MY PEOPLE AND ABORTION

COUNTING THE COST

Dr. Blackson Makhumba B

INTRODUCTION

“If you ask me I would suggest that our parliamentarians should just pass a bill that will legalize abortion in Malawi because even if it is unlawful women will abort the unwanted pregnancy anyway.”  This one female presenter from one of Malawi’s famous radio stations spoke with no compunction at all on the radio. I felt sorry for her as I imagined her poor mother aborting her; and her soul crying for vengeance as does the blood of Abel until now.

Unless they come across the real life stories of those who have experienced it, some people will not agree that abortion is evil, and that it is murder and manslaughter. Abortion remains a moral wrong. Legalizing an evil does not make it morally right. Nor does it necessarily curb its abuse. This notion leads to legalizing all kinds of evil. In fact, legalizing it will make it more abused and will increase its effect on the attitude towards the society making it more desirable. Such was the case with laws abolishing slavery.

Yes, like many other issues, abortion is a controversial and often passionate issue in many nations of the world including Malawi. It divides churches, political parties and even families. The controversy is over whether the intentional termination of a pregnancy (killing of the unborn) is morally wrong or right. The debate usually does not look at whether God the creator of all life allows or not.

The issue at hand in Malawi at present is whether to legalize abortion or not. Whatever reasons those who want abortion to be legalized give, I do not judge them. The central question which must be addressed in determining whether abortion is necessarily a moral wrong concerns the character of the fetus (a term referring to a baby in the womb from the end of the third month of pregnancy until birth). Our responsibilities to the fetus are much different if we consider it to be a person rather than simply living tissue. However, I believe the intentional termination of a pregnancy (Killing of the unborn baby) is a sin just us murder, not even manslaughter.

This book is not a defense of the humanity of the unborn. Neither is it an attack of pro-choicers (advocates of abortion) and those women and men thinking abortion nor an answer to all abortion questions. It is an argument that as you read along, and you are convinced that the unborn are human, then you will argue that they ought not to be aborted. . It contains factual arguments to be considered when thinking of abortion. It looks at abortion from the biblical point of view. However, for the sake of those who do not believe in the Bible, scientific argument is also included in the book. Remember, true science will never be in conflict with the Bible.

I believe (as you also do) that there are some abortionists who believe that the unborn are human beings But these doctors do abortions anyway because they believe that taking innocent human life, while tragic, is justifiable in view of the difficult circumstances faced by mother and child. Some of these doctors want to be Christian and Biblical, and do not see their practice as wrong. is not a counter-attack against pro-choicers or those women who are thinking of abortion.

Remember my dear abortion advocate; you were once an enchanting child, as all babies are. Today you are an abortionist, a killer of babies. Do you not regret your wicked deeds? Do you not see the innocent blood of our children that stains your hands and cries out to God? Have you no shame as did our first parents when they sinned against God? Why do you not turn to Him today, seek His forgiveness and His strength never again to murder the innocent? Would you not rather bring children into the world than destroy them? Children you could raise with respect for life to take the place of those you robbed from God?

Heroism comes to those who fight for the good cause. Fighting for the legalization of crimes and immorality is not being a hero, but a villain. Media houses that promote the legalization of gay marriage, abortion, will never, at any time will be deemed good professionals. It is media, today that fight for the outlaw of legal abortion in those nations where abortion is legal.  

BIBLICAL POINT OF VIEW

DOES THE BIBLE SAY ANYTHING ON ABORTION?

The Bible does not directly teach about abortion and there is no word abortion in it. This is basically because abortion was a repugnant idea in a nation where childlessness was considered a curse. During biblical times, even the worst ungodly person had no reasons for abortion. Children were regarded as the greatest blessing of every man. Men married more wives in order to have more children.

However, this does not mean that the Bible does not provide us with ample information to understand God’s view of abortion. If intentional abortion was unheard of, there would still be unintentional forced labor which the Bible directly condemns.

 I will cite one of the controversial passages in the Bible on this issue. Why controversial? Those of us who advocate for the life of the unborn baby use it to drive home a point for our stand. However, the passage is also used by the Pro-choicers to argue that the Bible does not regard the unborn as persons just as worthy of protection as an adult. Some translations do, in fact, make this a plausible opinion.

RSV and the Pro-choicers

Let see how RSV seems to support the pro-choicers:

“When men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no harm follows, the one who hurt her shall be fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” This translation seems to put the unborn in the category of a non-person with little value. The fine which must be paid may be for the loss of the child. Money suffices. Whereas if "harm follows" (to the woman!) then more than money must be given. In that case it is life for life, etc. 

