Abortion

Ancient Culture consider abortion a serious crime

Hippocratic Oath

Didache

Early Church

1820 – distinct human life – discovery of the ovum – moment of conception

1960’s liberalization of abortion laws

Roe v. Wade 1973

D & C

Suction

Saline

Prostaglandin

D & E

Hysterotomy

Partial Birth Abortion

1. Gift of God2. God is sovereign over conception3. Childlessness seen as a curse

Who has the right to take away what only God can give?

Genesis 2God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his

nostrilsthe breath of life and man became a living soul.

Psalm 139Knew David before birth; An individual in the womb; God knows each

individual as if he/she is the only person

Jeremiah 1:5Before I formed you in the womb I knew youPeople are created for a purpose

Genesis 1Created in the image of GodLuke 1:41-44John as an unborn child respond to the prompting of the Holy SpiritExodus 21:22-25Unborn part of the legal code of ancient Israel; Baby in the womb had the same legal status as a baby outside the womb

Psalm 515 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.Beginning of each person in this world

Ecclesiastes 12:77 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

The ending of each person in this world

1. The Embryo is genetically different and distinct from the mother.2. The heart is formed on the 18th day3. Individual brain waves are detected between day 40 and 43.4. Eight week old child has the indication of response to pain.

For medical science the only clear line that can be drawn is conception.

The courts have run away from the issue of where life begins. Burden of proof should be on the prosecution. There should be a presumption of innocence.

Hippocratic OathI will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion.

Roe v. Wade says the unborn child is not a person so not protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Roe v. Wade opted for is the child viable but viability is variable down to the 22nd week.

Arbitrary criteria used on when a person is a person.1. Intelligence2. Cultural criteria3. IQ (potential)

Personhood = created in the image of God.

Every woman has a right to her own body.

1.Every woman – half aborted fetuses are male

2.Has a right – our legal system does not recognize an absolute right

3.To control – did not exercise control before baby was conceived

4.Her own body – does not include the babies’ body

The Baby is a separate life

The Baby is a person

Crisis pregnancy – two wrongs don’t make a right

Embryonic Stem Cells

Come from abortions and in vitro fertilization

The in vitro problem

These are embryos

Church become involvedPro-life movementPrayer$Churches as centers of informationInvolvement in a crisis pregnancy centerPastors and individuals need to be informed