Three Exceptions?
(04-21-2003)

When speaking of abortion, what does the label "pro-life" mean? Can someone be partially pro-life? Many people who oppose abortion in principle believe in three exceptions to a complete prohibition on it, these being cases of rape, incest, and a potential threat to the life of the mother. Is this a reasonable position to hold? I believe that it is not.

I care about mothers and babies in difficult situations. However, I don't see that killing the baby is a positive solution to the problem. The baby didn't cause the problem, so why should he be the one to pay the penalty? When we open the door to any exceptions in this area, we open the door to almost every possible exception. Does the Bible shed any light on possible exceptions to a pro-life perspective? Let us consider three Biblical incidents dealing with these situations.

Rape (2 Samuel 11-12)

King David conveniently stayed in Jerusalem while his general Joab led the Israelites in battle against the Ammonites. As he walked on his roof, a beautiful woman bathing caught his eye. David had at least six wives (2 Sam. 3:2-5), but he struggled with lust for another woman. He sent for Bathsheba and lay with her. She purified herself and went back to her house. We don't know much or how loudly Bathsheba protested, but David obviously took advantage of his royal position to do as he pleased.

Bathesheba conceived, and David used a ploy to kill her husband Uriah. When Bathsheba's time of mourning was over, David took her as his wife, and she gave birth to a son. Because of David's sin, the Lord struck the child with illness. David fasted and prayed for the child, but in a few days, the child died. Would a child thus conceived in sin, having only a brief, sick life, been better off dying the womb? Should Bathsheba have killed her offspring before he came into the world?

God is in control of the conception, development, birth, and continued life of children. If he chooses to take away a life that he has given, he is exercising his righteous prerogative. If, however, we deliberately kill a child out of fear, selfishness, or despair, we are committing a grievous error. God used the brief life of that first child of David and Bathsheba to accomplish his purposes. Who are we to decide which children are worthy of respect?

Incest (Genesis 38)

Judah was Jacob's fourth-born son. Judah begot these three sons by a Canaanite woman: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Judah choose Tamar as a wife for Er. Er was evil, so the Lord took his life. According to custom, Onan was supposed to produce offspring for his dead brother by taking Tamar as his wife. Onan selfishly avoided his duty and used Tamar for his pleasure, and the Lord killed him, too. Judah was scared to give his third son to Tamar, so he sent her back to her father's house.

Judah's wife died, and Shelah grew up, and still Judah did not bring Tamar and Shelah together. Tamar took matters into her own hands when Judah traveled to Timnah. She disguised herself as a temple prostitute and sat on the road Judah was taking. He fell into her trap, lay with her, and she conceived twins. About three months later Judah learned that his daughter-in-law Tamar was with child. Judah wanted to burn her, but she identified him as the father of her children by the pledges of payment he had given her. Judah recognized his failure to give her to Shelah. He did not know her intimately again.

Tamar gave birth to Perez and Zerah. These boys were conceived in circumstances of deceit and lust. Their parents committed what we would consider incest today. Would those boys have been better off perishing in the womb? Did Judah and Tamar fail in allowing them to live? The problem with such reasoning is that God had chosen Perez to be an ancestor of Jesus in the flesh, bringing a good result from a bad situation. God only knows how many children who were killed in a fit of despair or disgust could have grown up to accomplish great things for him.

The Life of the Mother (Genesis 35:16-19)

Jacob had traveled back to his homeland with his large family -- two wives, two concubines, and twelve or more children. He was moving to Ephrath, and his beloved wife Rachel was with child. On the way, she went into a difficult labor. A midwife was attending her, but her suffering was severe. The midwife tried to encourage her as she gave birth to a son, but Rachel named the boy "son of my sorrow" as her soul departed.

Would modern medical technology have made a difference for Rachel? Would a C-section have saved her life? Speculation cannot answer such questions. We only know that Jacob and Rachel did not choose to kill their son in an attempt to save Rachel's life. We should be glad that they did not, for this child was Benjamin, renamed by Jacob as the "son of my right hand". Some 1800 years later, one of Benjamin's descendants played a remarkable role in the early spread of the gospel and growth of the church. Paul the apostle was of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil. 3:5), and his writings have taught and inspired believers for centuries.

Rachel's passing in childbirth was the death by which she glorified God (cf. John 21:19). He used that tragic incident to accomplish wonderful good, far beyond what Jacob and Rachel might have imagined at the time.

Choosing Life

Of all three situations, the last is the most difficult exception for many people to give up. I do not want to think about the possibility that one day my wife could be lying in a hospital bed with doctors thinking she will die if our child remains inside her body. But does a woman have more of a right to live than her child? Thank God that most of us do not face these extreme decisions. However, we should consider our response to such situations before they confront us. Then we will be better able to make a righteous decision based on wisdom rather than fear.

I am convinced that we should never deliberately kill an unborn child. Even if that child is disabled or deformed, even if that child is the "product" of rape or incest, and even if we think that child poses a potential threat to the life or health of the mother, how can we justify to the Lord of life the slaughter of an innocent child that he knit together in the womb?

Bumper stickers are often trite, but one reminded me of the simple fact that Jesus was once an unborn child. Many good reasons compel me to oppose abortion, but this is among the best. What solution would the world offer to a young, poor, unmarried woman who conceived a child unintentionally? Mary could have fussed about her rights, her body, her choice, but she chose instead to be the Lord's instrument. Mary chose life, and she suffered more than most mothers by seeing her eldest son killed on a cross. She did what was right, and a sword still pierced her soul. God blesses those whose hearts are committed to him and his ways. No exceptions.