This implies that the loss of the unborn is no "harm," because it says, "If there is a miscarriage and yet no harm follows . . ." It is possible for the blow to cause a miscarriage and yet not count as "harm" which would have to be recompensed life for life, eye for eye, etc. 

NIV and the Pro-lifers

Now, let us read from NIV which assumes otherwise:

If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life……and bruise for bruise.” 

The NIV implies that if a woman gives birth prematurely, but the baby is not injured, then only a fine is appropriate. However, if the child dies, then the law of retaliation should be applied. In other words, killing an unborn baby would carry the same penalty as killing a born baby. A baby inside the womb should have the same legal status as a baby outside the womb.

Some have argued that the first verses only refer to a case of accidental miscarriage. Since only a fine is levied, they say that an unborn baby is merely potential life and does not carry the same legal status as a baby that has been born.

The Verdict

In support of NIV translation, John Piper gives a literal meaning rendering from original Hebrew text,

“And when men fight and strike a pregnant woman ('ishah harah) and her children (yeladeyha) go forth (weyatse'u), and there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the husband of the woman may put upon him; and he shall give by the judges. But if there is injury, you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe”. 

The key phrase is "and the children go forth." The RSV (and NASB!) translates this as a miscarriage. The NIV translates it as a premature live birth. In the former case the unborn is not treated with the same rights as the mother, because the miscarriage is not counted as serious loss to be recompensed life for life. In the latter case the unborn is treated the same as the mother because the child is included in the stipulation that if injury comes there shall be life for life. Which of these interpretations is correct?  

Most commentators now believe that the action described in verse 22 is indeed a premature birth not an accidental miscarriage. Also, even if the verses do describe a miscarriage, they cannot be used to support abortion since injury was accidental, not intentional (as abortion would be). Nevertheless, the action was still a crime. Many give following arguments in support of the NIV translation:

1. The normal Hebrew word for miscarry (shakal) is not used in this passage (see Genesis 31:38; Exodus 23:26; Job 2:10; Hosea 9:14). "None shall miscarry (meshakelah) or be barren in your land.” Exodus 23:26)

2. Rather the word for birth here is "go forth" (ytsa'). "And if her children go forth . . ." This verb never refers to a miscarriage or abortion. When it refers to a birth it refers to live children "going forth" or "coming out" from the womb. For example, Genesis 25:25, "And the first came out (wyetse') red, all of him like a hairy robe; and they called his name Esau." (See also v. 26 and Genesis 38:28-30.)  So the word for miscarry is not used but a word is used that elsewhere does not mean miscarry but ordinary live birth. 

3. There are words in the Old Testament that designate the embryo (gol) in, Psalm 139:16 or the untimely birth that dies (nephel), in Job 3:16; Psalm 58:8; Is. 33:3). But these words are not used here. 

4. Rather an ordinary word for children is used in Exodus 21:22 (yeladeyha). It regularly refers to children who are born and never to one miscarried. "Yeled” only denotes a child, as a fully developed human being, and not the fruit of the womb before it has assumed a human form" (Keil and Delitzsch, Pentateuch, vol. 2, p. 135). 

5. Verse 22 says, "[If] her children go forth and there is no injury . . ." It does not say, "[If] her children go forth and there is no further injury . . ." (NASB). The word "further is NOT in the original text. 

Another prominent figure of the last century, George Bush (Notes on Exodus, vol. 2, p. 19) also wrote, “If the consequence were only the premature birth of the child, the aggressor was obliged to give her husband a recompense in money, according to his demand; but in order that his demand might not be unreasonable, it was subject to the final decision of the judges. On the other hand, if either the woman or her child was any way hurt or maimed, the law of retaliation at once took effect.” 

The contextual evidence supports this conclusion best. There is no miscarriage in this text. The child is born pre-maturely and is protected with the same sanctions as the mother. If the child is injured there is to be recompense as with the injury of the mother.  Therefore this text cannot be used by the pro-choice advocates to show that the Bible regards the unborn as less human or less worthy of protection than those who are born.

WHEN AND WHERE DOES LIFE BEGIN

There are a lot of misunderstandings and arguments between pro-lifers and pro-choicers regarding when life begins. By God’s grace, both parties now know that life begins in the womb and at conception (within 72 hours of fertilization process). I put down a few scripture texts that seem to support the fact that life begins at conception.

