1113 of this title for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being.”[6] (emphasis mine)

I am no lawyer, but it appears to me that there are existing laws against killing an unborn child. These laws are codified federal statutes that supersede state laws. Why are they not being applied in regard to abortions? Well, the persistent argument claims that the child in the womb is not a person until a certain stage of development. The argument stems from the evolutionary concept of development. Although it has been debunked for decades, biology textbooks still show the development of a human embryo the same as any other fish, reptile, or mammal. My college biology textbook claims that “Human development is controlled by the same mechanisms that control the development of other animals (emphasis mine). In fact, our development strongly reflects our evolutionary heritage.”[7] The quote is found in the chapter titled “Animal Development” and the subtitle “How Do Humans Develop?” On Page 280 of the same book, one finds the embryological stages of a lemur, a pig and a human all looking remarkably similar. The message: humans are just another form of animal.

Since that is the case according to evolutionary thought, when does that human embryo become a human person? One study admits that “The fields of biology, medicine, and embryology have described the developmental milestones of humans throughout gestation in great detail. It is less clear as to when humans are recognized as people, persons, or beings with rights that are protected by legislation. The practice of law is irrevocably intertwined with that of ethical conduct; and the time at which a human life is considered a person has implications that extend to health care, legislation on abortion, and autonomy of individuals.”[8] The bottom line is that they do not know based on their understanding of “personhood” and evolution. So, the left continues to push the boundaries. At first it was six weeks, then 12 weeks (3 months), then six months, then up to the moment of birth, and now some suggest a baby may be murdered after it is born upon the mother’s wishes.

God has something to say about that, although the baby killers reject God, much less anything God has to say. (That is the main problem with our society.) First of all, from the very beginning, God gave life to all living things. However, into man, He breathed His breath of life.[9] In this, He made a distinction between mankind and animals. Since God is the one who gives life, only He has the right to take life. Throughout Scripture, God makes it clear that He is the One who blesses parents with children. Some examples are Abraham’s wife Sarah, Isaac’s wife Rebekah, Jacob’s beloved Rachel, the wife of Manoah (Samson’s mother), Hanna the mother of Samuel, and others. In each case, God makes clear that He controls the birthing process. One may argue that these represent special cases while other women were bearing children left and right at the same time. However, the point God makes is that He controls it all.

Very early on in Scripture, God establishes the sanctity of life. Immediately after the Global Flood, God called for capital punishment for taking a human life. “And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:5-6, emphasis mine). Not even animals are exempt from the taking of human life. God makes the reason clear: because man is made in the image of God.

That image is not acquired at some unknown point in the process of gestation. It is there from conception. Hear the Word of the Lord to Jeremiah: “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” (Jeremiah 1:5, emphasis mine). God had a purpose for Jeremiah and He has a purpose for every person He creates. There is personhood even before conception. David, the psalmist, describes the intimacy of God’s involvement in the process of gestation.

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. (Psalm 139:13-16)

The word “unperfect” in the last verse is not an error, nor does it mean “imperfect” as though there is some flaw. Unperfect means to be “incomplete” – the gestation in the womb is still processing and not yet complete.

So, from God’s perspective, the child in the womb is a person from conception. Thus, abortion at any point in the pregnancy is the taking of a human life and that is murder. We saw that in the federal law above – Title 18 U.S. Code §184. But before our legislators codified that into federal law, God had already called it murder. The Sixth Command says, “Thou Shalt not [murder]” (Exodus 20:13). In the next chapter, the law extends to children in utero. “If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow [i.e., it was accidental]: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow [i.e., the hurt to the woman was intentional], then thou shalt give life for life” (Exodus 21:22-23, emphasis mine). Killing an unborn child carries the death penalty.

Of course, the baby killers claim that it is the woman’s choice what she does with her own body. I agree. She can choose not to have sex with a man that can potentially get her pregnant. (That is the sin of fornication, by the way.) She has the choice to take contraceptive measures to avoid pregnancy. However, once she becomes pregnant, the baby in her womb IS NOT HER BODY and no longer HER CHOICE. She does not have any rights over that body. In fact, the baby in the womb is in control of the pregnancy (by God’s design).[10] And if she chooses to abort the baby, she has chosen to commit murder.

SCOTUS may have made the right decision in overturning Roe v. Wade, but abortion is still allowed (although arguably illegally) in America. It would be better if abortion were banned altogether by applying the written law – Title 18 U.S. Code §1841. Anyone guilty of abortion is guilty of murder.