Children Are a Blessing, Not a Burden: An Article on Abortion

             Abortion has been legal since the ruling of Roe V. Wade on  January 22, 1973. Since that time, the murder of innocent children has been upheld by the United States, and more lives have been lost than any other war that the U.S. has been involved in combined. No matter how early on the mother is expecting, a person is a person from conception, so there is not time that is acceptable for an expecting mother to terminate her baby.
          According to Tennessee State law, an abortion is considered legal if the act takes place in the first trimester with the woman’s consent along with the advice of her doctor. If the mother wants to have an abortion after the first trimester is completed, then she can do so with doctor’s consent up until the baby is considered able to live outside of the womb. A baby is considered “viable” or able to live outside the womb at 24 weeks. An abortion can only be done legally on a baby that is old enough to live outside of the womb if it is deemed necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother. Code Section:39-15-201 to 209; 37-10-301 to 307.  There are other laws concerning the different types of abortion, but this is a basic overview of the laws in Tennessee on the act of abortion.
          So, even though abortion is essentially legal in the United States since 1973, does that mean that it is OK for a mother to choose to abort her unborn child? Absolutely not! Causing the death of a baby at any stage of development is murder in the eyes of God. A human being is a human being from the date of conception, so there is no appropriate time for anyone to take the life of a innocent child. “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,”(Proverbs 6:16-17).
 
          As a mental health counselor, I spoke with several women who chose to have abortions in the past. Most were unmarried women who felt as if they could not mentally and/or financially handle the child. I would rebuke a mother such as this by saying that instead of ending her child’s life, she should have given her child a chance by either deciding to raise that child, or allowing another family to adopt that child. Of course, the main trait that all of these women exhibited was selfishness.
 
          Selfishness is the main reason why any woman would choose to have an abortion. Of course it is a sin for a man and a woman to partake in a sexual relationship outside of a scriptural marriage (I Corinthians 6:18; Matthew 19:9; I Corinthians 7:2). However, if a child is conceived outside of wedlock, that child still has the right to live and hopefully will grow up to know better than to repeat the mistakes of his or her parents. It is selfish to partake in a sexual relationship outside of marriage, and even in marriage, it is selfish to partake in a sexual relationship without accepting the responsibility of a child being conceived from this act. Those who view children as blessings as the Bible does are very happy to have as many children as God wishes them to have. No one would want to do anything to prohibit a blessing from coming, and children should be considered in the same way.  “Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.” (I Timothy 2:15).
         
          Of course, this does not apply to those married couples who have tried to have a baby, but who are having issues conceiving. God understands if a man or woman is physically unable to have children.. Those who view babies as burdens, rather than blessings, should consider this, and be thankful that they are able to have children.  For every parent that wrongfully does not want his or her child, there is another person who would love to have a child of their own. Therefore, I wish that women who choose to have abortions would instead rethink their decision and either decide to keep their babies or put them up for adoption. 

          I hope that this text has helped you think about how horrible the idea of killing innocent children is, even though the media and our society tend to condone this practice. We should also remember to view children as a blessing as the Bible does, rather than a burden as society would lead people to believe. I will discuss abortion and how children are a blessing instead of a burden more in Part 2 of this article!

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