Life Begins in the Womb

Although the Bible does not specifically define when life begins, it does give us enough information to formulate a solid biblical position. We are created as people in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; 9:6) and the Bible indicates that life begins in the womb and at conception.

Job 31:15 "Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?”  Job indicates that God creates human life in the womb, not after birth.

This is confirmed by King David in Psalm 139:13-16 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Psalm 139 is the God-inspired record of David’s praise of God’s sovereignty in his life. This praise is for God’s omniscience, knowing all things including David’s thoughts before he expresses them. This praise is for God’s omnipresence, that wherever David might go, he cannot escape from God. This leads David to contemplate his life and confessing that God formed him with care in the womb.

Luke 1:41, 44 “And it came about that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb....’For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.’ “These verses show that John the Baptist was a person while he was still in the womb. Luke 1:41-44 describes John as a baby in the womb who leaped with the human emotion of joy. He is clearly described as being a person in the womb. John was not the only one described in terms that depict humanity in the womb. Jesus Himself was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb (Matthew 1:20), which connotes that His incarnation began at conception. Jeremiah was also called by God while in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5), which indicates Jeremiah actually existed as a person in the womb. The Bible indicates that God makes man in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:27) in the womb, not during the birth process.

“Yet Thou art He who didst bring me forth from the womb; Thou didst make me trust when upon my mother's breasts. Upon Thee I was cast from birth; Thou hast been my God from my mother's womb.” (Psalm 22:9-10). Humans belong to God from the day of conception in the womb.

Thus says the LORD who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you, `Do not fear, O Jacob My servant; and you Jeshurun whom I have chosen. (Isaiah 44:2)

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, "I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by myself, and spreading out the earth all alone, (Isaiah 44:24)

 Psalm 51:5 “Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51 was written by David to record his repentance after his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. David confesses that his sinful act demonstrated the original sin that was within him, concluding that from the moment of conception, he had a sin nature. This implies that we have the image of God at the point of our conception though scarred by sin. Only actual people have a sin nature. Only actual people can be called sinful, with a soul in need of redemption.

Prophets called from the womb

Dim Reech a number of great men of God (and Jesus) who were called to be God's servants from the womb:

Samson:

Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. "But he said to me, `Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.'" (Judges 13:6-7, see also Judges 16:17)

Jesus (prophecy):

Listen to Me, O islands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb; from the body of my mother He named Me. (Isaiah 49:1)

And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, in order that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength), (Isaiah 49:5)

Yet Thou art He who didst bring me forth from the womb; Thou didst make me trust when upon my mother's breasts. Upon Thee I was cast from birth; Thou hast been my God from my mother's womb. (Psalm 22:9-10)

Jeremiah:

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5)

John the Baptist:

"For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother's womb." (Luke 1:15)

Paul:

But when He who had set me apart, even from my mother's womb, and called me through His grace, was pleased (Galatians 1:15)

In addition, the Bible tells us the wicked are estranged or enemies of God from the womb. The wicked are estranged from the womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth. (Psalm 58:3)

When Does Life Begin in the Womb?

All the above verses indicate that God considers us to be human before we are born. However, the Bible does not specifically indicate the time life begins in the womb. Jeremiah 1:5 seems to suggest that there is time baby is placed in the womb when it is not formed or given life. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." Could this be the period between fertilization and implantation as claimed by Dr. Bernard Nathanson the co-founder of National Abortion Rights Association in America? We see this in a little more details in the next section.

Science tells us that the heart of the human fetus begins to beat 18 days after conception. There is a measurable heart beat 21-24 days after conception. Since blood is flowing at this point, it is likely that blood formation begins well before day 21^st day after conception. This is the latest date we must consider the fetus to be human. Usually, that is about 7-10 days before the mother completes her cycle. That is, it is so difficult for her to know she is pregnant at this stage. As such, abortion is very much unlikely to be done before this time. Why? Most women have cycles that can vary by this amount, and therefore do not discover they are pregnant until after this point. However, it is obvious that life has already begun at this point.

The Law of the Blood

In Genesis 9:3-6 we read how God explained the law concerning blood. He told Noah and the whole human race to take the pleasure of eating every kind of animal except its blood. This is because the life of every animal is in the blood. Verse 6 reads, “Whoso sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” This was the beginning of capital punishment. This verse talks of cold-blooded murder. This is a law against shedding innocent blood.

In this regard, the life of a baby in the womb is completely formed after 21-24 days after conception. Research reveals that a woman would begin suspecting she is pregnant 5-6 weeks after conception. Even when abortion is done during this time, it is still murder, the shedding of innocent blood. However, for all practical purposes, from a biblical perspective, abortion at any point must be considered murder by Bible-believing Christians.

GOD AND ABORTION

One might ask, “Does the choice of abortion concern God? Why should God be involved on the issues of abortion?” In response to these questions, I will refer to John Piper’s view concerning this issue of God and Abortion. Piper explains that to leave God out of the picture of abortion is to trivialize it. All things are trivial without God. God is the ultimate reality over the universe. All other reality is derivative and dependent and has no ultimate meaning at all without reference to God the ultimate reality.

In him we live and move and have our being. If we leave him out of account, we know nothing of any lasting significance about ourselves or the world. Therefore the message that I have to give is that abortion is about God. And therefore it is not trivial. Motherhood is about God, therefore (and only therefore) it is not trivial. Fatherhood is about God, and therefore it is not trivial. Sexual relations are about God, and therefore they are not trivial. Children - inside the womb and outside the womb - are about God, and therefore they are not trivial.

Therefore, abortion has many things to do with God. The issue should now be how abortion is related to God, and how God relates to it. John Piper suggests four reasons why abortion concerns God.

1Abortion concerns God because the child in the womb is created by God in His own image (Gen.1:27; 9:6): To be made in the image of God means at least that the aim of God in making us in the womb is that we might image forth God. Images of reality exist to image forth that reality. We are images of divine reality. Our meaning on earth is to image that divine reality.

 To attack the human being in the womb and kill him or her is to assault God. God is making the child. God is weaving a unique image of his divine glory with the purpose of imaging forth that glory in the world. Killing the child is an attack on God's glory and is treason against the Ruler of the universe. So, fundamentally and most importantly, abortion concerns God because children are made by God in the image of God for the glory of God. 

2 Abortion concerns God because only God can forgive the sin of killing unborn children:  John Ensor, in his book, ‘Experiencing God's Forgiveness’, writes; “The ultimate evil of abortion is not that it kills children or that it damages women - which it does. The ultimate evil is that it assaults and demeans God.”

We are all fallen short to the glory of God. But we are justified freely in Christ Jesus by accepting His free gift of forgiveness (Roman 3:23-24). Salvation is offered to all who have sinned, and are willing to repent.

3 Abortion concerns God because the root cause of abortion is a failure to be satisfied in God as our supreme love: “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder.” (Jas. 4:1-2).Abortion comes from lack of satisfaction and from lustful desires. Abortion has its taproot from selfishness. It fails to trust God.

4 Abortion concerns God because those political and cultural events that will make abortion unthinkable and illegal are in the hands of God: God is in heaven and rules over the affairs of men, and is much wiser than we are in running the world. It behooves us to pray for God's wise and just and merciful plan to unfold rather than to assume that our shortsighted guesses are the best. When Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, became proud and defied the living God, Daniel 4:31-32 says, “A voice came from heaven, saying, "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes." 

We cannot be talking about the issues having to do with life, let alone, abortion without involving God. Abortion is about God from beginning to end.

WHY IS ABORTION BIBLICALLY WRONG?

I believe those who understand the preceding chapters might have already seen the reasons abortion is wrong. However, I will still take pains of explaining in brief some reasons why abortion is morally wrong from biblical perspective to drive home some facts.

1. Abortion is murder

All other reasons for stopping abortion root out from this reason. The Bible clearly says in Exodus 20:13, "Thou shalt not kill". There are some cases in the Bible where killing is endorsed. Such cases are like in war or in judicial killing (Num.35:19). The Hebrew word for killing in Exodus 20:13 is ‘rahaz’ which depicts murder, violent killing, shedding innocent blood and strangling

When the Bible speaks of killing that is justifiable, it generally has in mind God's sharing some of his rights with the civil authority. When the state acts in its capacity as God's ordained preserver of justice and peace, it has the right to "bear the sword" as Romans 13:1-7 teaches. This right of the state is always to be exercised to punish evil, never to attack the innocent (Romans 13:4).Therefore, "Thou shalt not kill," stands as a clear and resounding indictment of the killing of innocent unborn children.

2 The destruction of conceived human life – whether embryonic, fetal, or viable – is an assault on the unique person-forming work of God.  

Can we say anything from Scripture about what is happening when a life in the womb is aborted? Consider two texts. Psalm 139:13 says, “Thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb." The least we can draw out of this text is that the formation of the life of a person in the womb is the work of God. God is the "Thou" in this verse.

Further we can say that the formation of life in the womb is not merely a mechanical process, but is something on the analogy of weaving or knitting: "Thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb." The life of the unborn is the knitting of God, and what he is knitting is a human being in his own image, unlike any other creature in the universe. 

Again, Job is protesting that he has not rejected the plea of any of his servants, even though in that culture many people thought that servants were non-persons and only property. The thing to watch for here is how Job argues. Job 31:13-15   "If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me, what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?  Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?"

Verse 15 gives the reason why Job would be guilty if he treated his servant as less than a human equal. The issue isn't really that one may have been born free and the other born in slavery. The issue goes back before birth. When Job and his servants were being fashioned in the womb the key person at work was God. That's the premise of Job's argument.

3 Aborting unborn humans fall under the repeated Biblical ban against "shedding innocent blood."

The phrase "innocent blood" occurs about 20 times in the Bible. The context is always one of condemning those who shed this blood or warning people not to shed it. Innocent blood includes the blood of children (Psalm 106:38). Jeremiah puts it in a context with refugees and widows and orphans:  ‘Thus says the Lord: "Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place." 

Surely the blood of the unborn is as innocent as any blood that flows in the world. 

4 The Bible frequently expresses the high priority God puts on the protection and provision and vindication of the weakest and most helpless and most victimized members of the community.

"You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. [And you were all once babes in the womb!] You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you do afflict them, and they cry out to me, [like the blood of Abel cried our to God from the ground, Genesis 4:10] I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath will burn . . ." (Exodus 22:21-24) 

We are commanded to show or execute justice to the weak and the fatherless; to maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. We are also to rescue the weak and the needy and deliver them from the hand of the wicked (Psalm 82:3-4). The baby in the womb is weak and need to be protected, not to be killed.

5 Abortionists contradict Biblical teaching that God loves to show his gracious power through suffering and not just by helping people avoid suffering. 

When abortionists reason that taking life is less evil than the difficulties that will accompany life, they are making themselves wiser than God who teaches us that his grace is capable of stupendous feats of love through the suffering of those who live.

This does not mean we should seek suffering for ourselves or for others. But it does mean that suffering is generally portrayed in the Bible as the necessary and God-ordained, though not God-pleasing, plight of this fallen world (Romans 8:20-25, Ezekiel 18:32), and especially the necessary portion of all who would enter the kingdom (Acts 14:22; 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4) and live lives of godliness (2 Timothy 3:12). This suffering is never viewed merely as a tragedy. It is also viewed as a means of growing deep with God and becoming strong in this life (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:3-4; Hebrews 12:3-11; 2 Corinthians 1:9; 4:7-12; 12:7-10) and becoming something glorious in the life to come (2 Corinthians 4:17; Romans 8:18).

6 It is a sin of presumption to justify abortion by taking comfort in the fact that all these little children will go to heaven or even be given full adult life in the resurrection.

This is a wonderful hope when the heart is broken with penitence and seeking forgiveness. But it is evil to justify killing by the happy outcome of eternity for the one killed. This same justification could be used to justify killing one-year olds, or any heaven-bound believer for that matter. The Bible asks the question: "Shall we sin that grace may abound?" (Romans 6:1) And: "Shall we do evil that good may come?" (Romans 3:8). In both cases the answer is a resounding NO. It is presumption to step into God's place and try to make the assignments to heaven or to hell. Our duty is to obey God, not to play God.

7 The Bible commands us to rescue our neighbor who is being unjustly led away to death.  

"Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, 'We did not know this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not requite man according to his work?" (Proverbs 24:11-12). There is no significant scientific, medical, social, moral, or religious reason for putting the unborn in a class where this text does not apply to them. It is disobedience to this text to abort unborn children.

8 Aborting the unborn falls under Jesus' rebuke of those who spurned children as inconvenient and unworthy of the Savior's attention.  

Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God." (Luke 18:15-16) 

9 It is the right of God the Maker to give and to take human life. It is not our individual right to make this choice.  

When Job heard that his children had all been killed in a collapsing house, he bowed to worship the Lord and said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21).

When Job spoke of coming from his mother's womb, he said, "The Lord gave." And when Job spoke of dying, he said, "The Lord has taken away." Birth and death are the prerogatives of God. He is Giver and Taker in this awesome affair of life. We have no right to make individual choices about this matter. Our duty is to care for what he gives and use it to his glory.